I was born, in a dump My mama died and my father got drunk They left me, to die or grow In the middle of Tobacco Road I grew up in a rusty shack All i owned was hangin on my back And Lord knows, how I learnt This place called Tobacco Road Tobacco Road, you're dirty and you're filthy Tobacco Road, gonna get me some dynamite and a crane I'm gonna blow it up, Lord knows gonna start all over again My mind is the place where I make my plans The world is the place where I take my stand The beauty of life is mine today They cannot take my mind away [M1] Fuck what you heard, I'm from Africa This ain't no act it's mathematical Past the black radical I choose the M1, because it's practical Nothin was changed, we ain't protected No names, it's all factual They push the wrong buttons, count down to detonate Brooklyn blown away and the world will have to speculate This is what we learn in the streets, fuck a degree Believe in none of what you hear and half of what you see [Stic] It's like watching your own father smoke crack I have nightmares on shit like that No way in hell I'll ever get like that I seen a lot of shit in twenty-two years It's like a tour of duty My life is booby-trapped, it's hard to see the beauty When your heart is turning ice cold Cold like your hands exposed to blistering winds My mother keep her eyes closed, she say she prayin I listen close to what she sayin When she speak of Jesus I ignore it But when it's practical I'm all for it You got to think like a soldier I'm training myself to snatch pistols out of holsters Discipline keep the mind focused This whole world is a corn field son Look out for flying locusts Chorus (x2) Don't let 'em get in your head, they try to probe you Figure your thoughts so they can try and control you And through you, control your whole crew It's psychology boy, now what the fuck that make you wanna do? [M1] You can't walk the streets with no state of mind Blind to the ways of mankind And if you know the time, give me a sign Tell me where we draw the line I got your back if you got mine My enemy's enemy is my man One dreadlock is stronger than one strand while the crackers got the upper hand My comrades stand on lands stolen Every tooth a golden opportunity Who holdin my community hostage? 10% ransom, costing us time we lost and some This is how the plan runs Thinkin with a fugitive brain What we do to live is insane Holdin the weed, healing my membranes Just like crack, you know it all boils down to the dollars-and-cents of it Niggaz commence to get ? to sentenced to serve terms Jumping the fence, the black germ is loose When will they learn? Psychology [Stic] We piss on walls and smoke reefa in the halls No respect for their laws I cut your face with a kitchen knife In gladiator times, man against machinery The tree bark fatigues help me blend in with the scenery boy Life is a series of serious choices Theories is formed from experience, never mysterious forces Various courses of life can lead to failure Too much of anything is a trap My mind snap Guerilla warfare for two grand They say karate means 'empty hands' So then it's perfect for the poor man... They say karate means 'empty hands' So then it's perfect for the poor man Chorus (x2) Bridge [M1] When you think of us think of pyramids and pistols And glimmering gold teeth that shine like crystals The mind is like a jewel son Only a fool wouldn't grasp it Wisdom is a tool, you get blasted When you think of us think of pyramids and pistols And glimmering gold teeth that shine like crystals The mind is like a jewel son Only a fool wouldn't grasp it Wisdom is a tool, you get blasted Free your mind, and the rest will fo