Public Enemy — Air Hoodlum

[Produced by G-Wiz] [Intro] "Yo Chuck, where you at, G? I think he went upstairs, you know?" "A very furious mixture of noise, what Public Enemy producer Hank Shocklee calls, 'music's worst nightmare'" "Hey, he's a good kid!" [Chorus: Flavor Flav] Air Hoodlum Air Hoodlum "Check check, check the elevation Check check, check the elevation Check check, check the elevation Check check, check the elevation" "A player, that can leap, with the best of them" [Verse 1] Risin up in the 'Velt, Strong Island, New York The hood, in case you did not know my base There was a ballplayer who had all the skills With the pill to pay the piper, plus all the bills Mick his first name, Mack the awesome game Practiced in the heat, in the rain or in pain Mick so quick, at six foot six Down to be picked by anyone but the Celtics Oh, what a handle could score from the floor With people bangin' on him, or even hangin' on him But what he did best, above all the rest was [Interlude] "A player that can leap, with the best of them" "As a high school phenom..." "The Skywalker himself!" "I felt, he could do, to make this an effective basketball team" [Verse 2] Grades nine and ten, Mickey Mack was all that But in class, his ass sat way in the back How I know? 'Cause I know, I used to flow with the bro He didn't mind, I used to read him his own headlines Cause he could not read 'em, his school wouldn't need em If the lines woulda went like this Mickey Mack jumped over the candlestick His stack was his stats, but his D was still wack Grades eleven and twelve, he found the wrong clientele and all During class, he would dribble in the hall But never got in trouble in school, but the trouble was It was cool if your brain was just another bubble As long as he could score fiddy-two Get thirty-three rebounds, fuckin' around Teams lost to him, he went right through 'em Division, county, state -- that's three, count 'em Championships for a small town bro That's bound to go pro [Interlude] "He gets free, turn on the jumper, good!" "Streak of lightning when he breaks loose..." "We all felt in our hearts we could win this ballgame" "They just required me to have the game that I did I'm just... that's all, I that's all I that's all I can say" "That's all I can say" "He hauled down fifteen rebounds, and kept the ball away from everybody" "Then he had a triple double!" "A-a-a sensational player..." [Verse 3] SAT's didn't matter cause he was all that You know, the pat on the back He was always in the news, you gotta know what it means It means revenue, and I'm tellin' you I saw cars and G's come to our school, please Approach Hell with the principal, "Where's the coach?" Went to college, four years with a scholarship And won the championship But when it came to his life, he didn't care 'Cause he took it to the air [Interlude] "Cross and a hook, he scores, he's fouled!" "From the far corner, breaks West and here's the jumper, good!!" "There's the jumper, it's not gonna go, rebound batted back..." [Verse 4] The fall began when Mickey Mack fell Hell ripped his knee, drafted last by personnel Oh, how he loved the game, it was fantastic Until he was cut, and couldn't stick Times got tighter and tighter He had an attitude, was rude, so he turned into a fighter School wouldn't give him the job that he needed Assistant to the assistant coach, they didn't need it Then he resorted to a stick up kid Ski-mask and gat, but this game he wasn't good at And the drugs on the side Police ambushed his ride (gunfire), another homicide He was over, ghost you know Hometown hero, but now a zero To those hypocrites who ripped him blind For his skills without the will to develop his mind Forever in the news the community views him Only as Air Hoodlum [Outro] "I don't understand it, the kid coulda been another Jordan!"