Slick Rick
Brakes
[Verse 1: Posdnuos]
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 kids bangin' them hits out of the 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 breaks got you in your proper context
You let your Lex or your '64 suspension bounce away all your tension
En route to the club where girls need the quenchin'
Diamonds on your wrist, sunroof top
But n***as 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

[Chorus]
(These are the breaks)
It be your listenin' pleasures while you're doin' your chores
(These are the breaks)
No matter where you from, it's for you and yours
(These are the breaks)
Bringing it back to the breaks like the "yes, yes, y'alls"
(These are the breaks)
So let it be your anthem when you're havin' a ball
[Verse 2: Dave]
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 catalog 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 n***as spines shake
Expectin' nothin' but a little bit of radio play
Gettin' diced on 1 and 2's by the best DJ, 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 break 'cause

[Bridge]
(These are the breaks)
*record scratching*
(These are the breaks)
*record scratching*
(These are the breaks)
*record scratching*
(These are the breaks)
*record scratching*
[Chorus]
A mother gets mugged by her crackhead son
("That's the breaks, that's the breaks")
You're in the wrong part of town so the shots make you run
("That's the breaks, that's the breaks")
Your best comrades put six tabs in your OE
("That's the breaks, that's the breaks")
Your boyfriend made you a carrier of HIV
("That's the breaks, that's the breaks")

[Verse 3: Dave]
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

[Verse 4: Posdnuos]
We play the wall similar to tacks
'Til the DJ play 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 breaks inside your head
And have you reminiscing on them kids who got you fed
'Til reality reveals a miss who wants to know
If you can play her real close out on the dance floor cause
[Chorus]
(These are the breaks)
It be your listenin' pleasures while you're doin' your chores
(These are the breaks)
No matter where you from, it's for you and yours
(These are the breaks)
Bringing it back to the breaks like the "yes, yes, y'alls"
(These are the breaks)
So let it be your anthem when you're havin' a ball