[Intro: James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni]
I lived in the ghetto, and I watched it
You know, the little guys that are standing around crossing their arms. They're not lovable, they're not giving any love. They couldn't give a damn about me
I understand it all too well
[Hook: Rhymefest]
Hip Hop is pop, Busted Open in pop
World finna go pop, can't stop the pop
Ben Willis a cop, Young Thug got popped
Pop Smoke got popped, Tupac was popped
[Verse: Rhymefest]
Right hand of the Pac, stand back when I pop
Snap, crackle, and pop, trap jack in the box
Drive fast when they pop, the crabs in the pot
[?]
Let's get it popping, who's the most popular?
Rappers writing op-eds about their soap operas, prosperous
Send Black kids to colleges
Meanwhile, on the west side, there's an apocalypse
Hood lessons, grandma's blessings
I was Flintstone, y'all was living like the Jetsons
Now they all threaten when they see us, said gent
It's hard to be a king in this world without peasants
Mama got popped up, when her son popped up at the pop-up
Bullets flew toward the whole shop-up, fuck the product
It's a miracle that he got up
What's a profit to a man when he lets his debts pile up?
Fabulous, impoverished
Propagandist, politics
False prophets, promises
People ain't the problem, power is
[Verse: EP Da Hellcat]
Little Kim got popped, Stallion got popped
I was Riding with Bad Boy and Drake got popped
And Pac got shot, Big Pop was popped
Rap turned to Pop, everybody's the opps
Guns, they're only props, Alec Baldwin popped
Still stunned mumbling, niggas got all the guap
They all sound pop, same shit, new pot
When you lame spit that bullshit, we all get popped
This a hip-hop stickup, proper when I popped in
Can't nobody stop us, [?] the problem
Probably ain't possible, the proof's in the audible
It's plausible, this particular puzzle's unsolvable
Everybody sweet now, suckers for lollipops
Puppets for popularity, who's the Bugatti-est
Gods and goddesses, power they got us in
Monuments and metropolis, we're the opulent occupants
Killing dominance, fulfilling the promises
They create policies, we deal with the consequences
Shorties is visible but feeling anonymous
We build on principle, while they playing politics
Projects, prospects
Prominence, progress
It's the process for our kids
People ain't the problem, power is
[Hook: Rhymefest]
Hip Hop is pop, Busted Open in pop
World finna go pop, can't stop the pop
Ben Willis a cop, Young Thug got popped
Pop Smoke got popped, Tupac was popped
[Refrain: EP Da Hellcat]
Little Kim got popped, Stallion got popped
I was Riding with Bad Boy and Drake got popped
And Pac got shot, Big Pop was popped
When you lame, spit that bullshit we all get popped
[Interlude: James Baldwin]
The proof of this is nobody cared as long as our kids were dying
[Refrain: EP Da Hellcat]
Little Kim got popped, Stallion got popped
I was Riding with Bad Boy and Drake got popped
And Pac got shot, Big Pop was popped
Rap turned to pop, everybody's the opps
[Hook: EP Da Hellcat]
Hip Hop is pop, Busted Open in pop
World finna go pop, can't stop the pop
Ben Willis a cop, Young Thug got popped
Pop Smoke got popped, Tupac was popped
[Outro: James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni]
...is a victim like me, a brother like me. I ain't no better than he is; I really am not any better than he is. We're in the same trap for the same reasons. It's the same way the great powers can use a tribal war in [some unknown country]. Set them against each other, then blame both parties
They both are to blame. Because they have to stop and think about it
Of course
There was no point in it
But, baby, it takes people a very long time to learn very little
