Brakes Songtext
von De La Soul

(Disco)
(Disco)
(Disco)
(Disco)


There′s a lot of people out here who just don't know
What plays a factor in movin′ heads and toes
It be them kids bangin' them hits out of the stereo kits
Whether cassette, radio, or CD bits
Mix tapes from the best going on and on
Throughout the city grounds to suburban lawns
Man, we don't play, even where we stay
Videos shows the visuals of jams today
Coinciding with the rhythm of the heart and neck
The brakes got you in your proper context
You let your Lex or your sixty-four suspension
Bounce away all your tension en route to the club
Where girls need the quenchin′
Diamonds on your wrist, sunroof top
But niggas out front makin′ guns go pop
So the spot gets shut but on to the next
Cause your ears get vexed when they don't get the fix cause

(These are the brakes)
It be your listenin′ pleasure
While you're doin′ your chores
(These are the brakes)
No matter where you from, it's for you and yours
(These are the brakes)
Bringing it back to the brakes like the "yes yes y′all"
(These are the brakes)
So let it be your anthem when you're havin' a ball


Well it′s silly of me to think that I
Would never get a chance to see a piece of this pie
I sat dead in front of speakers thinkin′ that could be me
Anticipatin' open microphones so I could emcee
Had a catalog of raps impressin′ all the 'round-the-wayers
Before I went to bed included rhymes into my prayers
But that rhyme is all on paper
I want my song on vinyl plates
I dreamin′ hits and doin' shows, makin′ my niggas spines shake
Expectin' nothin' but a little bit of radio play
Gettin′ diced on 1 and 2′s by the best DJs, hey
Time was kinda tight, but still I dotted on the line
And some expected me to start Buhlooning in the mind
Seein' spaces and places that I couldn′t pronounce
But still I had the pulleys to make all the bullies bounce
With the blessings of the great we took it from state to state
'Cause we landed on the good foot and got our biggest brake ′cause

(These are the brakes)
(These are the brakes)
(These are the brakes)
(These are the brakes)

A mother gets mugged by her crackhead son
That's the brakes, that′s the brakes
You're in the wrong part of town so the shots make you run
That's the brakes, that′s the brakes
Your best comrades put six tabs in your Ol E
That′s the brakes, that's the brakes
Your boyfriend made you a carrier of H.I.V.
That′s the brakes, that's the brakes

Now what′s gonna happen when the sun don't shine
I′m buyin' tickets aboard the caravan of love
Hey fellas
See, money don't make shots repel
I break woes and compose some rhymes to tell
So when the party′s live it shouldn′t be beef
Or playin' indian roles I guess you thought you was chief
Seems all broke up and now you woke up surprised
Situation′s gettin' sticky dead in front of your eyes

We play the wall similar to tacks
Until the DJ plays the necessary track
In fact as the jam plays on out comes all your bread
To pay for drinks for them girls you want to spread
Don′t be misled when the brakes inside your head
And have you reminiscing on them kids who got you fed
Until reality reveals a miss who wants to know
If you can play her real close out on the dance floor cause

(These are the brakes)
It be your listenin' pleasure
While you′re doin' your chores
(These are the brakes)
No matter where you from, it's for you and yours
(These are the brakes)
Bringing it back to the brakes like the "yes yes y′all"
(These are the brakes)
So let it be your anthem when you′re havin' a ball