The War Dance - Paris

It’s a true story 'bout two homies called «them»

Any two’ll do, call 'em «him» and «him»

One from the ghetto, the other from the 'burbs

First is a rebel, the other is a nerd

In a two parent household, Moms and Pops

They so well off, sellin' bonds and stocks

But fell off 'cause he don’t bond with Pops

And not comfortable with Moms a lot, that’s the nerd

Compared to the rebel on the hood plantation

The pimps and the macks and the gang bangers laced him

Moms straight smokin', Pops is MIA

The chance for advancement for him ain’t great

Both from two different worlds, but they both the same

Both idolize hip-hop style and slang

Both thinkin' manhood is defined by thangs

Emphasized in the raps we sang, shit, but we’ll see

It’s the war dance, this the way it usually start

It’s the war dance, everybody playin' a part

It’s the war dance, maintain, gotta stay hard

It’s that bang bang boogie, bang bang the boogie-oogie

It’s the war dance, got 'em all caught in the game

It’s the war dance, don’t matter what you reppin' or claim

It’s the war dance, we all die one and the same

From the bang bang boogie, bang bang the boogie-oogie

Repetitive negativity combined

With music can afflict and affect the mind

Rap lies take lives to the pen with rhymes

Thinkin' prison finna get 'em they stripes, look here

This time, let me tell you just how the crime went

Rebel met nerd on some down to die shit

The nerd met rebel, found a cat to ride with

Now they outside the store lookin' in

One come from bad circumstance, never had a family

One did, but felt they didn’t understand him

Young kids doin' what society demanded

Companies that owned jails and music planned it

Nerd brandished the gun, seen the money, grabbed it

Rebel waited for him in the car, music blastin'

Cashier shot, then cops, and they captured

Both hit the pen laughin', «This is blackness»

It’s the war dance, this the way it usually start

It’s the war dance, everybody playin' a part

It’s the war dance, maintain, gotta stay hard

It’s that bang bang boogie, bang bang the boogie-oogie

It’s the war dance, got 'em all caught in the game

It’s the war dance, don’t matter what you reppin' or claim

It’s the war dance, we all die one and the same

From the bang bang boogie, bang bang the boogie-oogie

The first night, Big Homie said he want his ass licked

Nerd said «No,» so he got his ass kicked

The rebel got his ass kicked and his ass split

It wasn’t no more laughin' and shit

Two black men, brainwashed from the start

Never knew back then, these corporations play the part

To pursue black men for slave labor on the yard

Rhyme stars lead 'em to a life behind bars, follow

The countries that own companies and trade publicly

Invest in the music companies and praise thuggery

The money from the thuggery, they put it into jails

Just for criminal, young black males

All from the sound, penitentiary bound

While the sheep just follow 'em and swallow it down

Either working for the system, or we dead in the ground

Even with a new nigga in town, it’s the