Children’s Story

[Intro: Children & Mos Def]
...And then Jackie Chan just started kickin 'em like pow, pow, pow!
Wha?!
Alright y'all, alright y'all, enough of that
It's time to go to bed y'all
It's time to go to bed, I don't wanna hear that
You know what time it is, you know what time it is
Uncle Mos?
Yes?
Would you read us a bedtime story, please?
Okay, okay, y'all tucked in?
Yes...
Hereeeee we go...

[Verse: Mos Def]
Once upon a time, not long ago
When people wore Adidas and lived life slow
When laws were stern, and justice stood
And people was behavin' like hip-hop was good
There lived a little boy who was misled
By a little Sha-tan, and this is what he said
"Me and you, kid, we gonna make some cash
Jackin' old beats and makin' the dash..."
They jacked the beats, money came with ease
But son, he couldn't stop, it's like he had a disease
He jacked another and another — Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
Set some R&B over the track for "Deep Cover" (187!)
The kid got wild, started actin' erratic
He said, "Yo, that presidential, I got to have it..."
With liquor in his belly, son, he made up the track
But little did he know that his joints was wack!
The shiny A&R said "Great new hit, G!"
"Whenever you need a loop, yo, come get me..."
The kid got amped and he starts to figure
"I'mma get dough like all of these other niggas!"
So he's in the studio, workin' 'round the clock
For pop radio, jacked the beat to 'Planet Rock'
Was out in the street when he met this sister
Who couldn't sing for shhhh, but the mix would assist her
Hooked up the track, and in excitation
He decided he'd head for the radio station
But what? He was runnin' and he made a left
Was skeezin' at top speed and ran into Mos Def
I slowed the young man down and I started, "Yo, money
Yo, why you sellin' lies to our wives and children?"
He ran upstairs, up to the top floor
Opened up the door, there guess who he saw? (Who?)
Jane the chickenhead radio host
Who be yappin' 'bout beef between East and West Coast
He said, "This one's a bullet, you got to give it, run!"
The chicken said, "Thanks" and spanked it #1
He went outside, was gettin' props all over
Then he dipped into his ride, the 4-point Rover
Raced up the block doin' 83
Some cats with Hennessey saw him at a R-E-D
He winked his eye like his star status mattered
They rat-a-tat-tatted to make his blood splatter
"You rockin' crazy ice and all you do is cling static
And rollin' out in Brooklyn late night is problematic"
His eyes was bloody red, he hung on every word they said
They told the kid "Back down, that player shit is dead"
Deep in his heart, he knew he was gone
But he grabbed his .45 and decide to blaze on
What Sha-tan found, it had him astounded
And before long, the young man got surrounded
Those grabbed the guns, so goes the glory
And this is the way I got to end this story
He was out chasin' C.R.E.A.M. and the American dream
Tryin' to pretend the ends justify the means
This ain't funny, so don't you dare laugh
It's just what comes to pass when you sell your ass
Life is more than what your hands can grasp
Good night!

[Outro x3]
(Kids talkin')
Knock 'em out the box, Mos
Knock 'em out, Mos
Knock 'em out the box
Mos, knock 'em out, Mos

Knock 'em out...

A-nother... Mos Def... Black Star MOVEMENT... Presentation
CRUUUMBS!