New Jack City

You are about to witness

the strength of street knowledge.

Yo, this is Queen Latifah

Bringing a song to you

About a place you might live

In case you don't understand

It's called New Jack City

In case you still don't understand

I brought along Levert and Troop

To kick the ballistics

Unemployment is up,

says the Department of Labor...

...with nearly 200,000 more claims

for unemployment last month.

Americans whose income is below the

poverty line has risen to 2 million...

...compared to 1.6 million in 1979.

Economists say that the

economic inequality...

...is at its worst level since

the days of the Great Depression.

Over the last 3 years, the percentage of

after-tax income for the rich rose 3%...

...while after-tax income

for the poor fell. 2%.

Homelessness is at an all-time high.

A drive-by shooting in Harlem resulted

in the death of a 7-year-old boy.

Police say the shooting

was drug-related.

Said a police source,

"The kid just got in the way. "

The bodies of 3 young black men

were discovered in Marcus Garvey Park.

Police believe they were victims

of a drug deal gone bad.

The identity of the victims

has been withheld.

Firemen were summoned to extract a man

from a ventilator duct of a building.

The man became trapped when he entered

the duct in order to rob the premises.

The deficit now stands

at an astounding $ 221 billion.

A reputed crime lord and 10 of his

henchmen were gunned down today.

Witnesses said the gunmen

rode past Mr. Armeteo...

...and sprayed the group with gunfire.

The shooting was the result

of an ongoing turf war.

Biff...

...look at you now.

Nino, please!

Don't start bitching up.

You don't have my product or my money.

You got to give me another chance!

Please!

Brothers don't wait to get paid.

Money talks.

Bullshit runs the marathon.

So, see you,

and I wouldn't want to be you.

The number of addicted

infants born in Manhattan...

...has risen over the past few years.

Hospital officials say...

...that the care required by these

tiny victims of the cocaine epidemic...

...has severely impacted the

available resources for pediatric care.

In other news, an unidentified man found

floating facedown in the East River...

...is believed to be another victim

in an ongoing drug war...

...that continues to plague our city.

Get out of my sh*t.

Thine is the kingdom, the power

and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I like to pray before I start

scrambling. Keeps people honest.

Say that sh*t, say that sh*t.

Do this now. What's your price?

Yo, man. For you, Bob Marley, 17.

For a key? You must be

doing the dope. Bring this down.

You got to get realistic.

I'm talking about a lower price.

Down.

This ain't Delancy Street, and you can't

Jew me down. That's my price.

Check this out, homeboy.

God's on your side, right?

Why don't we do this reasonable?

You want to do this correct or not? 17.

Let me see the money.

Come on. Let's do this, man.

What you know about that?

Everybody out! Get down!

Everybody down! Police!

You think you slick, you little punk,

blasphemous dope-fiend b*tch!

Spit in my face, I'm going to kill you!

- You f***ing that kid up.

- He's kicking his monkey ass.

Ease back, goddamnit! I'm a cop!

Shut the f*** up!

It's over. You have the right

to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used

against you in a court of law.

I'm going to get paid.

If I make this, you're going to have

to come out your pockets.

- Ain't made that shot in years.

- Pay your taxes.

I'm like the IRS.

That's it! I love it.

What's up? Where you going?

It's the sign of the times

I got to get mine

All I live is a life of crime

They got my back against the wall

And my dick is in the dust

Remember when we was kids...

...we played for Reverend Oates?

MO AB Bitty Squad?

I was 11, you was 13.

We was the baddest backcourt...

...in Each-One-Teach-One.

We wasn't making no money then.

And now that we are, you're here

living your Michael Jordan fantasy.

Business must be good.

It will be, brother.

Peep this out.

Freebase. So what?

Yo, man, you know the rules.

Us brothers don't be getting high.

Shut the f*** up and drive the car,

you non-talking bastard.

You been making money

outside the family?

I just been doing a little

experimentation-type thing.

A little experimentation-type thing.

Like what?

At the clubs, some of the guys step away

from the blackjack table or the bar...

...to buy $50 or $ 100 worth of sniff.

I set them up in the back room

with a hit of base...

...and 15 minutes after leaving the club,

they'd be back with 2 and 3 people.

So what?

They ain't come back for the cocaine.

They came back for the base.

You sound like

this sh*t'll change the world.

I don't know about all that

change-the-world sh*t, but I do know...

...they be going crazy over this.

And the b*tches...

Oh, Lord! Them b*tches,

they do anything for this, man!

I had my jimmy waxed every day

last week. You understand?

Several times a day.

Get the f*** out of here!

I know damn well ain't nobody

sucked your shriveled-up dick.

You trying to dis me?

I'm just telling the truth.

That's all I'm doing.

Several times a day, my ass.

All right, let me think about this

a little bit.

You think this base...

...is the high-powered sh*t?

We going to come off like the Mob.

You understand what I'm saying?

Welcome right here to the spotlite,

where we make the beat right...

...and we can't fight.

So leave your drugs and go home.

D.J. Clark Kent.

Rocking from turntable number 1

to turntable number 2.

Just like he want to do.

You going to frisk me too?

Yo, my boy, Nino in the house.

Yo, Nino. What's up?

You want a flower?

I think you'll like him.

Here he is.

What's up, crew?

Nino, your girl looks good.

You must like slumming, Kareem.

Why would a high-class guy like you

leave a good computer job at the bank...

...come all the way uptown

by gypsy cab...

...to work among a den of thieves?

I'm no dummy.

It's basic common sense and arithmetic.

The difference between

them paying me $800 a week...

...and you paying me $8,000 a week.

I think my cousin also likes the fact...

...that you're in the tradition

of Joe Kennedy.

Who?

Good. Because you got to rob

to get rich in the Reagan era.

They running a strange program.

More poor and disenfranchised folks

than this place has ever seen.

They try to act like it don't exist.

Meanwhile, the rich get richer...

And the poor don't get a thing.

Times like these, people want

to get high. Real high and real fast.

And this is going to do it.

And make us rich.

I mean, what,

people going crazy over this?

It look like cracked-off pieces of soap.

The Colombians and Dominicans

have shown us the way.

The sh*t is large.

But we'll do it differently.

No more selling on street corners.

Change the product,

you change the marketing strategy.

I've seen the future.

And its name is the Carter.

Hold up. The Carter Apartments,

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