C.I.A (Criminals In Action) - Zack De La Rocha, The Last Emperor & KRS-ONE

Yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh! yeh!
KRS-1 coming thru... Big Zack... Last Emperor
Woo! Woo!...that's the sound of EMS...
(Ha Ha!)...Last Emperor, KRS...
(Ha Ha!)...Big Zack you know the rest...
Now we gonna come down like this now, hold tight, all crew... LISTEN!

This voice shatters the calm of the day like an alarm
so wake up bright anew; and take up arms
'cause more is necessary than vocabulary war
'cause the toxic rock import's hitting on your door
C.I.A. I'll see you later; 'cause your time is coming soon
I'll flip the shit like Pacino in a Dark Dog Day Afternoon
Attica! Attica!, drug agents you bring your statica
my alphabet will slash & then can flip you automatica, dramatic;
like Ali Shaheed Mohammed brought the vibe
I'll bring the sun at red dawn upon the thoughts that Frantz Fanon
so stand at attention devil dirch;
you'll never survive choosing sides against the wretched of the earth
The infiltrator
child intoxicator
people incarcerator
liberation movement annhilator
We got you clocked pushing rocks and it failed
we got brothers trooping subways like the Ho Chi Ming trail
we got the truth daddy, Last Emperor, KRSin' history's manifestin'
tomorrow's next lesson.

You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that (2X)
You know the cops they got a network for the toxic rock!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
so get that flashlight outta my face!
You claim I'm selling' crack; but you be doing that
The Last Emperor, KRS-ONE & big Zack

As free market, capitalism & technology expands
the third world's fertile soil becomes a dessert wasteland
so it takes fans to demand the government provide answers
when Lady Liberty has me bewitched like Samantha,
and poverty is one of the most malignant forms of cancer
to all my black magic romancers & acid rain dancers,
develop close ties like Jerry Seinfeld & George Costanza
we fear no man & throw jams that attack Counter Intelligence Programs
exiting like the epic adventures of Conan,
I colonize minds like Zaire by the Belgians
now what hell is the problem with this system & what it sells us
I break the aincient ... billets like Wycleff did the zealots
I saw an iron curtain called Hip-Hop and got it opened like Boris Yeltsen
whirlwinds, tornadoes & the rain forest if you say so,
KRS & the last Emperor roll like the Green Hornet & Kato
Zack De La Rocha brings the enraged flow;
but all three drop science & become the most powerful alliance since N.A.T.O.

Need I say the C.I.A. be criminals in action
cocaine,crack unpackin' high surveillance trackin',
prominent blacks & whites giving orders for mass slaughters
I want all my daughters to be like Maxine Waters
when they flooded the streets with crack/cocaine I was like Noah
now they lower 'cause the whole Cold War is over
Communism fell to the dollars you were grabbin &
all the assault & battering; in the name of Intelligence gathering?
Now it's calm & you're battling a losing fight
I chose the mic to recite, ignite light in the night, aiiight
we should beat em President Clinton should delete 'em
It's not hard the CIA simply has no more job
oh my Goddess mother you can fix this
we rock over mixes not 666's
yo this is the message to all that can hear it
if you got secret information now's the time to share it
call your Congress woman, your Senator, your Mayor
It's time for all the scholars to unite with all the playas
rearrange & see times are definetely changing G.
they used to tap the phone now they're tapping while you're paging me
it's crazy B. yet it's plain to see who's the enemy who's left?
the NRA, the ATF, the AMA, ok, ok, it's all irrelevant
'cause in the new millenium; there'll be no Central Intelligence.


Lyrics submitted by H-bomb

CIA (Criminals In Action) song meanings
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22 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Woah. This is a breeding ground for stupid hillbillies.

    -As pointed out before, Zack would be a 'whiteboy rapper' is he was only white, in much the same way that some of you would be smart if you weren't complete morons.

    -I'm not sure if any of you knew this, but this song was performed live (and probably later cleaned up) during a lyricist lounge session, and it was released in a lyricist lounge cd. So my guess is that KRS (who is known to anyone who knows the difference between rundmc and g-unit) probably approached zach to write this for the purpose of performing it at said show. And yes, the song was performed while Rage was still in existence.

    -Have ANY of you noticed the punk/hip hop roots in RATM, and in particular Zack's lyrics, writing, and singing?

    thetragikon September 14, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    actually he did this song while he was in rage, it's not new or anything...and it wasnt really a rap song either, it was rage-ish rap rock...

    i_love_lianaon June 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    There is truth in this song that many don't want to here cause it changes the reality we have been taught since conception. This songs means to me don't believe what you are told, and those that are supposed to protect you, might not even care if you exsist, but it doesn't matter cause the power rests in you. The style of the song doesn't really facilitate the message because there are too many words with too little emotion. This song is trying to change consciousness with a society that doesn't want to hear or better termed hasn't been allowed to, and that is not an easy thing to do. It makes me think, but doesn't make me feel and for me action comes when i feel something not by thinking about it. I think the objective of many of Zach's lyrics is to cause a reaction that creates action, so if the emotion doesn't hit in the song, it won't hit with those that aren't educated in underground politics.

    scoobssh22on June 14, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    hey rainbow_dick what the fuck are you talking about? take the rage poster down - you don't deserve to have it up. i wouldn't normally partake in character assassination - but you are a moron of the highest order. if you stopped for one minute and listened to ratm/zack you wouldn't come out with terms like 'whiteboy' you fucking inbred hill-billy racist fuck. go listen to something else and leave the enlightened to listen. i can't hate you enough...

    H-bombon June 30, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Zack and rage rule. but i just never knew why every rap song has to start with something like "KRS-1 coming thru... Big Zack... Last Emperor" They all start with inane boasting like " o we gonna drop da bomb, ya ready?" I just dont see why

    Did you know zack is 40 this year?

    Lets_kill_musicon July 04, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    If you don't like how they start then just don't listen. It's a choice thing.

    H-bombon July 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    zack de la rocha is a loser. My god, such a whiny bitch!! He's making his money off of being "rebelious" (mostly spouting off at the mouth about how this country sucks). Leave you fucking white boy rapping, government hating, stuck up, rich asshole.

    gangrel60on September 06, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Do all of ya know that zack if hafe chicano indian. And he is born in 1970 that means he is 33years now. And he rock if it wit rage or witout.

    MogerSegSomApeon April 27, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yeah he is half red indian and also hispanic so he is not really a 'whiteboy'. He also transported guns for mexican rebels so i'd say he had a certain amount of integrity as well. gangrel60 clearly lives in a small hole somewhere in alabama and probably has a poster emblazoned with 'remember the alamo' on his wall. I would also say that he probably owns a few pitchforks and a couple of high calibre guns. I'd also suggest that he wanks and cries himself to sleep every night because he is so pathetic and lonely.

    christjesuson June 14, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    lmaooooooooooooo sooo true christjesus

    darkpop2Dzombieon June 24, 2003   Link

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