Criminal
The Roots

[Chorus]
Monday they predict the storm
Tuesday they predict the bang
Wednesday they cover the crash
And I can see it's all about cash
And they got the nerve to hunt down my ass
And treat me like a criminal

[Black Thought]
Look, it is what it is
Because of what it was
I did what I did
'Cause it does what it does
I don't put nothin' above
What I am, what I love
My family, my blood
My city and my hood
Hater for the greater good
I'm back from Hollywood
And I ain't changed a lick
Though, I know I probably should
But, what I'm doin' is not a good look
I never did it by the good book, as a lifetime crook
All the petty crime took a toll on me
I look around at my homies that's gettin' old on me
But still somethin' gotta hold on me
Maybe it's faith
If it's comin', yo I'm willing to wait
I'm not runnin', I done ran through the mud
I done scrambled and such
I done robbed an odd job and gambled enough
Till I'm put up in handcuffs
And pissin' in a cup
If there's a God,
I don't know if he listenin' or what

[Chorus]

[Truck North]
Yeah, it is what it is
And that's how it go
Get treated like a criminal
If crime is all you know
Get greeted like a nigga
If a nigga all you show
A public enemy, to send a eye in the scope
My city like a island where you can't find a boat
Have you wishin' for a raft
And prayin that hope flows
So real ethnic cleansing going down no so
Who lookin' for a chair and some real strong rope
Just to end it all here
Screamin' fuck the mayor
He see the faces at the bottom of the welfare
They act like I'm somethin' to fear
Trapped in urban warfare
And pullin' triggers at a college career
Can't ignore the call of the wild
That's drawin' 'em near
Try to make fast money last long some years
Try to laugh it off
Still couldn't lose the tears
To the rules, I will not adhere
Break the law, yeah... {echoes}

[Chorus]

[Saigon]
Who wanna challenge mine?
I'm sick of St. Valentine
I did the violent crimes
That's why I got this style of rhyme
Seek repentance to spittin' them sentences
To senseless experience is the difference
You can't convince this
In a crime sense, niggas is infants
I'm like a senior citizen
Still livin' but gettin' benefits
Put emphasis on hittin' my nemesis in high percentages
Crooked ass cops is the reason for my belligerence
And it gets deeper than that
Remember nights I used to sleep wit a gat
With a package of crack under my sneaker strap
D's sneak attack and raid me
It took a week for that
Beat the rat, but you're sayin' look, he think he the mack
Fuck ya'll!
Niggas who thinkin' they might try us
Watch us inside riots
Blew cars and light fires
We already been knocked, scrutinized
Plus, cops rush to brutalize us
America's polluted by lust
Who could I trust?
If I can't trust you, then I might touch you
If I ain't got love for you
Then fuck you!

