K'Naan - What's Hardcore Lyrics

I put a pen to the paper, this time as visual as possible
Guns blast at the hospital
The walls are white washed with tin rooftops
To show love you lick two shots

It's dangerous man
Journalists hire gunmen, there's violent women
Kids trust no one 'cause fire burnt them
Refugees die in boats headed for peace
Is anyone scared of death here? Not in the least

I walk by the 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 fiend in to fight

I walk with three kids that can't wait to meet God
Lately, that's Bucktooth, Mohamed and Crybaby
What they do everyday just to eat, Lord have mercy
Strapped with an AK and they blood thirsty

So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm

We begin our day by the way of the gun
Rocket propelled grenades blow you away if you front
We got no police, ambulance or fire fighters
We start riots by burning car tires

They looting, and everybody start shooting
Bullshit politicians talking â€~bout solutions, but it's all talk
You can't go half a block with a road block
You don't pay at the road block you get your throat shot

And each road block is set up by these gangsters
And different gangsters go by different standards
For example, the evening is a no go
Unless you wanna 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, it's sorta like coco leafs
And there ain't no police

So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm

I'm a spit these verses 'cause I feel annoyed
And I'm not gonna quit till I fill the void
If I rhyme about home and got descriptive
I'd make 50 Cent look like Limp Bizkit

It's true and don't make me rhyme about you
I'm 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

It's hard, harder than Harlem and Compton intertwined
Harder than harboring Bin Laden and rewind
To that earlier part when I was kinda like

We begin our day by the way of the gun
Rocket propelled grenades blow you away if you front
We got no police, ambulances or fire fighters
We start riots by burning car tires
They looting, and everybody start shooting

So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore?
Really, are you hardcore? Hmm