Album: Death Certificate (1991)

License This Song 

• Every time I wanna go get a fuckin' brew
  I gotta go down to the store with the two
  Oriental one penny countin' motherfuckers
  That make a nigga mad enough to cause a little ruckus
  Thinkin' every brother in the world's out to take
  So they watch every damn move that I make
  They hope I don't pull out a gat and try to rob
  They funky little store, but, bitch, I got a job
  "Look, you little Chinese motherfucker
  I ain't tryin' to steal none of yo' shit, leave me alone!"
  "Mother fuck you!"
  Yo, yo, check it out
  So don't follow me up and down your market
  Or your little chop suey ass'll be a target
  Of the nationwide boycott
  Juice with the people, that's what the boy got
  So pay respect to the black fist
  Or we'll burn your store right down to a crisp
  And then we'll see ya
  Cause you can't turn the ghetto into black Korea
  
  "Mother fuck you!" Writer/s: O'SHEA JACKSON
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

• Alexander from London, United KingdomIf you really want to understand why Korean shopkeepers and so many white people regard law-abiding black as potential muggers or worse I suggest you ask women why when they travel alone at night they regard all men as potential rapists. Or you might check out Chris Rock's "Black People v Ni--ers" routine.
  Re police brutality, you are WAY off-beam. Never heard of Liddle Towers? Check out the songfacts. Check out too the many videos on Youtube of white people, some elderly or under-age, being tasered, beaten up or simply abused by uniformed thugs? Or the black police officer who assaulted Nicola Fischer at the 2009 London protests. Police brutality is not and never has been about "racism", a disease that doesn't exist anyway, and I would refer you to my researches on this chimera to enlighten your darkness.
  A Baron
• Hugh from Liverpool, United KingdomOnce again Ice-Cube has recorded a racist song.
• Matthew from Atlanta, GaI have to diagree with Mr. Baron on many points. The riots following the Rodney King assailant trial were inevitable well before the cops' eventual acquittal. Police brutality was/is a fact of life in Los Angeles, and much of Ice Cube's body of work deals with that issue.
  "Black Korea" gives voice to the daily frustration that some blacks experienced in the 1990s when they spend what little money they have in poor neighborhoods in shops where the owners treat you like a criminal as soon as you walk in the door. When even law abiding black citizens are wary of the wrath of white cops and Asian disdain daily - it becomes even harder to avoid looking at life through a racial prism.
  As for the $75K contract... had Ice Cube accepted it, he would have had to forfeit any rights to the songs he performed or wrote with NWA. Jerry Heller, who wrote the contract, figured some teenagers from the hood would never turn down that kind of money. Of course, Ice Cube saw that situation through a racial prism as well that he discussed in "No Vaseline" on the same album.

More Songfacts:

Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth

You wouldn't know it from the upbeat melody, but "Walkin' On The Sun" by Smash Mouth is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

How To Save A LifeThe Fray

"How To Save A Life" by The Fray was inspired by a teenager lead singer Isaac Slade mentored at a camp for troubled youth in Colorado.

Just DanceLady Gaga

"Just Dance" was Lady Gaga's first hit, and it also brought the techno-synth sound that had been popular in Europe for the previous decade to the United States.

Don't ChaThe Pussycat Dolls

Sir Mix-A-Lot is credited as a writer on The Pussycat Dolls' biggest hit, "Don't Cha," because it interpolates his 1988 song "Swass," where he goes, "Don't you wish your boyfriend was swass like me?"

Can't Get You Out Of My HeadKylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" received more airplay during the 2000s than any other song in the UK.

Rock And RollLed Zeppelin

According to Jason Bonham, who has filled in for his father on Led Zeppelin reunions, "Rock And Roll" is the hardest Led Zep song to play on drums.

Editor's Picks

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.