Ice Cube

Released: August 19, 2008

Songwriter: Ice Cube Dee Underdue Teak Underdue Hal Davis Herman Griffith

Producer: Hallway Productionz

[Intro: Keith David]
The hood mentality is a crippling disease that attacks your nervous system
It makes you nervous of the system
Gangsters and hood rats are especially susceptible to this grown-stunting mentality
The hood is where I'm from, but it's not what I am
The hood is where I'm from, but it's not what I am

[Verse 1: Ice Cube]
Fuck school nigga, I'mma be a dope dealer
I'mma be a killer, yep a urban guerrilla
I'mma stack scrilla, yeah buy me a villa
Sell a 5-0 to my auntie Priscilla
I don't give a fuck that she look like "Thriller"
Hit that shit one more time and fuck around and kill her
Cause I got the heart of a Pittsburgh Steeler
Black nigga draped in gold, with a nine milla
Love money, love jail, love that penitentiary mail
Love the way these niggas smell, keep coming back, can't you tell?
Love to see my mama cry, love to see my babies struggle
Love to see my woman juggle nuts cause she got to hustle
I don't give a fuck how my life go
Now I'm a slave man to this caveman without Geico
Everybody wanna call Michael a psycho
But he ain't never came through the hood with a rifle
Gunning niggas down cause they don't got the right clothes
Hit the wrong person cause we shoot just like hoes
First I was blood thirsty, Mister Mister Controversy
Now I wanna beg for mercy, should have took my ass to Berkeley

[Chorus]
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?

[Verse 2: Ice Cube]
Fuck school nigga, if I grow a little taller
Everybody tell me I'm gon' do it, I'm gon' be a baller
So fuck that thinking, fuck that thinking
Fuck them Lincolns, I want Franklins
Come back through here with my crew, I'm gon' have my own shoe
I'm gon' be that little fool coming in your living room
Starting point guard nigga, fresh out of middle school
Either it's the NBA or it's the NFL
I don't know what else I can do to keep my ass up out of jail
I wanna be like Tiger Woods, swing that club, make you sick
(I wanna be like Pacman Jones), (I wanna be like Michael Vick)
I wanna be like Barry Bonds, (I wanna be like O.J. Simpson)
Leave this field, leave this prison
Tell you motherfuckers where to kiss 'em
I wanna be all broke up, moving all old and slow
I wanna be a alcoholic just like Broadway Joe
I wanna be a sideshow, kinda like Iron Mike
Used to have a few Bentleys, now I just ride a bike

[Chorus]
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?

[Verse 3: Ice Cube]
Fuck school nigga, they ain't trying to educate me
All they give a fuck is what I memorized lately
I'm gon' have to teach myself, clock that money, get that wealth
I wanna be like Santa Claus, I don't wanna be no fucking elf
No kid left behind but he get the runaround
Can't you motherfuckers see that they trying to dumb us down?
Don't trust the government, President is for sale
He don't give a fuck about a nigga, just a oil well
Sell crack, go to jail, bust a rap, go to hell
Do I got to sell my soul if I wanna go to Yale?
Go kiss Oprah's ass if you wanna be Gail
I'd rather have my ass kissed up in Bloomingdale
You can go be a pimp, you can go be a ho
But you only gon' get paid off what you know
If you don't know shit, then you can't work for me
Cause you read your first book in the penitentiary

[Chorus]
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?
If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality
How the fuck we supposed to change our reality?

Straight outta South Central Los Angeles, Ice Cube became one of the most respected rappers in hip-hop, helping to usher in the era of gangsta rap with N.W.A and as a solo artist. He has gone on to become a mogul in Hollywood but still remains true to the game that brought him his success.

Born O'Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969, Ice Cube got his name from his older brother, who threatened to put him in a freezer and pull him out when he was an ice cube. He began rapping in high school and started his rap career as a member of Stereo Crew, which released the single “She’s a Skag” through Epic Records in 1986, and C.I.A. with the 1987 track “My Posse.” Both groups featured producer Sir Jinx, the cousin of DJ/producer Dr. Dre.

Ice Cube’s big break came when he wrote the song “Boyz n the Hood” for Eazy-E, which led to the formation of N.W.A. as a group. After the release of the 1987 compilation N.W.A. and the Posse, the group released their classic debut Straight Outta Compton in 1988. A financial dispute caused Cube to leave the group in 1989 and start his successful solo career, starting with his 1990 platinum debut Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.

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