Fugees — Family Business

[Verse 1: Omega & Wyclef] Where I was born, nothing is promised My life is filled with less hope than the prophecies of Nostradamus Omega marks the ending of predictability Birth of agility Who will it be to test me and expose their futility? Iron like a lion from Zion, stop tryin' so hard I think I smell your brain cells fryin' The family's behind you if you're worthy Philosophies developed deep in the back streets of dirty Jersey Troops with skully hats and Timberland boots No more breakdancing for loot, niggas hustle and shoot In the Garden State, it grows stink weeds and criminals Government funds are minimal, oppression's subliminal (Yo) [Verse 2: Wyclef] These days it's hard for we to find peace of mind Between insanity and sanity there lies a thin line Some dwell in hotels with jezebels A stone age and fall a victim to the plague Unclean bad dreams of Wyclef being a fiend One last kiss from my sweet serpentine Eliminate, break, navigate To rejuvenate thoughts of suicide with my nickel plate Reconcil'ation came from my enemy-friend Who said, "Family don't bend, we stay solid 'til the end" Now who would think that your best friend Would be your worst enemy and your enemy your best friend? Stare into the air, inspiration from the atmosphere I think of old ghosts that ain't even here Like Alex Haley, take notes on his biography My family tree consists of street refugees A ghetto land where we talk slang Stolen cars bang like my chitty bang-bang Shebang for the head, we ain't sellin' cocaine today So refrain and let my family reign, okay [Chorus: Omega & Wyclef] Just walkin' the streets death can take you away It's never guaranteed that you'll see the next day At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So defend the family, that's the code to obey But if I fall asleep and death takes me away Don't be surprised, son, I wasn't put here to stay At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So the family sticks together and we never betray (Nah, fuck that) [Verse 3: Wyclef] Yo, fifty-two pick-ups, no cops around Fifty-two thousand in cash, I don't want no savings bonds Have the money ready, I smell something fishy Your wife's in my custody, one false move, you'll find her body in the sea (Don't move, don't move) That's the voice of the kid, that's the kidnapper I do my work and then I catch my ticket to Jamaica Meet me in the alley, make sure you bring the money This ain't the seventies, I'm far from a jive turkey [Verse 4: Lauryn] My circle, it can't be broken open, cut-throatin', provokin' Record promotin', tokin', chokin' on they words like smokin' 'Cause we soft spoken doesn't mean that we've forgotten Your booty smell rotten and one day you will be gotten See, jokers is scatter-brained, their focus is unrestrained My army is trained, you never find us beefin' in vain 'Cause I've seen fire and I've seen rain You claim fame while modest niggas remain I can judge a character like Ito judge a verdict And if you bringin' threats, I give you sex if I ain't heard it See, poppin' shit's about your attitude and how you word it I seen the biggest niggas on the blocks get murdered, and they deserved it Or so the beast said when they served it, that shit is nervous So what's my purpose? Family, we must preserve it Your number's retired, I hope you like the hell fires You'll be screamin', "Murder She Wrote" like Chaka Demus and Pliers [Chorus: Omega, Lauryn] Just walkin' the streets death can take you away It's never guaranteed that you'll see the next day At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So defend the family, that's the code to obey If I should fall asleep and death take me away Don't be surprised, son, I wasn't put here to stay At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So the family stick together and we never betray, yeah [Verse 5: John Forte & Wyclef] We used to jump rope, but now we gun hold Bustin' shots off of project rooftops Sending signals with the blunt smoke Ahk, don't talk a lot if you can't hold it in lock If you think lips sink ships, imagine full Glock clips I hold a glass of Remy Martin, gettin' milks by the carton Extortin' the lightweights for thinkin' they important The night pays in heavenly ways, ain't nothin' free I ask knowledge in your family and step into your B.I.  You see I stay on top of shit like a fly My niggas reach when we got beef then jet down to South Beach Your mouthpiece is yappin', I hear it in your rappin' My family is thick so that bullshit could never happen (Yo) [Chorus: Wyclef & Lauryn] Just walkin' the streets death can take you away It's never guaranteed that you'll see the next day At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So defend the family, that's the code to obey But if I should fall asleep and death takes me away Don't be surprised, son, I wasn't put here to stay At night the evil armies of Shaton don't play So the family stick together and we never betray [Skit: Shannon Briggs] Yo, what you say? Yo, word to mother, yo, I'll punch you and bust your whole head, kid I swear to God, this is Shannon Briggs, I get paid to knock people out You know what I'm sayin'? Yo, Wyclef, chill, don't even hold me Yo, word to mother, I'll— I'll— word, yo, chill, yo I'm with the Fugees, what? You know what I'm sayin'? What? Some come from nowhere To watch this caravan [Interlude: Lauryn] Now this happen to be the one and only [?][4:54] of the [?][4:54] crew [?][4:57] dancehall session And we don't play with sound clash Soundbwoy get ah neck bash and he pussy dusted Strumming dub plates with our fingers (You heard?) Eliminate sounds with our song (No) Killing a sound boy with this sound Killing a sound boy with this sound (No) Taking sound boys' lives with this dub Killing him softly (You heard?) with this sound