K'NAAN - What's Hardcore?

I put a pen to the paper
this time as visual as possible
guns blast at the hospital
the walls are whitewashed
with tin roof tops
to show love you lick your two shots
its dangerous man,
journalists hire gunmen
there's violent women
kids trust no one cause fire burnt them
refugees die on boats
headed for peace
is anyone scared of death here?
not in the least.
i walk by an old lady
selling coconuts under the tree
life is cheap here but wisdom is free
the beach boys hang on the side
leaning with pride,
scam artists and gangsters
fiending to fight
i walk with three kids
that cant wait to meet god lately
thats bucktooth mohammed and crybaby
what they do everyday
just to eat, lord have mercy
strapped with an AK and they bloodthirsty..

CHORUS:
So whats hardcore, Really?
are you hardcore? hmmmm..

We begin our day by the weight of the gun
rocket propelled grenades blow you away if you front
we got no police ambulance or firefighters
we start riots by burning car tires
they lootin, and everybody starts shootin
bullshit politicians talkin bout solutions
but its all talk, you cant go half a block without a roadblock
you dont pay at the roadblock you get your throat shot
and each roadblock is set up by these gangsters
and different gangsters go by different standards
for example, the evening is a no go
unless you want to wear a bullet like a logo
in the day you should never take the alleyway
the only thing that validates you is the AK
they chew on jad, its sorta like coca leaves
and there aint no police..

CHORUS

I'm a split these verses, cause i feel annoyed
and im not gonna quit till i fill the void
if i rhymed about home and got discriptive
i'd make 50 cent look like limp bizkit
its true, and dont make me rhyme about you
im from where the kids is addicted to glue
get ready, he got a good grip on the machete
make rappers say they do it for love like R Kelly
its hard.
harder than harlem and compton intertwined
harder than harbouring bin laden and rewind
to that earlier part when i was kinda like
We begin our day by the weight of the gun
rocket propelled grenades blow you away if you front
we got no police ambulance or firefighters
we start riots by burning car tires
they lootin, and everybody starts shootin

CHORUS