[Intro: Aloe Blacc]
Here in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killed, children are dying
In the ghetto
Yea

[Verse 1: Talib Kweli]
Silence is prayer, prayer is love, love is faith, faith is service
When I’m cuttin’ the strings of the puppets
That live in the ghetto, Geppettos is always nervous
They love when we clutter the gutters
And never discover our truest purpose
And praying in vanity, that’s the real profanity
Not all that swears are curses
“I swear!” Play it loud like Spike Lee’s father
Bangin’ the drum, when we hang in the slums
The beat is knocking the odds are never even
It’s far from the Garden of Eden
The starving is robbin’ and theivin’
We bobbin’ and weavin’ the mark of the beast
Like Muhammad Ali, no you’re not gonna keep me here

[Hook: Aloe Blacc]
Here in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killed, children are dying
In the ghetto
[Verse 2: Problem]
They only let you school ‘em when you got money, drugs and guns
All up in your backpack
Got it for days when it get darker than them Aloe Blacc naps
Respect my name, I get disrespectful as back slaps
When I shoot your dog then some alley cats gon’ sure clap back
Put holes in heads like snapbacks
But in that fact I don’t mean this right, yes, demon fight
He lean to write, bullets hit his soul, he cling to life
That’s just what I seen, but I’m tryna change it too
But stayin’ aware at the same time, see that’s what the change’ll do to you
This money done fucked me up a tad
I could blame it on life, or the fact that I was an early dad
But fuck that, that’s some cop-out shit
Sleepin’ them stereotypes on some knock-out shit
Show these marks I ain’t playin’ no games on some lock out shit
This for them n***as that keep the work movin’ when the cops out
Cause even if I’m doing right, y’all throw the tear gas up in my house
So I might as well get the bread cause the billy club gon’ hit my head anyway
War time, make me innovate, cop I emulate what you demonstrate
Cause it’s here

[Hook: Aloe Blacc]
Here, in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killed, children are dying
In the ghetto
Here, in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killing and dying
In the ghetto
[Verse 3: Talib Kweli]
The leaders are asking what good is a rapper? (Good question)
Well what come first, the hood or the rapper? (Good question)
When factoring the n***a factories that we trapped in
The rappin’ is pretty accurate
With love, we cold-blooded assassins
In the ghettos are lingos
Children with polio sellin’ smack in the grid of traffic
Killing each other for scraps, this shit is pretty graphic
Where love resides, like This American Quilt except it’s a shitty fabric
Malcolm said “Make it plain” but still we getting’ elaborate
The labyrinth, the towers of Babylon, the road less travelled on
We tapping into the power within, the stables rattle on
We put the saddle on, but hold a pale horse
Black on black crime is a myth they make us believe with sheer force
You can change what you wear and the effects will never wear off
The cops shot the dealer to stop and got a man off
Scientists too busy trying to reverse erectile dysfunction and hair loss
To worry about these n***as who shootin’ after a stare-off

[Hook: Aloe Blacc]
Here in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killed, children are dying in the ghetto
Here in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killing and dying in the ghetto
Everywhere
Here in the ghetto
Everywhere
Children are killing and dying in the ghetto
Yea
[Outro: Aloe Blacc]
Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
Make me wanna say
Oooh, oooh, oooh
Make me wanna say
Oooh, oooh, oooh