Vice
Melle Mel Lyrics

You have the right to remain silent
You can choose not to speak and it cannot be held against you in a court of law.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
If you choose to speak, whatever you say might be used as evidence against you in court.

You have the right for an attorney
You have the right to legal representation.

If you do not, or cannot afford an attorney
If you don't have enough money to hire one, the court will provide you with a lawyer.

An attorney will be appointed to you, you are now under arrest
If you cannot afford one, the court will appoint you a lawyer, you are now considered to be under police custody.

Crime, it pays real nice
Committing crimes can result in significant financial gain.

But what you really didn't know that crime pays twice
You often pay in multiple ways for the crimes you commit.

It pays once in money, twice in years
You may receive financial benefits from committing crimes, but you may also face lengthy prison sentences.

In the jail cell, tryin to hide your tears
When you're in prison, you have to hide your emotions and toughen up in order to survive.

And the trip bad, cause you tried to get rich
Going to prison is a terrible experience, especially if it's because you were trying to make a lot of money through illegal means.

In the graveyards, or in the shallow ditch
You may even end up getting killed as a result of your involvement in illegal activities.

It's money or time so make up your mind
You have to decide whether the financial rewards of crime are worth the potential time in prison or even death.

Fraud, the girl he adored
The man was in love with a woman who turned out to be a fraud.

Turned out to be another dirty old broad
The woman he was in love with wasn't who she appeared to be.

Took all the money, told all the lies
The woman conned the man out of all his money through deception and dishonesty.

I heard she even, slept with other guys
The woman was so unscrupulous that she even cheated on the man while stealing from him.

Nothing she wouldn't do for a dollar or two
The woman was willing to do anything for money, no matter how immoral or unethical it was.

But every lie she told he knew to be true
The man knew that the woman was lying to him, but he still loved her despite this knowledge.

He loves his honey, but she loved money
The man was in love with the woman, but she only cared about money.

Talk about ya-yo, uh, it's everywhere you go
Drugs are ubiquitous in society, particularly cocaine.

They said in Miami it'll never snow
People used to think that it would never snow in Miami, but now it's become a hub for cocaine distribution.

Now it's snow in the palm trees, snow on the sand
Cocaine is now being sold and distributed in Miami, even on the beaches.

It snows all day, for sixty dollars a gram
Cocaine can be purchased in Miami for a relatively low price.

Now they're strung out and high, hung out to dry
Drug addicts are addicted and without any support, often abandoned by the world.

The air that they breathe the food that they buy
Drug addicts consume everything around them in order to get their fix.

They think that they can fly, but that's a white lie
Drug addicts believe they can escape from reality but that's just a false hope.

The mob, a full time job
Working for the mob is a full-time, all-consuming job.

Known to extort and steal or rob
The mob is notorious for blackmail, theft, and robbery.

Started as a hitman, lookin for wealth
The person being described started working as an assassin in order to make money.

And now he's the boss workin' for his self
He's now risen through the ranks and become the boss of his own criminal organization.

For all the blood money that he did earn
He earned a large amount of money through criminal activities, and some of it was blood money.

It made him take lives with no concern
He ended up taking other people's lives without any remorse because of the profit he could make.

But soon he would learn that next is his turn
He realized that, someday, someone will come to take him down and he'll have no one to turn to.

Prostitution, it's a low down shame
Prostitution is a degrading and disgraceful profession.

How any girl, would want to play that game
The singer wonders why any girl would want to become a prostitute.

From pillow, to post, a sidewalk host
Prostitutes work anywhere from the bed to the streets.

But the lady's got a condo out on the coast
The singer imagines that some prostitutes use their earnings to purchase nice real estate.

She thought that the hole, was better than gold
The prostitute thought that exchanging sex for money was the best way to make a living.

Now she worked on her back 'til she got too old
The prostitute continued to work until she was too old to make a living anymore.

Layin' down on the job, has made her a slob, uh
Being a prostitute has made her lazy and lethargic.

It's a stickup, so throw your hands in the air
A robbery is taking place and the artist instructs listeners to raise their hands to show they're not a threat.

And don't, ah put 'em down, keep 'em way up there
The singer wants people to keep their hands raised the whole time so that the robber doesn't feel threatened.

Just let me your wallet empty all your pockets
The robber demands that people give him all the money and valuables from their pockets and wallets.

Got a itchy trigger finger and I'm gonna cock it
The artist warns that he might shoot if people don't comply with his demands.

My eyes got wide as they pulled away
The artist is shocked as the robbers drive away with their haul.

I said, 'Who are you the cops?' He began to say
The artist originally thought that the robbers were police officers, but then he realizes they're criminals.

'No I'm Clint Eastwood, make my day, get in the car!'
One of the robbers makes a crude reference to a famous line from a Clint Eastwood movie before driving away with their loot.

Homicide is on the rise, and it's no surprise
The number of murders is increasing and it's sadly not unexpected.

The bums are in the alleyways tryin to take lives
People who live on the streets are turning to violence in order to get by.

People burglarize then suicidal criminals are never idle
Criminals who are desperate enough to try suicide in order to avoid getting caught are known to turn to burglary.

Court procedures at your leisure eight finger Visas circle seizures
Legal proceedings are slow and bureaucratic, resulting in a lot of wasted time and resources.

Con man fencer, arson is a trip
Art theft or the sale of stolen goods may be a fun 'adventure' for a con artist or fence.

Take all the fingerprints, and give him the book
Gather as much evidence as you can and charge the criminal with the crime.

And then hope that the judge don't let him off the hook, uh!
After making an arrest, the authorities can only hope that the criminal is convicted and punished accordingly.