They shake your hand on Main Street, smile for the flicks,

Promise playgrounds, jobs, and a fix for the bricks.

But the second that the ballots get swallowed in the box,

They vanish with the donors, counting dividends and stocks.

Alderman in the alley, congressman in the cut,

But the corporations whisper—yeah, that’s who they trust.

Ain’t no power to the people when the people ain’t paid,

They bend laws for lobbyists, we just minimum wage.

Pork belly budgets and backdoor checks,

You screaming for respect, they just cashin’ they debts.

Bought suits, bought ties, bought morals, bought pride,

If you ain’t in they circle, you get tossed to the side.

They bought and paid for, hoes in the house,

Corporations got they hands in the mouth.

Ain’t no freedom in the land of deceit,

It’s blood on they votes, and the price ain’t cheap.

Town hall meetings—empty chairs and a mic,

You yelling at the ghost of a man on the flight.

Off to D.C. dinners with champagne spills,

While the block still drowning in delinquent bills.

The alderman don’t answer when the city in flames,

But quick to cut a ribbon, throw his name in the frame.

Congressman don’t legislate, he legis-hate,

Unless Exxon, Pfizer, Goldman slide the dinner plate.

Schools underfunded, but the jails stay plush,

Millions for police tanks, not a book for us.

Kids sipin’ lead water, mama stuck with the bill,

Meanwhile big pharma keep the streets on a pill.

They bought and paid for, hoes in the house,

Corporations got they hands in the mouth.

Ain’t no freedom in the land of deceit,

It’s blood on they votes, and the price ain’t cheap.

Look—

They tearing down the block, call it “urban renew,”

But it’s condos for the yuppies, not a crib for you.

Rents rising like rockets, elders forced to move,

Culture stripped from the hood, while they profit off the groove.

Ain’t no doctors on the corner, just clinics that fail,

Send you home half sick with prescriptions for sale.

Insurance companies laughing, politicians invest,

They all shareholders in death, let the poor digest.

Media feed lies like communion wine,

They puppets with a teleprompter’s script in mind.

CNN, Fox—two wings, same bird,

Distract you with nonsense, never speak the word.

Bridge (Half Sung / Spoken)

Yeah, the hood stay starving while the fat get fed,

We the ones with the bullets while they lay in feather beds.

You wonder why the anger spilling out in the streets?

’Cause democracy’s a hustle and the hustle’s elite.

Both sides of the fence, they gon’ play that trick,

Red and blue jerseys, same sponsor on the pitch.

Left wing, right wing—it’s the same damn bird,

Got the people fighting each other while they counting they worth.

Fox say one thing, CNN say the next,

But in Congress they toast over Wall Street checks.

It’s divide and conquer, left hand, right hand,

While the cash exchange happens under table in the plan.

They don’t care about your faith, skin color, or town,

They just feed you culture wars to keep you locked down.

Meanwhile, black, white, brown all bleed the same,

But the only real color that they honor is gain.

Senators in the pockets of the NRA,

While young boys die on they mama’s driveway.

Blood on the ballot, tears in the soil,

They pump oil in the earth while the earth recoils.

Climate change bills buried under coal checks,

But they swear they represent you when they cashin’ they next.

Healthcare’s a scam, college debt’s a chain,

And they preach about freedom while they profit off pain.

We the engine of the nation but the gas run low,

They steal from the culture, but the culture still grow.

So I spit it for the worker, for the block, for the strife,

This ain’t rap, it’s survival—every bar is a life.

They bought and paid for, hoes in the house,

Corporations got they hands in the mouth.

Ain’t no freedom in the land of deceit,

It’s blood on they votes, and the price ain’t cheap.

Don’t call it politics—it’s legalized pimping.

Red or blue—it’s the same cash dripping.

They keep us divided, fists up, flags high…

While they split the profits, both laughing on the sly.

Bought and paid for… truth don’t advertise.