Product of the Environment

PRODUCT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

M. Berrin, P. Nash, S. Citrin
Produced by Sam Sever for Sam I Am Productions Inc. & 3rd Bass, M.C. Serch & Pete Nice for R.I.F. Productions
Edited by Adam Gazzola
Engineered by Chuck Valli & Bruce Buchalter
Recorded and Mixed at Chung King Studios, New York, NY
Performed by MC Serch & Pete Nice
Contains samples of the following:
Blind Alley by Emotions
Blow Your Head by The J. B.'s
Soul Power '74 by Maceo & the Macks
Simple Song by Meters

Alright, coming up now; another request. This time from the boys down at Anna's Pizza Paradise. A new arrangement of a great oldie in rhythm and blues.

Verse 1
In the heart of the city you was born and bred
You grew up smart or you wound up dead
Things moved fast, but you knew the scoop
And your savior was a rhyme and a beat and a rap group
A modern day production of the city street
You said I didn't have it that I couldn't compete
So the sleeper did sleep but the sleeper shoulda woke up
Now you're in my sight, the Buddha sess you smoke up
That's the element you carry your rhymes on
That style of rhyme won't let you live long
Cause a strong song to you is what I sent
Cause I'm a product, of the environment

Verse 2
On the streets of far Rockaway Queens
Seagram Boulevard, B-17
Redfern houses where no MC would ever go
Is where I did my very first show
Had the crowd had the rhymes going,
I never fess, His reward, was almost a bullet in his chest
And on that stage, is where I first learned
Stick out my chest to be a kid and get burned
You're so foolish, but I think you knew this
That on the the microphone punk I can do this
And doing this, is what life meant
Cause I'm a product, of the environment

Verse 3
Back in the days when kids were mack daddies
Striped Lee jeans, Playboys and Caddies
Long Beach, the M.O.K. center
He almost caught a bad one when he tried to enter
I'd wait Bang! Bum rush the back door
Then scatter, onto the dance floor
Me and my boys, skeezin the cuties
Never had static, cuz everybody knew me
Local DJ's, tearin up the wax
And out the corner, some kid gets taxed
After the party, crack open a forty
Vicked it from the store yo the man never caught me
Went up to the arcade, cranked the bass
And then the five-oh chased us from the place
Hop on the railroad, play the conductor
Everywhere I went, I always tucked a
marker in my jacket to tag where I went
Cause we were just products, of the environment

Verse 4
I wanna tell you something that gets me kind of mad
it's about my dear old dad
He's tired, and worn, and works a nine to five
Clockin thirty G's a year to survive
But I know kids who in a month or so
Make that money sellin ya-yo
Pushin a drug, I can't understand
Destroyin a life for the buck in they hand
Play rotten slum chain, local street hero
But if you ask Serch, you're just a bunch of zeroes
Too bad cause when you're older, you won't have a cent
Cause you're a product, of the environment

Verse 5
You hear it in the strength of my voice and in my rhythm
Now you know, how I was livin
It happened to me, like it happened to Serch
Prime Minister Pete Nice'll kick the verse
in Bed-Stuy with my boy, Kiwai Height
Decatur and Kingston, Wednesday night
To the Empire, show slammin
Open for Dana, crew flammin
Mouth open wide, or listening
Dumb dope with a forty in my system
Unprotected but respected for my own self
Cause of talent, no shame, or nothin else
A time of tension, racially fenced in
I came off and all the brothers blessed him
I left more than a mark, I left a dent
Cause I'm a product, of the environment