[00:00.420][Verse 1: Black Thought]
[00:16.358]Sometimes the weather takes me back to the days of crazy summers
[00:19.545]With Aunt Blanche telling me to run and play the numbers
[00:22.730]I'm tryna make it to the park to satisfy your hunger
[00:26.189]For the DJ cuttin' up "Let's Dance" or "Funky Drummer"
[00:29.363]Those gorilla-sized speakers was taller than five feet, huss
[00:33.085]The roof by the basketball courts, that's where my seat was
[00:36.548]Where powerlines were full of pigeons or fly sneakers
[00:39.724]That died a miserable death hanging high in the heat, but
[00:43.182]I wouldn't change a thing if I could
[00:45.311]What made me is everything: the bad, the ugly, the good
[00:48.762]It's understood that South Philly was a marvel, I'd never be one to argue
[00:52.741]The cracks in the pavement, front steps made of marble
[00:55.664]The smell of Pine-Sol, my grandmother kept 'em clean, y'all
[00:58.593]The vestibule's a section of floor behind the screen door
[01:00.988]Runners over the shag carpet, I'm not feeling
[01:03.629]Wood paneling on the walls up to the drop ceiling
[01:06.557]All the furniture draped in thick transparent layers of vinyl
[01:09.479]All the chairs, the sofa, the record player kept Mahalia spinning
[01:12.934]Minnie be grinning knowin' I done spent a day of penny pinching and sinning
[01:16.379]See her in the kitchen cooking fish or chicken depending on what day it is
[01:19.839]If I'm staying there, then yeah, that's just the way it is
[01:23.025]If she say it is, in Minnie crib, the time froze
[01:25.420]After sundown, you keep them curtains and the blinds closed
[01:28.339]Watch how far back the La-Z-Boy recline goes
[01:30.726]Peppermints in the Lazy Susan, never mind those
[01:33.385]TV on whether or not somebody watching it
[01:36.045]The floor model was broke, portable on top of it
[01:38.692]The last bastion of hope to document the era
[01:41.085]Was Kodacolor imagery and memories put together
[01:43.214]
[01:43.480][Verse 2: Black Thought]
[01:44.010]Throw the keys down to Keisha, tell her, "Slide up"
[01:47.469]Box full of her possessions said, "This side up"
[01:50.908]Last night her baby father came home highed up
[01:54.366]Tight, talkin' 'bout the way his money all tied up
[01:58.091]Shades covering her eyes, what? We gon' ride, yup
[02:01.003]Homie in for a surprise, I done went from when we played
[02:04.195]Halfball, stickball, dodgeball, and kickball
[02:07.118]From ten in the morning 'til somebody got pissed off
[02:09.776]Hollerin' 'bout, "Alright, it's over, I ain't ****in' with y'all"
[02:12.689]Fiends on the corner always preparing for liftoff
[02:15.347]Grown people used to get dressed to come and sit
[02:18.809]Cross-legged on they relatives' steps
[02:19.609]We all chips off the block, the sips off the pop
[02:22.532]We passed 'round like a hit from a spliff, you take two and pass it down
[02:26.510]Herd immunity, the definition of community
[02:28.638]The only neighbor that never knocked is opportunity
[02:31.561]Them old heads be shootin' craps and droppin' jewelry
[02:34.482]In high tops sneakers and slacks, but it's a eulogy
[02:36.867]Twice a month, cocaine prices up
[02:38.988]People get they wigs peeled shakin' them dices up
[02:41.657]I heard it's some weak brothers claiming they nice as us
[02:44.306]When it's time for a show of force, the price is what?
[02:46.960]Innocence is lost over crime, we was all before our primes
[02:49.883]Some was married to the game, then divorced it over time
[02:52.804]Faded pictures in a frame helped to form a frame of mind
[02:55.200]Into a train of thought capable of stoppin' on a dime

Sometimes the weather takes me back to the days of crazy summers
With Aunt Blanche telling me to run and play the numbers
I'm tryna make it to the park to satisfy your hunger
For the DJ cuttin' up "Let's Dance" or "Funky Drummer"
Those gorilla-sized speakers was taller than five feet, huss
The roof by the basketball courts, that's where my seat was
Where powerlines were full of pigeons or fly sneakers
That died a miserable death hanging high in the heat, but
I wouldn't change a thing if I could
What made me is everything: the bad, the ugly, the good
It's understood that South Philly was a marvel, I'd never be one to argue
The cracks in the pavement, front steps made of marble
The smell of Pine-Sol, my grandmother kept 'em clean, y'all
The vestibule's a section of floor behind the screen door
Runners over the shag carpet, I'm not feeling
Wood paneling on the walls up to the drop ceiling
All the furniture draped in thick transparent layers of vinyl
All the chairs, the sofa, the record player kept Mahalia spinning
Minnie be grinning knowin' I done spent a day of penny pinching and sinning
See her in the kitchen cooking fish or chicken depending on what day it is
If I'm staying there, then yeah, that's just the way it is
If she say it is, in Minnie crib, the time froze
After sundown, you keep them curtains and the blinds closed
Watch how far back the La-Z-Boy recline goes
Peppermints in the Lazy Susan, never mind those
TV on whether or not somebody watching it
The floor model was broke, portable on top of it
The last bastion of hope to document the era
Was Kodacolor imagery and memories put together

Throw the keys down to Keisha, tell her, "Slide up"
Box full of her possessions said, "This side up"
Last night her baby father came home highed up
Tight, talkin' 'bout the way his money all tied up
Shades covering her eyes, what? We gon' ride, yup
Homie in for a surprise, I done went from when we played
Halfball, stickball, dodgeball, and kickball
From ten in the morning 'til somebody got pissed off
Hollerin' 'bout, "Alright, it's over, I ain't ****in' with y'all"
Fiends on the corner always preparing for liftoff
Grown people used to get dressed to come and sit
Cross-legged on they relatives' steps
We all chips off the block, the sips off the pop
We passed 'round like a hit from a spliff, you take two and pass it down
Herd immunity, the definition of community
The only neighbor that never knocked is opportunity
Them old heads be shootin' craps and droppin' jewelry
In high tops sneakers and slacks, but it's a eulogy
Twice a month, cocaine prices up
People get they wigs peeled shakin' them dices up
I heard it's some weak brothers claiming they nice as us
When it's time for a show of force, the price is what?
Innocence is lost over crime, we was all before our primes
Some was married to the game, then divorced it over time
Faded pictures in a frame helped to form a frame of mind
Into a train of thought capable of stoppin' on a dime