The Battlefield
Ghostface Killah Lyrics

Ayo, i'm back after nine years, that's 36 seasons
I have returned after a long time and things have changed a lot since then.

Shit is changed up for all types of reasons
Many things have changed for different reasons.

Staten island ain't the same, shit is lame
Staten Island is not the same as it used to be and is now unpleasant.

No familiar faces son, i'm dodging the game
I don't see anyone I know and am avoiding getting involved in the game.

I want a clean slate, but these cops stay screwin'
I want to start anew, but the police keep causing problems for me.

Snatching me up off the block, what am I doin'?
The police keep arresting me even when I haven't done anything wrong.

Oh, it's officer dingle and his sidekick berry
I recognize the police officers who keep arresting me.

Driving me around the hood so I could worry
The police are intentionally trying to make me anxious and afraid.

See how fucked up it is there's crackheads on every corner
It's depressing to see so many people addicted to crack everywhere.

Kids in the schoolyard smoking marijuana
Even children are using marijuana in the schoolyard.

I ain't feeling it, this ain't the way I left these blocks
I'm disappointed in how the neighborhood has changed since I last saw it.

And my name's faded out like some old damn socks
People don't remember me anymore, like old worn-out socks.

I want respect, these streets was my playground once
I used to have respect and fun in these streets, but now I want to earn it back.

I was the mack across 110th on these stunts
I was the greatest in these streets and could pull off any feat.

Not once would a nigga test me or gets zesty
No one ever dared to test me or get confrontational with me.

I would walk down the street and sneeze, they all blessed me
My presence alone commanded respect and people would bless me when I sneezed.

Been on the battlefield for a long, long time
I have been fighting and struggling in this environment for a very long time.

I can see life closing in on this old body of mine
I can feel my life coming to an end because of all the hardships I've experienced.

Yeah, homie, i'm the kingpin called future
I'm the leader of the drug trade in this neighborhood and go by the name Future.

Make a killin' in these buildings in the millions
I earn millions of dollars in profits from the drug trade in these buildings.

Got 'em feeling like brewster
My success makes them feel like they're going crazy, like in the movie Brewster's Millions.

Shit hot as fallujah
Things are as dangerous and chaotic as the warzone of Fallujah, Iraq.

Kids grown now, they cock rugers
The young people in the neighborhood are now adults and carry guns.

Welcome back to the sewers
This is what the neighborhood has become, like living in the sewers.

Where new whips maneuver
People drive fancy new cars around here.

No kids playing, no safe and sound havens
There are no more safe places for kids to play and be protected.

There's tre pound cases on the playground pavement
Guns are lying around on the playground for anyone to use or pick up.

No more dudes with 22's in their sneaker soles
The small-time drug dealers no longer hide guns in their shoes.

Kids tote shit that leave your body with a heap of holes
Young people carry weapons that can cause serious and fatal injuries.

I'm that neighborhood blizzard flooding these streets with snow
I am the biggest drug dealer in the neighborhood and supply it with a lot of drugs.

Heavy iron on the ready, my shit'll crease your clothes
I carry a lot of guns and they are powerful enough to ruin your clothes.

Keep a flock of sweetest hoes, yeah, I sleeps with those
I have many women who work for me as prostitutes and I sleep with them.

Little slum young keisha coles with cheaper clothes
The prostitutes who work for me are young and from poor backgrounds, wearing cheap clothes.

Undercovers all around the gutter, they creepin' low
There are undercover police officers everywhere and they are hiding in the gutters.

I stays ahead, kid, I toss bread like pizza dough
I'm always one step ahead of the competition and throw money around like pizza dough.

I keep the tef around my torso with the piece below
I carry a gun on my body and another one tucked in somewhere hidden.

That bulldog short nose, g be at peace with those, you know
I carry a powerful and dangerous gun and those who cross me will not have peace.

Mama bear was a church woman, pop's skated off
My mother was religious, but my father left us.

I was impaired, an introverted youngin', a lot changed my course
I was shy and didn't have much direction as a child and many things changed my path in life.

From nowhere to my first onion then them cops came
I started out with nothing and then got my first illegal drug shipment, but the police caught me.

Across flashed the badge, took my stash, told my little ass get lost
The police showed me their badges, took my drugs, and told me to go away when I was just a kid.

Threw me off when my grind was prime time then
It was difficult for me when my drug business was operating at its peak, but the police interfered.

You could step on and stretch mine's to a nine times ten
My drugs were so good that you could cut them with other things and they would still be strong.

I was gone, remembering though that fine line's thin
I was absent mentally, but I remember that the line between right and wrong is thin.

So I studied that chessboard and we were all blind men
I learned to strategize and play the game of life like chess in a situation where no one could see clearly.

Dealers ran the streets, but the d's ran them
The drug dealers controlled the streets, but the police ultimately controlled them.

I was a killer underneath, but needed expansion
I had the capability to be deadly, but I needed to grow my drug business.

Something to constitute being high in a coupe
I needed to have something that would make me feel successful and important in a luxury car.

The cries from my youth so I applied for the suit
I wanted to make something of myself and remembered how difficult my childhood was, so I got involved in the drug trade.

Salute to the enforcer, call me officer now
I now have power and authority in the drug trade and am known as an enforcer, like a police officer.

Supporter of paraphernalia, I toss it around
I support drug-related items and dispose of them easily.

The link to the cartel, costs is down
I have a connection to a drug cartel and can get drugs at a lower price.

It's that denzel in training day shit, caution my grounds
I am like Denzel Washington's character in the movie Training Day, so beware of me.