DJ Premier - N.Y. State of Mind lyrics

[Produced by DJ Premier] [Intro] Yeah, yeah Ayo, black, it's time, word (Word, it's time, man) It's time, man (Aight, man, begin) Straight out the f**ing dungeons of rap Where fake n***as don't make it back I don't know how to start this sh**, yo... now [Verse 1] Rappers, I monkey flip 'em with the funky rhythm I be kickin' Musician, inflictin' composition of pain I'm like Scarface sniffin' c**aine Holding an M16, see with the pen I'm extreme, now Bullet holes left in my peepholes I'm suited up in street clothes, hand me a 9 and I'll defeat foes Y'all know my steelo with or without the airplay I keep some E&J, sitting bent up in the stairway Or either on the corner betting Grants with the cee-lo champs Laughing at baseheads tryna sell some broken amps G-packs get off quick, forever n***as talk sh** Reminiscing about the last time the task force flipped n***as be running through the block shootin' Time to start the revolution, catch a body, head for Houston Once they caught us off-guard The MAC-10 was in the gra** and I ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an a**a**in Picked the MAC up, told brothers, "Back up!" the MAC spit Lead was hittin' n***as, one ran – I made him backflip Heard a few chicks scream, my arm shook, couldn't look Gave another squeeze, heard it click, "Yo, my sh** is stuck" Try to co*k it, it wouldn't shoot, now I'm in danger Finally pulled it back And saw three bullets caught up in the chamber So now I'm jetting to the building lobby, and it was full of children probably, couldn't see as high as I be (So what you sayin'?) It's like the game ain't the same Got younger n***as pulling the triggers Bringing fame to their name And claim some corners, crews without guns are goners In broad daylight, stickup kids, they run up on us 45's and gauges, MAC's, in fact Same n***as will catch you back-to-back Snatching your cracks in black There was a snitch on the block getting n***as knocked So hold your stash 'til the coke price drop I know this crackhead who said she got to smoke nice rock And if it's good, she'll bring you customers in measuring pots But yo, you gotta slide on a vacation, inside information Keeps large n***as erasin' and their wives basin' It drops deep as it does in my breath I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind [Hook] New York state of mind [Verse 2] Be having dreams that I'm a gangsta Drinking Moets, holding TEC's Making sure the cash came correct, then I stepped Investments in stocks, sewing up the blocks to sell rocks Winning gunfights with mega-cops But just a n***a walking with his finger on the trigger Make enough figures until my pockets get bigger I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' Give me a Smith & Wesson, I have n***as undressin' Thinking of cash flow, buddha and shelter Whenever frustrated, I'm a hijack Delta In the PJ's, my blend tape plays, bullets are strays Young b**hes is grazed, each block is like a maze Full of black rats trapped plus the Island is packed From what I hear in all the stories When my peoples come back, black I'm living where the nights is jet-black The fiends fight to get crack I just max, I dream I can sit back And lamp like Capone, with drug scripts sewn Or the legal luxury life, rings flooded with stones, holmes I got so many rhymes, I don't think I'm too sane Life is parallel to Hell, but I must maintain And be prosperous, though we live dangerous Cops could just arrest me, blaming us We're held like hostages It's only right that I was born to use mics And the stuff that I write is even tougher than dykes I've taken rappers to a new plateau, through rap slow My rhymin' is a vitamin held without a capsule The smooth criminal on beat breaks Never put me in your box if your sh** eats tapes The city never sleeps, full of villains and creeps That's where I learned to do my hustle Had to scuffle with freaks I'm an addict for sneakers 20's of buddha and b**hes with beepers In the streets I can greet ya, about blunts I teach ya Inhale deep like the words of my breath I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h I lay puzzle as I backtrack to earlier times Nothing's equivalent to the New York state of mind [Hook] New York state of mind