Lyrics: Illegal Business
Album: By All Means Necessary
Artist: Boogie Down Productions
 

{*30 seconds in: dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}

Cocaine business controls america
Ganja business controls america
Krs-one come to start some hysteria
Illegal business controls america

[krs-one]
One afternoon around eleven o’clock
It was freezin cold, he was standing on the block
Sellin cheeba, nick’s and dimes
Sayin a rhyme just to pass the time
The cops passed by, but he stayed calm
Cause the leather trench coat was keepin him warm
But this time they walked by real slowly
He thought to himself, "they look like they know me"
They drove away, but he didn’t stay
He jumped in the cab and he paid his tab
But guess who he saw when he hit the block
It was the same cop car, the same two cops
They jumped out quick, they pulled a gun
They said, "don’t try to fight and don’t try to run
Cooperate and we will be your friend
Non-cooperation will be your end"
He jumped in the car, and while they rode
They ran down the list of things he owed
They said, "you owe us some money, you owe us some product
Cause you could be right in the river tied up"
He thought for a second and he said, "what is this?
You want me to pay you to stay in business?"
They said, "that’s right, or you go to prison
Cause nobody out there is really gonna listen
To a hood," so he said, "good!
I’ll pay you off for the whole neighborhood"
Because

Cocaine business controls america
Ganja business controls america
Krs-one come to start some hysteria
Illegal business controls america

{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}

[krs-one]
A guy named jack, is sellin crack
The community, doesn’t want him back
He sells at work, he sells in schools
He’s not stupid, the cops are the fools
Cause everyone else seems to go to jail
But when it comes to jack, the cops just fail
They can’t arrest him, they cannot stop him
Cause even in jail the bail unlocks him
So here is the deal, and here is the facts
If you ever wonder why they can’t stop crack
The police department, is like a crew
It does whatever they want to do
In society you have illegal and legal
We need both, to make things equal
So legal is tobacco, illegal is speed
Legal is aspirin, illegal is weed
Crack is illegal, cause they cannot stop ya
But cocaine is legal if it’s owned by a doctor
Everything you do in private is illegal
Everything’s legal if the government can see you
Don’t get me wrong, america is great place to live
But listen to the knowledge i give

Cocaine business controls america
Ganja business controls america
Krs-one come to start some hysteria
Illegal business controls america

{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Illegal business controls america
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Illegal business controls america
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Illegal business controls america
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Krs-one come to start some hysteria
{*dj scratches "what what what what, what what what what,
What can we get for 63 cents?"*}

Cocaine business controls america
Ganja business controls america
Krs-one come to start some hysteria
Illegal business controls america

{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Yeah, illegal business controls america
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Yeah, krs-one come to start some hysteria
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Yeah, bdp takin over america
{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Ganja business controls america

{*dj scratches "what can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Cocaine, sensai
Aspirin, coffee
Morphine, sugar
Tobacco, got to go

{*dj scratches "what what what what, what can we get.."*}
Illegal business controls america
{*dj scratches "what what, what can we get.."*}
Yeahhhhh, ganja business controls america
{*dj scratches "what what what what what what,
What can we get for 63 cents?"*}
Yeahhhhh, cocaine business controls america
{*dj scratches "what what what what.."*}
Illegal business controls america