作词 : Franti, Harris, Tyler
I take the needle off the record and shove it in my arm
Whenever I feel life is comin' on too strong
They left me in a clinic fulla cynical and motha****in' bureaucrats
And other kinda ding bats, they're livin' on the tracks
The tracks in my arm said
It all depends which side the tracks you're on
Tellin' me what to wear, tellin' me cut my hair
And tryin' to convince me that they really really care
All about my health and about my wealth
But still they built the 
Stealth'Cause everybody's just lookin' out for they self
So then I ask 'em can 
I have a clean needle, hell no that's illegal
It's a crime to be broke in 
AmericaAnd it's a crime to smoke dank in 
AmericaYeah, hit those drums now, yeah
They lockin' brother's in the poorhouse
Who can't afford 
Moorhouse, politicians nervous
It's the only free service they provide, you wanna go inside
There's a hot meal waitin' for ya, a deal we can score ya
On a bed for a night or two, or three or four months
They say they lockin' us up in cells
To protect us from ourselves
It smells like they got anotha plan in store house
Or should 
I say warehouse fulla niggaz and other misfits
That couldn't turn tricks in the courthouse
But it's a justice whorehouse
And it's a crime to be broke in 
AmericaAnd it's a crime to be black in 
America, come on
But there's a mutiny on the bounty, in ever single county
So, we remember 
Attica but don't forget to pat a few others
On the back as a matter of fact
Sister Asatta 
Shakur and 
Geronimo Pratt
But Amnesty international is fightin' for political
But if your analytical, you know it's much more critical
Than that percentages black is really, really whack
Can I kick a few facts, yes?
Six percent in college, from livin' on the block
Twenty five percent in prison, the school of hard knocks
Fifty percent in poverty is livin' on the rocks
Five hundred brothas on a death row box
The say, the punishment is capital
For those who lack in capital
Because a public defender can't remember the last time
A brother wasn't treated like an animal
They say, they blame it on a song when someone kills a cop
What music did they listen to when they bombed 
Iraq?Well, give me one example so 
I can take a sample
No need to play it backwards if you wanna hear the devil'
Cause music's not the problem, it didn't cause the bombin'
But maybe they should listen to the songs of people starving'
Cause it's a crime to be broke in 
AmericaAnd it's a crime to smoke dank in 
AmericaAnd it's a crime to be black in 
AmericaAnd it's a crime to be black in 
America, come on now
Keep on comin' now, yeah
It's a crime to be 
Puerto Rican
It's a crime to be 
AfricanCrime to be native 
AmericanA crime to be 
Asian, Hatian, a woman