[Intro] (soft choir sample, distant register beeps, 808 creeping in) Empty shelves… Empty shelves… Yeah [Verse 1] Imperial Ave still got the ghosts on the corner Thirty bodies charged but the market still orderin’ Crack residual, same old ritual While the grocery store got bars like a fuckin’ prison Retail crime turn the lights off early GTA in real life, no cheat codes, just urgently Minimum wage up, but the theft rate higher So the chain stores dip and leave the block on fire No produce, no protein, just chips and liquor Food desert growin’ while the trap get thicker Crime pay better than the register check So the youngins choose the corner over the paycheck [Chorus] This a food desert, baby Aisles empty, hope gettin’ thin They closed the store ‘cause the losses too heavy Now the only thing fresh is the sin This a food desert, baby Where the real food used to live Now it’s just the residue of the epidemic And the system that refuse to give [Verse 2] California numbers look good on the news But the neighborhoods feel the bruise Rising wages sound nice on paper ‘Til the stores lock the doors and the people get vapor They say “crime don’t pay” — bitch, look around The ones still eatin’ never punched a clock downtown Open-air market took the place of the market Now the only thing organic is the paranoia Mamas walkin’ further just to find a apple Kids growin’ up on whatever they can grapple Thirty indictments made the headlines loud But the shelves still bare and the block still proud [Chorus] This a food desert, baby Aisles empty, hope gettin’ thin They closed the store ‘cause the losses too heavy Now the only thing fresh is the sin This a food desert, baby Where the real food used to live Now it’s just the residue of the epidemic And the system that refuse to give [Bridge] (stripped, almost spoken over the sample) They took the dealers off the corner But they never brought the grocery back So the hunger just switched uniforms From the rock to the empty rack You can lock up thirty bodies But you can’t lock up the lack This the part they don’t put in the article This the part that never make the map [Final Chorus] This a food desert, baby Aisles empty, hope gettin’ thin They closed the store ‘cause the losses too heavy Now the only thing fresh is the sin This a food desert, baby Where the real food used to live Now it’s just the residue of the epidemic And the system that refuse to give [Outro] (choir fading, 808 dying out) Empty shelves… Empty shelves… Yeah We still hungry
