The Last Poets - The Corner lyrics

[Produced by Kanye West] [Verse 1: Common] Memories on the corners with the fo's and the mo's Walk to the store for the rose, talking straightforward to hoes Got uncles that smoke, and some put blow up they nose To cope with the lows, the wind is cold and it blows In their socks and their soles, n***as holding they rolls Corners leave souls opened and closed, hoping for mo' With nowhere to go, n***as rolling in droves They shoot the wrong way, cause they ain't knowin' their goals The streets ain't safe cause they ain't knowing the code By the foes I was told, either focus or fold Got cousins with flows, hope they open some doors So we can cop clothes and roll in a Rolls Now I roll in a Olds, with windows that don't roll Down the roads where cars get broken and stole These are the stories told by Stony and Cottage Grove The world is cold, the block is hot as a stove On the corners [Hook: Kanye West] I wish I could give you this feeling I wish I could give this feeling On the corners n***as rob or k** And dying just to make a living, huh? [Spoken Word: The Last Poets] We overstated, we underrated, we educated The corner was our time when time stood still and Gators and snakeskins in Yellow and pink and collared blue Profiles glorifying them [Verse 2: Common] Street lights and deep nights, cats trying to eat right Riding no-seat-bikes, with work to feed hypes So they can get sweet Nike's, they head and they feet right Desires of street life, cars and weed types It's hard to breathe nights, days are thief-like The beasts roam the streets, the police is Greek-like Game at its peak, we speak and believe hype Bang in the streets hats co*ked left or deep right It's steep life, coming up where n***as is sheep-like Rappers and hoopers, we strive to be like G's with three stripes, seeds that need light Cheese and recite, needs and BE strife The corner, where struggle and greed fight We write songs about wrong ‘cause it's hard to see right Look to the sky, hoping it will bleed light Reality's a b**h, and I heard that she bites The corner [Hook] [Spoken Word: The Last Poets] The corner was our magic, our music, our politics Fires raised as tribal dances and war cries Broke out on different corners Power to the people Black power Black is beautiful [Verse 3: Common] Black church services, murderers, Arabs serving burgers As cats with gold permanents, move they bags as herbalists The dirt isn't just fertile, it's people working and earning this The curb getters go where the cash flow and the current is It's so hot that n***as burn to live The furnace is, where the money moving, the determined live We talk sh**, play lotto, and buy German beers It's so black packed with action that's affirmative The corners [Hook] [Spoken Word: The Last Poets] The corner was our Rock of Gibraltar, our Stonehenge Our Taj Mahal, our monument Our testimonial to freedom, to peace, and to love Down on the corner