[Chorus] x2


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Lyrics by The Roots

  ? vs. Rahzel   ? VsScratch (The Token DJ Cut)   @15   100% Dundee   75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)   A Peace of Light   Act Fore... The End?   Act Fore...The End?   Act Too (The Love of My Life)   Act Too.. The Love Of My Life   Act Won.. Things Fall Apart   Adrenaline!   Adventures in Wonderland   Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New   Ain't Sayin' Nothing New   All I Know   Apologize   Atonement   Atonement   Baby   Becoming Unwritten   Birthday Girl   Black Rock   Black's Reconstruction   Boom!   Bread And Butter   Break You Off   Break You Off (Radio Edit)   Break You Off [Dub/Sound Check at Bogarts Cincinna...   Break You Off [LP Version][*]   Can't Stop This   Champion (2016 NBA Finals Theme Song)   Clap   Clock With No Hands   Clones   Common Dust   Compared To What   Complexity   Concerto of a Desperado   Concerto Of The Desperado   Datskat   Dave VsUs   Dear God 2.0   Diedre Vs. Dice   Dies Irae   Dillatastic Vol Won(derful)   Distortion To Static   Do You Want More?!!!??!   Doin' It Again   Don't Feel Right   Don't Say Nuthin   Don't Say Nuthin'   Don't See Us   Double Trouble   Duck Down!   Dynamite!   Episodes   Essawhamah? (Live at the Soulshack)   Essaywhuman?!!!??!   Essaywhuman?!!!??! [Organix Version][Live]   False Media   For the Love of Money   Game Theory   Get Busy   Get It On Tonite   Good Music   Good Music (Preclude)   Good Music (Prelude)   Grits   Guns Are Drawn   Hard Times   Here I Come   How I Got Over   Humanity   Hurricane   Hustla [Bonus Track (Edited)]   I Can't Help It   I Can't Write Left Handed   I Cant Help It   I Don't Care   I Remain Calm   I Remember   I Will Not Apologize   I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free   I'm Out Deah   In The Music   Intro/There's Something Goin' On   It Just Don't Stop   It's About That Time   It's All About You (Not About Me)(remix)   Ital   Lazy Afternoon   Leonard I-V   Let It Be   Lighthouse   Little Ghetto Boy   Little Ghetto Boy   Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude)   Live From the D.J. Stretch Armstrong Show   Livin' In A New World   Long Time   Lost Desire   Love Of My Life (Featuring Common)   Lovely, Love My Family   Make My   Make My (Single)   Meiso   Mellow My Man   Meltin' Pot   Melting Pot (Bonus Track)   Mumia 911 (Diamond D Remix)   My Shot   My Shot (Rise Up Remix)   Never   No Alibi   No Great Pretender   Now Or Never   One Time   Our Generation   Outro   Panic !!!!!!!   Panic!!!!!   Pass The Popcorn   Peace   Phrentrow   Popcorn Revisited   Proceed   Proceed II   Proceed III   Proceed IV (AJ Shine's Proceed W/o A Pause)   Proceed IV (AJ Shine's Proceed w\/o a Pause)   Push Up Ya Lighter   Pussy Galore   Quills   Respond React   Respond/ React   Respond\/React   Return To Innocence Lost   Right On   Rising Down   Rising Up   Rock You   Rolling With Heat   Sacrifice   Section   Seed   Seed (2.0)   Seed 2.0, The (featuring Cody   Shine   Shine   Silent Treatment   Silent Treatment (Beatminerz Remix)   Singer Man   Singing Man   Sleep   Somebody's Gotta Do It   Something in the Way of Things   Somithng in the Way of Things (In Town)   Star / Pointro   Star/Pointro   Star\/Pointro   Stay Cool   Step Into The Realm   Step into the Relm   Stolen Moments Pt. II   Stomp   Super Lyrical   Swept Away   Table Of Contents - Part 3   Table Of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)   Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)   Table Of Contents Part 1   Table Of Contents Part 2   Table Of Contents Part 3   Take It There   Tariq's Mario Rap   The 'Notic   The Adventures In Wonderland   The Anti-Circle   The Coming   The Dark (Trinity)   The Day   The Fire   The Good The Bad And The Desolate   The Grand Return   The Hypnotic   The Jump   The Lesson   The Lesson Part 1   The Lesson Part 3 (It's Over Now)   The Lesson, Pt. 1   The Lesson, Pt. 3 (It's Over Now)   The Next Movement   The Next Movement [Live]   The Roots Is Comin'   The Seed   The Seed 2.0   The Session (Longest Posse Cut in History, 12:43)   The Session (Longest Posse Cut In History)   The Show   The Show Must Go On   The Spark   The Ultimate   The Ultimate [Live]   The Unlocking   The Unraveling   Theme from the Middle of the Night   Thought @ Work   Thought@work   Tomorrow   Tunnel Vision   U.N.I.Verse At War   Ultimate   Understand   Unwritten   Up There (Unwritten)   Wake Up Everybody   Wake Up Everybody   Wake Up Everybody [with John Legend]   Walk Alone   Water   Web   Web 20/20   Web 20\/20   What Goes On Part 7   What Goes On Pt. 7   What Goes On, Pt. 7   What They Do   What You Want   What You Want (Featuring Jaguar)   When The People Cheer   Who Tells Your Story   Wholy Holy   Wholy Holy   Why (What's Goin On?)   Without A Doubt   Writters Block   Y'all Know Who   Ya' All Know Who!   Ya'All Know Who   You Ain't Fly   You Don't See Us   You Got Me   You Got Me (Feat: Erykah Badu)   You Got Me [DVD]   Yout Got Me

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