Ghosts of the Gangs

Listen to the sound ah the ghosts of the gangs
 Those who gave their souls so we shatter the chains
 It's why DJs spin and graf writers hit trains
 Never let the meaning get misplaced in the rain One man invasion, impatient and ragin'
 One life, one chance for this transformation
 I rise from the smoke of this cold dying nation
 Heart is my fuel, faith - my transportation
 I lost control so many years ago though
 Never will you ever witness me let it go
 Cuz I'm a -neva' fold until my blood turns cold
 Too much at stake - worked too hard for this hold
 Passion and pain yeah they're one in the same
 Know never can you separate the blood from the vein
 Talent is the miracle that gave me this aim
 Though my fervor is the reason that I'm still in the game
 Fame is the temptress she'll light your name
 Only nerve keep ya from getting burnt by the flame
 And it's a shame that this country ended up so deranged
 People so obsessed and stressed, it's so strange
 I try to make America worth something insane
 Alleviate the pain afflictin' those who remain
 And those who came before us, too many to name
 Gave me a chance ta step from ash and break these damn chains
 So the struggle shaped the music and the music took control
 Then the music built the movement, something the kids could call their own
 Cuz being raised in the city it's so hard to feel whole
 When you live beneath gray skies where storms and heads roll
 The poverty, the ghettos, the violence takes its toll
 I only speak on it because I've witnessed the results
 Like the day it all went down out in the front of my home
 Scoopin' the guts back up into that kid I had to hold
 My neighbor struck with buckshot to the back of his skull
 My mother terrified, traumatized, victims in the road
 Though my parents showed compassion didn't leave that kid alone
 While the block fell silent - nah you couldn't see a soul
 Everybody ran for cover into their residence
 Drew their shades out of fear cuz the shit was so intense
 The neighborhood is like a ghost town when this drama goes down
 In a Nor-Cal inner-city modern day showdown
 So this goes out to those hearts that hold
 The kinda grief that can't be described nor told
 And for the kids that were left behind along the road
 Forgotten by a world they will never get to know
 Listen to the sound ah the ghosts of the gangs
 For those who gave their souls so we shatter the chains
 It's why DJs spin and graf writers hit trains
 Never let the meaning get misplaced in the rain