Lyrics

[Intro] One two one two You think you could turn my voice up in the headphones a little bit? Yeah, I gotta go there I gotta be there See it Ah [Verse 1: Joell Ortiz] Some days in the summer, everyday in the winter You'd found me in that community center Sign your name on that sheet And get a dap from Mister Barnes when you entered Head to the gym and shoot around, get your squadron together This the one place we can hoop, regardless thе weather Plus OG's controlled thе outside courts or whatever, so this was our place Chalk on a pool stick frontin' I had that bank shot down pat like Tim Duncan Learned how to play pool from Mister Turner He took the time to teach a young boy how to shoot something that ain't a burner My eight ball carried a different aura Hitting them corner pockets stopped my broke pockets from Hitting that corner, least for a little while That little smile from a little woman in the kitchen cooking just lit up a mile Poverty had our stomachs rumbling heavy We dropped everything when she came out that back screaming lunch is ready Hope it's that pepperoni pizza, maybe it's burgers That look on Miss Munez face made it all worth it She was just happy she could be of service I snatched the extra chocolate milk but I ain't outside snatching purses That community center gave me a sense of purpose Showed me I could be good at something even when I'm nervous Taught me life ain't perfect but everyone ain't out to hurt us In there I was safe, outside it was murder (Murder, murder, murder, murder, murder, murder,) [Interlude] What do you expect a young kid to do if he goes outside And they don't see nothing but dope dealers, you know? Big gold chains, a lot of money and girls, you know? They want to grow up to be just like him but the problem is, you know? Kids in the ghettos and things they don't have no place to go after school So they just hang on their lives you know So that's what they see that's their role models So that's what they want to be like I feel like the community has to band together Because that's, that's what a solution is [Verse 2: KXNG Crooked] Outside it was murder, bangers throwin' their turf up Crossing they enemies out, even hittin' the curb up This is circa eighty-nine, drug dealers would swerve up Selling that Curtis Blow, chemicals with the perm up Didn't disturb us, even though them dudes shoot to kill Drug moving skills got them knowing how wearing Gucci feels The car's super ill, Caddy on stupid wheels Hand us a couple dollars out the window of his Coupé de ville Mama say, stay away from them niggas The preacher used to pray for them niggas I developed traits from them niggas But not today 'cause today I'm on my way to the center Before the street lights come on, don't be late for your dinner Okay mama, I hugged her and left She said hallelujah right under her breath We've been gettin' on her nerves all day Take some of that energy outside, go play Ay, y'all remember at the community center playing Bingo, Uno Connect Four, Monopoly? And Mister Brown gave us lots of love, he gave us food, gave us clothes And when'd we argue, he gave us boxing gloves Keep your guards up and watch the right, damn Now that I think about it, he was teaching us 'bout life, yeah At the community center, it was beautiful when a Young nigga was safe, outside it was murder (Murder, murder, murder, murder, murder, murder,)