NY State of Mind

I'm from the Big Apple, you know the big city

You know the place the boys get down to the nitty gritty

The guns get to clacking, when they be getting gritty

The concrete be turning red, and it ain't pretty

Grew up in Starrett city, a place in Brooklyn

One of the better areas while in Crooklyn

But still shook when, my boy got his bike jacked

We were way too young to encounter that

Don't get me wrong, a lot of good came from up top

I experienced the birth place of hip hop

My boom box played Rakim and Run DMC

LL Cool J, BDP and Public Enemy