[Verse 1: Rakim]
Yo, I can see the main problem, G
The minority remains in poverty
Robberies for commodities
And the majority prays, the same camaraderie
In one hand, it's a pot of gold
In the other hand, it makes cancer seem like the common cold
The common goal is it curses you and leaves you with wicked ways
Kill a whole neighborhood off, quick as AIDS
One touch'll feel better than drugs
You're hooked now, it's never enough
Some say it feels better than love
Every sentence, protocol
Number one cause overall
Make them go to war quick for them, broads strip for them
Shooters fours blow for 'em, street corners pitch for 'em
Poor folk want 'em so the rich flaunt 'em
Novus Ordo Seclorum
E Pluribus Unum

[Hook: Rakim]
Tell me what's wrong
Talkin' 'bout M-O-N-E-Y
What's wrong
People will steal or lie, to get paid
Tell me what's wrong
Talkin' 'bout M-O-N-E-Y
What's wrong
People will kill or die, to get paid
[Verse 2: Rakim]
Ain't nothin' deeper than the root of evil
It's too cerebral, look what it do to people
Turn they're heart cold, even their soul with no feelins
The ghetto m-o, no money, mo' killin'
It's no chillin', it leaves the place blazin'
Ain't no such thing as a safe haven
How can the youth survive in a world we made?
The future dies at an early age
We went from pride and honor to divide and conquer
Killin' ourselves, that ain't the final offer
That's why usually, when somebody die, it's karma
8 million stories, advertised by a violent author
Grindin' harder to supply the corner
While the government's the private sponsor
From the belly of the beast, from 25 to life inside the monster
Money, the co-defendant, the silent partner

[Hook: Rakim]

[Verse 3: Rakim]
We saggin' on the streets of New York, to Californ'
But it seems like we got our swagger wrong
Should have tried to walk with Farrakhan
Now it's welcome to the rise and fall of Babylon
It's genocidal, check Revelations in your Bible
Before the last days, expect a drastic change
In America, the home of the brave
To America, the home of the grave
Hell is waitin', no survival
Plus the ozone hole is torn, the globe is warm
From man-made products goin' to the moon on the norm
Till the Gods and mother nature unfold a storm
The greedy keep drainin' the Earth for jewels and fuel
Keep searchin' 'til you crack the Earth in two
Never personal, it's always business
The same reason they knocked down the World Trade Centers
[Hook]