Adolescent barrio lotharios
Memorize & recite
cinematic cadillac advice
holdin summer night summits
on other people's cars
Got romance down to a science like alchemy
& more than happy
To explain
How to get to second base
by feelin up the cleavage
in the virgin/whore dichotomy
Girl lean over & unlock yo door hey
Don't unlock it ho
everybody nods & then
my man tris
raises the bar
on that foolishness
like buss this
If a chick doesn't think
Rakim is the illest mc ever
then man I can't fuck with her on any serious level
Everybody nods i squint
into my brew
& try to strip
the concrete off the streets
Imagining harlem
When these hills
Were covered with trees
& teemed with dinosaurs
I smile around my straw
Replace papi's cornerstore
With a triceratops
& reflect that cats ain't got
No less hardheaded
Since the mesozoic era
On this block
for evidence you can check
my homey brett
the projects' best defense
against a t rex on the flex
even the way
he offers you a beer
is like a threat
Dudes been known to jet
Rather than deal with him & yet
You gotta give the cat respect
the crazy
spic-mick deck you in a sec
blackbelt meathead
lives in a world without regret
Now & forever
The unofficial president
Of the neighborhood pride association
meaning the only one old school enough
to scrap for his block's reputation
One of those
Dudes whose
Broma favorita's pissing
Right where people chillin
Instead of over on the wall
cats pick theyselves up quick
Askin what the fuck's the matter
with you
as they scatter
only response they ever get is laughter
Busybody blockparty mamis
Swoop offa stoops
Like pterodactyls
If they smell a fight
but nowadays not much jumps off
to get them moving
It's just cats sittin chillin bullshittin
doin nothin
Empty cervezas frias jutting from the pavement
like stalagtites
A lack of activity
Partly due
To the market's
Relative stability
twelve years ago
in the late
shitisfuckedup period
this block was hyperactive
knee deep delirious
in a crack economy
oldtimers got war stories like iraqis
but today
a little bit of lley
& lotsa weed
is all you see
Next to the roti spot
Some muneca even opened a boutique
It's always empty
But then again so is papi's deli
Except for overripe platanos
Stale dutchies & brew
The tv repair shop
Except for electronic junkheaps
& four mujeres gordas
Playin poker in the backroom
& the unisex salon
Except for three bored bellas
Watchin telenovelas
& a clownmouthed pink lipstick wearin
Anciana from my building
Who stops in with her dog to talk
Only business on its feet appears to be
The chinese takeout kitchen
Which in addition to flippin
Sweet n sour chicken
& pork fried rice
Has now diversified
In order to embrace a wide
Multicultural variety
Of shit you can fry
Let me tell you
You ain eaten
Until you had platanos szechuan style
straight out the wok
with a little soy sauce
don't think that shit
won't hit you off
Cats go in there so much
They know everybody's name address diet
if he notice you ain orderin enough iron
money throw some spinach
in with your kung po shrimp
no extra charge
Even got free delivery
For when you too treed up
To walk a half a street up
so it's no wonder
styrofoam combination plate containers
greased with emptysqueezed
packets of duck sauce
blow across
the sidewalks of the block
As coolbreeze dances
With the merengue
Jimmy's blastin on his box
two a.m. & no
callate silencio
from viejos in windows
no noise reports no cops
plus when they do roll through they strangely cool
all they say is quiet down or move it to the park
I'm telling you
Rita got a fat ass
pass the blunt
damn it's still too goddamn hot
wish mami'd sent me to summer camp like ramon
Man fuck that nasty coldass lake & fuck ramon
Tomorrow we gonna take a wrench to that fire hydrant
& go swimmin citystyle
Memorize & recite
cinematic cadillac advice
holdin summer night summits
on other people's cars
Got romance down to a science like alchemy
& more than happy
To explain
How to get to second base
by feelin up the cleavage
in the virgin/whore dichotomy
Girl lean over & unlock yo door hey
Don't unlock it ho
everybody nods & then
my man tris
raises the bar
on that foolishness
like buss this
If a chick doesn't think
Rakim is the illest mc ever
then man I can't fuck with her on any serious level
Everybody nods i squint
into my brew
& try to strip
the concrete off the streets
Imagining harlem
When these hills
Were covered with trees
& teemed with dinosaurs
I smile around my straw
Replace papi's cornerstore
With a triceratops
& reflect that cats ain't got
No less hardheaded
Since the mesozoic era
On this block
for evidence you can check
my homey brett
the projects' best defense
against a t rex on the flex
even the way
he offers you a beer
is like a threat
Dudes been known to jet
Rather than deal with him & yet
You gotta give the cat respect
the crazy
spic-mick deck you in a sec
blackbelt meathead
lives in a world without regret
Now & forever
The unofficial president
Of the neighborhood pride association
meaning the only one old school enough
to scrap for his block's reputation
One of those
Dudes whose
Broma favorita's pissing
Right where people chillin
Instead of over on the wall
cats pick theyselves up quick
Askin what the fuck's the matter
with you
as they scatter
only response they ever get is laughter
Busybody blockparty mamis
Swoop offa stoops
Like pterodactyls
If they smell a fight
but nowadays not much jumps off
to get them moving
It's just cats sittin chillin bullshittin
doin nothin
Empty cervezas frias jutting from the pavement
like stalagtites
A lack of activity
Partly due
To the market's
Relative stability
twelve years ago
in the late
shitisfuckedup period
this block was hyperactive
knee deep delirious
in a crack economy
oldtimers got war stories like iraqis
but today
a little bit of lley
& lotsa weed
is all you see
Next to the roti spot
Some muneca even opened a boutique
It's always empty
But then again so is papi's deli
Except for overripe platanos
Stale dutchies & brew
The tv repair shop
Except for electronic junkheaps
& four mujeres gordas
Playin poker in the backroom
& the unisex salon
Except for three bored bellas
Watchin telenovelas
& a clownmouthed pink lipstick wearin
Anciana from my building
Who stops in with her dog to talk
Only business on its feet appears to be
The chinese takeout kitchen
Which in addition to flippin
Sweet n sour chicken
& pork fried rice
Has now diversified
In order to embrace a wide
Multicultural variety
Of shit you can fry
Let me tell you
You ain eaten
Until you had platanos szechuan style
straight out the wok
with a little soy sauce
don't think that shit
won't hit you off
Cats go in there so much
They know everybody's name address diet
if he notice you ain orderin enough iron
money throw some spinach
in with your kung po shrimp
no extra charge
Even got free delivery
For when you too treed up
To walk a half a street up
so it's no wonder
styrofoam combination plate containers
greased with emptysqueezed
packets of duck sauce
blow across
the sidewalks of the block
As coolbreeze dances
With the merengue
Jimmy's blastin on his box
two a.m. & no
callate silencio
from viejos in windows
no noise reports no cops
plus when they do roll through they strangely cool
all they say is quiet down or move it to the park
I'm telling you
Rita got a fat ass
pass the blunt
damn it's still too goddamn hot
wish mami'd sent me to summer camp like ramon
Man fuck that nasty coldass lake & fuck ramon
Tomorrow we gonna take a wrench to that fire hydrant
& go swimmin citystyle
( Adam Mansbach )
www.ChordsAZ.com