Last night the word came down, ten dead in Chinatown
Innocent, their only crime was being in the wrong place, at the wrong time
Too bad, people say what's wrong with the kids today
Tell you right now they've got nothing to lose

They're building empire
Johnny used to work after school
At the cinema show
Gotta hustle if he wants an education
Yeah he's got a long way to go
Now he's out on the street all day
Selling crack to the people who pay
Got an AK-47 for his best friend
Business the American way

East side meets west side downtown
No time, the walls fall down

Can't you feel it coming?
(Empire) can't you hear it calling?
Black man, trapped again
Hold his chain in his hand
Brother killing brother for the profit of another,
Game point, nobody wins
Decline, right on time
What happened to the dream sublime?
Tear it all down, we'll put it up again
Another empire?

East side meets west side downtown
No time, no line, the walls fall down

Can't you feel it coming? (empire)
Can't you hear it coming (empire)
Can't someone here stop it?

In fiscal year nineteen eighty six to eighty seven
Local, state and federal governments spent
A combined total of sixty point six million dollars on law enforcement
Federal law enforcement expenditures ranked last in absolute dollars
And accounted for only six percent of all federal spending
By way of comparison, the federal government spent twenty-four million more on space exploration
And forty-three times more on national defense and international relations than the law enforcement

Can't you feel it coming? (empire) can't you hear it calling (empire)
Can't someone here stop it (empire)