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 hits
  Hangin' out of them 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 catalogue 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' nuttin 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]
  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 o.e.
  "That's the brakes, that's the brakes"
  Your boyfriend made you a carrier of HIV
  "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 mislead
  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]
  Ringin 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