Released: December 15, 1992

Featuring: Snoop Dogg Daz Dillinger RBX

Songwriter: ​The D.O.C. RBX Daz Dillinger Snoop Dogg

Producer: Dr. Dre

[Intro: Protestor]
I'ma say this and I'ma end mine
If you ain't down for the Africans here in the United States
Period, point-blank
If you ain't down for the ones that suffered in South Africa from apartheid and shit
Dammit, you need to step your punk-ass to the side
And let us brothers and us Africans step in
And start puttin' some foot in that ass!

[Bridge: All]
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'

[Chorus: Snoop Dogg]
I got my finger on the trigger, some niggas wonder why
But livin' in the city, it's do-or-die
I got my finger on the trigger, some niggas wonder why
But livin' in the city, it's do-or-die

[Verse 1: Daz Dillinger]
Dem wonder why mi violent, dem no really understand
For de reason why mi take mi law in mi own hand
Mi not out for peace and mi not Rodney King
De gun goes click, mi gun goes bang
Dem riot in Compton and dem riot in Long Beach
Dem riot in L.A. 'cause dem no really wanna see
Niggas start to loot and police start to shoot
Lock us down at seven o'clock, barricade us like Beirut
Mi don't show no love 'cause it's us against dem
Dem never, ever love me 'cause it's sport to break dem
And kill, at my own risk, if I may
To lay, to spray with my AK, and put 'em to rest

[Interlude: Reporter]
Yes, we have—there have been riots, ah, uh, rioting
Well, I don't wanna say rioting, but there's been looting downtown
But right now, Bree, what I want to show you is
They have started fires down at the end of the street

[Refrain: All & Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg]
How many niggas are ready to loot?
Yeah, so what you wanna do? What you wanna do?
I said, how many niggas are ready to loot?
Got myself an Uzi and my brother a 9

[Interlude: Interviewee]
That's what they told us today, "In other words, you still a slave"
No matter how much money you got, you still ain't shit!

[Verse 2: Dr. Dre]
Sitting in my living room, calm and collected
Feeling that gotta-get-mine perspective
'Cause what I just heard broke me in half
And half the niggas I know, plus the niggas on the Row is bailing
Laugh now, but cry much later
You see, when niggas get together, they get mad 'cause they can't fade us
Like my niggas from South Central, Los Angeles
They found that they couldn't handle us
Bloods, Crips on the same squad
With the Ese's helpin', nigga, it's time to rob and mob
And break the white man off something lovely, biddy-bye-bye
I don't love dem so dem can't love me
Yo, straight puttin' it down, gettin' my scoot on
It's jumping off in Compton so I gots to get my loot on
And come up on me some furniture or somethin'
Got a VCR in the back of my car
That I ganked from the Slauson Swap Meet
And motherfuckers better not try to stop me
'Cause they will see that I can't be stopped
'Cause I'ma cock my Glock and pop 'til they all drop

[Interlude: Reporter & Reporter 2]
Yes, on the videotape we seem to have the, uh
People in the crowd throwing things at the officers
And swinging at them as well
As there was a, uh, young woman there, you see, took a swing at—
At an officer with some object in her hand

[Refrain: All & Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg]
How many niggas are ready to loot?
Yeah, so what you wanna do? What you wanna do?
I said, how many niggas are ready to loot?
Got myself an Uzi and my brother a nine

[Chorus: Snoop Dogg]
I got my finger on the trigger, some niggas wonder why
But livin' in the city, it's do-or-die
I got my finger on the trigger, some niggas wonder why
But livin' in the city, it's do-or-die

[Verse 3: RBX]
One-time trigger happy, no nigga love
One-eighty-seven time, time to grab the glove
Can't get prints on a nine I throw away
Or get prints on my Uzi when it spray
Pop-pop, pop, another motherfucker drop
And I get relief like, plop, plop, fizz
Smash, I crashed his head like a window
I ain't Nintendo, I'm high off the indo
Creepin', with the quickness to the cut
Bust one to his head while he munches on a donut
And crack-up, so now he best to back up
I guess I gots to pack up, filling the clip up
I zip uptown but motherfuckin' cops are all around
Helicopters flyin', these motherfuckers tryin'
To catch me and stretch me on Death Row
But hell no, the poor blacks refuse to go

[Interlude: Reporter 2]
This now covers a very, very wide area of Los Angeles where these fires have been, uh, ignited
I mean, from here to the, uh, to the south end of South Central is a long way

[Bridge: All]
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'
Break 'em off somethin', break 'em off somethin'

[Verse 4: Daz Dillinger]
The outcome of this is destruction, so them all fall
Niggas don't give a fuck, so them bust and them fall
The description of three blacks
Shows no justice, so, pick up it's your right
If you riot again, mi, turn the other cheek
We, be too many, mi got, mi nine to my side
So mi bust, flick, 'cause he don't give a fuck
And mi don't give a fuck
And all my problems end with that buck-buck

[Outro: Snoop Dogg]
Blam, blam, blam 'til dem fall
Listen to the shots from a nigga Doggy Dogg, biddy-bye
Dr. Dre, him bust gun shots
Diggidy Daz and RBX, dem bust gun shots
Come again

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, producer, and mogul who is considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop producer of all time. He raised the profile of West Coast rap after he helped pioneer the sounds of gangsta rap in the 1980s with N.W.A and helped popularize the G-Funk sound in the 1990s with his label Death Row Records before changing his sound again after he established Aftermath Entertainment. Dre assisted in the rise of hip-hop stars Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar, while producing hits for many other artists. He also became a mogul with his Beats empire and partnership with Apple, helping him become one of the richest musicians in the business.

Born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California on February 18, 1965, Dr. Dre started as a club and radio DJ. In 1984, he joined the music group World Class Wreckin Cru, which featured producer DJ Yella. Dre’s cousin Sir Jinx introduced him to a rapper named Ice Cube, and they later connected with Compton hustler Eazy-E, rapper MC Ren and producer Arabian Prince to form the gangsta rap group N.W.A. They released their seminal debut album Straight Outta Compton in 1988 and helped put the West Coast on the hip-hop map.

Financial issues led to the demise of N.W.A and caused Dre to form Death Row Records along with The D.O.C. and Suge Knight. Dre released his classic solo debut album The Chronic in 1992 and further helped the West Coast dominate the sound of hip-hop. Due to disagreements with Suge Knight, Dre left Death Row in 1996 and formed Aftermath Entertainment. He released his classic sophomore album 2001 in 1999 and later released multi-platinum albums from Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. In 2002, Dre won a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.