A Project Mind - Intellectual

[Verse 1: Punch]

Yeah, uh, let’s go deep inside the mind of a project veteran

Raised with nothing on the block with his brethren

A fifth of hennessy, swisher filled up with medicine

Devilish grin, inhale deep, let the devil in

Compelling stories between him and his men

Feel like a rap cypher except way more liver

With intimate details, shades of a grey writer

Hit a plight of a ghetto survivor

Deuce five in his waist, impatiently waiting

Trying to get richer, priors hanging over his head

Serving as reminders

Ain’t nothing funny, his stomach turn

And his eyes burn, soul on ice

So far from Christ, he had to fight

Any disagreement, he take flight

No thinking twice, anything further and the slug’s ‘gon fly

Project mind, the choice, his life or mine

That’s a very thin line, tell momma I tried

Hood got ‘em sprinkling lines, Mary don’t get ‘em high

Something to justify the stress in his lifetime

Like why his lil mama cute face, nice thighs

Strip on the side and set niggas up for a time

Project bread, baby was three when her daddy died

Shot seventeen times and he almost survived

That’s where she hang her whole pride

That’s really where she tried to hide

All the pain deep inside, the project mind

[Verse 2: Jay Rock]

Started off flipping on a mattress, pissy

Slapboxin’ won’t sock him until he hit me

Streetlights come on, runnin’ through them hallways

Dope spots open, sherm heads all day

Crackheads speaking with they teeth missing

Pushin’ shopping carts with cans in them

Dope dealers keep pitching, and while she keep bitching

She at the county building, they cut off her GR

How she gonna feed the children?

He got a chip on his shoulder, keep a pistol let his clip show

Rob the dice game because he piss poor, all the homies know it’s him

Desperate time equals desperate measures

Walk away all you see is stretchers

Niggas in the kitchen with the yay tryna stretch it

So we can buy Benzs and bag bad bitches

Cause growing up niggas never had riches

Niggas will die trying to get that cash, kill ‘em

[Verse 3: Punch]

The project mind is hustle by design

Too many spots in the hood set up across state lines

Extend the brand, franchise expansion

Guerrilla marketing plan, ensure the hood’s advancement

Groomed in criminology, equivalent to a Ph.D

Doctorates degree at any Ivy League college

Skull and Bone fraternity, oh forsaken

We promise to gang ban eternally

Death before dishonor

[Verse 4: Jay Rock]

Nigga respect for your honor, they fuck niggas, no condoms

My nigga got life for powder, pop shots it’s problems

Fuck your sign, nigga we rivals

Broke niggas is plotting cut-throat conniving

Smoke niggas for iron, prey on the weak

Predators lurking, you better not sleep nigga

All red bandanas, we deep nigga

Gorillas and the miss bananas be the clips

Concrete jungle come and take a trip, the wildlife

Wild days and wild nights

National Geographic images capture hazardous

High definition camera shit, if you flash better blast it quick

Or be labeled a bitch, niggas is gone, project shit

Better watch who you with the paperwork said he snitch

Plug tiles on that relationship

[Verse 5: Punch]

You could tell a project nigga by the scars on his neck and face

Clothesline caught him running from Jake

Runaway slave confined to a hundred and eighth

Central Compton Avenue to Imperial

My pops told me that the saga continues from

Milk and cereal to candle light visuals

Gangsters turn spiritual prayers never make it past the ceiling

Sherm sticks numbs the feelings of the killings, that’s the ritual

Visiting room at capacity, little homie in critical

He never got a visual on who shot him

Him and his men, same niggas

Who did is sitting, plotting they revenge in the hospital

Knowing it was him he proceeds to squeeze on the rifle

Says “spark the beef” rifle techs, hollow tips, vest

Concrete jungle tribal wars, survival of the 'jects

Ignorance is vexed, welcome to my consciousness

[Bridge: BJ The Chicago Kid]

Well, it’s the project mind

State of emergency

[Outro]

This was no-no place for me not to go

So guess this is the same mentality the Bloods and Crips have

As far as not being able to go on certain avenues because one is red and one is blue

So if they saw you up in here, you know you would stab me

This was one of the projects, that was the strongest out of all the projects

And it was called this right here, The Nickerson Gardens

This was a first for me

And actually if I had took my fear away

Could come...could come into the famous Nickerson Gardens

Now I still won’t come up here at night…