Released: May 16, 1990
Songwriter: Ice Cube Sir Jinx
Producer: Sir Jinx
[Produced by Sir Jinx]
[Verse 1]
Once upon a time in the projects, yo
I damn near had to wreck a ho
I knocked on the door, "Who is it?"
It's Ice Cube, come to pay a little visit to ya
And what's up with the niggas in the parking lot
She said "Fuck em, cause they get sparked a lot"
I sat on the couch but it wasn't stable
And then I put my Nike's on the coffee table
Her brother came in, he's into gang-bangin'
Cause he walked up and said "What set you claimin'?"
I don't bang, I write the good rhymes
The whole scenery reminded me of Good Times
I don't like to feel that I'm put in a rut
By a young nigga that needs to pull his pants up
He threw up a set and then he was gone
I'm thinkin' to myself, won't this bitch bring her ass on?
Her mother came in with a joint in her mouth
And fired up the sess, it was sess no doubt
She said, "Please excuse my house," and all that
I said, "Yeah," 'cause I was buzzed from the contact
Lookin' at a fucked up black and white
Her mom's bitchin' cause the county check wasn't right
She had another brother that was three years old
And had a bad case of the runny nose
He asked me who I was then I had to pause
It smelled like he took a shit in his little drawers
I saw her sister who really needs her ass kicked
Only thirteen and already pregnant
I grabbed my forty out the bag and took a swig
Cause I was getting overwhelmed by BeBe Kids
They was runnin' and yellin' and playin' and cussin' and tellin'
And look at this young punk bailin'
I heard a knock on the door without the password
And her mom's got the twelve gauge Mossberg
The nigga said "Yo, what's for sale?" (Yo, what's for sale, man?)
And the bitch came out with a bag of yayo
She made the drop and got the twenty dollars
From a smoked-out fool with ring around the collar
The girl I was waiting for came out
I said, "Bitch, I didn't know this was a crack house"
I got my coat, and suddenly
[Segue]
"Stop, the police, don't move!
Freeze! I'll kill ya!"
[Verse 2]
The cop busted in and had a Mac-10 pointed at my dome
And I said to myself, "Once again, it's on"
He threw me on the carpet and wasn't cuttin' no slack
Jumped on my head and put his knee in my back
First he tried to slap me up, wrap me up, rough me up
They couldn't do it so they cuffed me up
I said, "fuck, how much abuse can a nigga take"
Hey yo officer you're making a big mistake
Since I had on a shirt that said I was dope
He thought I was selling base and couldn't hear my case
He said, "get out my face" and musta had a grudge
His reply, "Tell that bullshit to the judge"
The girl I was with wasn't sayin nothin'
I said "Aiyyo bitch you better tell em somethin'"
She started draggin' and all of a sudden
We all got tossed in the paddy wagon
Now I beat the rap but that ain't the point
I had a warrant so I spent two weeks in the joint
Now the story you heard has one little object
Don't fuck with a bitch from the projects
[Verse 1]
Once upon a time in the projects, yo
I damn near had to wreck a ho
I knocked on the door, "Who is it?"
It's Ice Cube, come to pay a little visit to ya
And what's up with the niggas in the parking lot
She said "Fuck em, cause they get sparked a lot"
I sat on the couch but it wasn't stable
And then I put my Nike's on the coffee table
Her brother came in, he's into gang-bangin'
Cause he walked up and said "What set you claimin'?"
I don't bang, I write the good rhymes
The whole scenery reminded me of Good Times
I don't like to feel that I'm put in a rut
By a young nigga that needs to pull his pants up
He threw up a set and then he was gone
I'm thinkin' to myself, won't this bitch bring her ass on?
Her mother came in with a joint in her mouth
And fired up the sess, it was sess no doubt
She said, "Please excuse my house," and all that
I said, "Yeah," 'cause I was buzzed from the contact
Lookin' at a fucked up black and white
Her mom's bitchin' cause the county check wasn't right
She had another brother that was three years old
And had a bad case of the runny nose
He asked me who I was then I had to pause
It smelled like he took a shit in his little drawers
I saw her sister who really needs her ass kicked
Only thirteen and already pregnant
I grabbed my forty out the bag and took a swig
Cause I was getting overwhelmed by BeBe Kids
They was runnin' and yellin' and playin' and cussin' and tellin'
And look at this young punk bailin'
I heard a knock on the door without the password
And her mom's got the twelve gauge Mossberg
The nigga said "Yo, what's for sale?" (Yo, what's for sale, man?)
And the bitch came out with a bag of yayo
She made the drop and got the twenty dollars
From a smoked-out fool with ring around the collar
The girl I was waiting for came out
I said, "Bitch, I didn't know this was a crack house"
I got my coat, and suddenly
[Segue]
"Stop, the police, don't move!
Freeze! I'll kill ya!"
[Verse 2]
The cop busted in and had a Mac-10 pointed at my dome
And I said to myself, "Once again, it's on"
He threw me on the carpet and wasn't cuttin' no slack
Jumped on my head and put his knee in my back
First he tried to slap me up, wrap me up, rough me up
They couldn't do it so they cuffed me up
I said, "fuck, how much abuse can a nigga take"
Hey yo officer you're making a big mistake
Since I had on a shirt that said I was dope
He thought I was selling base and couldn't hear my case
He said, "get out my face" and musta had a grudge
His reply, "Tell that bullshit to the judge"
The girl I was with wasn't sayin nothin'
I said "Aiyyo bitch you better tell em somethin'"
She started draggin' and all of a sudden
We all got tossed in the paddy wagon
Now I beat the rap but that ain't the point
I had a warrant so I spent two weeks in the joint
Now the story you heard has one little object
Don't fuck with a bitch from the projects
more tracks from the album
Greatest Hits
- It Was a Good Day
- Pushin’ Weight
- You Can Do It
- Hello
- We Be Clubbin
- In the Late Night Hour
- $100 Dollar Bill Y’all
- You Know How We Do It
- Check Yo Self (Remix)
- Jackin’ For Beats
- My Summer Vacation
- What Can I Do? (Remix)
- Once Upon a Time in the Projects
- Bop Gun (One Nation)
- Steady Mobbin’
- The Nigga Ya Love to Hate
- Bow Down
From the albums
- AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990)
- Greatest Hits (2001)
- Hip Hop Basics Vol. 2 : Golden Years (Ep.1) 1989-1992 (2015)
- Best Rap Songs of 1990 (2021)
Ice Cube popular songs
- No Vaseline
- It Was a Good Day
- Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It
- Check Yo Self
- You Know How We Do It
- Hello
- Check Yo Self (Remix)
- The Nigga Ya Love to Hate
- Why We Thugs
- Good Cop Bad Cop
- Arrest The President
- You Can Do It
- Nobody Wants to Die
- Go to Church
- Hood Mentality
- Smoke Some Weed
- Ghetto Vet
- AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted
- Friday
- Steady Mobbin’
- Black Korea
- Everythang’s Corrupt
- A Bird in the Hand
- Ghetto Bird