[Chorus]
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)

[Verse 1: Chuck D]
I testified, my mama cried
Black people died when the other man lied
See the TV, listen to me, double trouble
I overhaul and I'm coming from the lower level
I'm taking tabs, sho nuff, stuff to grab
Like shirts and it hurts with a neck to wreck
Took a poll 'cause our soul took a toll
From the education of a TV station
But look around, here go the sound of the wrecking ball
Boom and pound when I shut 'em down

[Chorus]
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
[Verse 2: Chuck D]
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
What I use in the battle for the mind
Hit it hard like it suppose, pull no blows to the nose
Like Uncle L said, I'm rippin' up shows
Then what it is is only five percent of the biz, I'm adding woes
That's the way it goes
Then you think I rank I never drank, point blank
I own loans, suckers got me running from the bank
Civil liberty, I can't see to pay a fee
I never saw a way to pay a sap to read the law
Then become a victim of a lawyer
Don't know ya, never saw ya
Tape cued, getting me sued
Playing games with my head, what the judge said
Put me in the red, got me thinking 'bout a trigger to the lead
No, no, my educated mind say
Suckers gonna pay anyway, there gonna be a day
Cause the troop they roll in, to posse up whole from the ground
Ready to go, throw another round
Sick of the ride, it's suicide for the other side of town
When I find a way to shut 'em down

[Chorus]
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
[Verse 3: Chuck D]
Who count the money in the neighborhood?
But we spending money to no end, looking for a friend
In a war to the core, ripping up the poor in the stores
Until they get a brother kicking down doors
Then I figure I can get bigger, look 'em dead in the eye
And they wince, defense is pressurized
They don't really want it to be another racial attack
In disguise, so give some money back
I like Nike, but wait a minute
The neighborhood supports, so put some money in it
All corporations owe, they gotta give up the dough
To my town or else we gotta shut 'em down

[Chorus]
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)
I shut 'em down (Shut 'em down, shut 'em, shut 'em down)