What's Going On? by Eric B. & Rakim

What's going on?

What's happening, it's been so long, what's going on
And what's going wrong? the good old days are gone
You forgot your plot and your plans as a young man
You invented a scam even you don't understand
You rig the enigma, can't figure it out
You change the route, now you're in doubt
You use to cut class, smoked grass, still passed,
Figured you was all that but that ain't last;
The times is harder, the drugs is heavier
You say whatever, the more, the merrier;
Smoke chokes your dreams and blurs your scenes,
Now a young man fiend change his plan to schemes;
No more good times, no more time,
Too far to find, you're almost blind,
You can't see what spot that the trap is in...
(hey bra!)what's happening!
You had it mapped out, your plans get torn,
You stayed up for days and now your dreams are gone
You said you quit, stated your word is bond
(hey bro) what's going on?

What's going on?

My neighborhood don't look so good
I'll find a way out.. yeah, i would if i could,
But the government is doing a project...
So i live in the projects;
Where we fight for elbow room to the doom,
Try to live long but you die too soon,
I might not be alive to see 25,
Taught at ten to make money and strive;
I sold tapes at school and made some ends
Met alot of skins and even made some friends,
Cool, 'cause now i got a crew to run wit,
Break a couple of rules, have crazy fun wit;
But every now and then, they give my knuckle game a test,
But i won't fess, i just get rid of the stress!
And then shake hands like a man,
'cause it's a family thing, only the crew would understand!
But you had a one on one fight wit drugs,
When we ain't cool no more, we buss slugs,
Clip after clip, until one of us is gone...
(hey bra!) what's going on?

Yo, what's going on?

The crime rate in new york state elevate,
A city filled wit hate, more deaths accumulate,
Drug wars daily, alot of blood spilt,
Kids on the playground shot down and kilt!
Nobody wants to live on the 1st floor no more...
'cause stray bullets explore!
We're killing ourselves off slowly but surely,
And at the end of the year, i'm sure many more'll be
Rubbed out in a quest for clout
The rest'll be drugged out, this is bugged out!
Half of the projects is dead or locked up,
Kids getting kidnapped and then found chopped up.
Human abortion create distortions...
And that's just a portion, you know that we're lost when
Babies are addicted to drugs when they are born....!
(hey bra!) what's going on? (3x)