Survival of the Fittest - Baba Brinkman

Yeah, I’m sendin' this one out to my evolutionary psychology people

Yeah, David Buss, Cosmides and Tooby, yeah Geoffrey Miller

Yeah, we livin' this ‘til the day that we die

Survival of the fit, only the strong survive

There’s a war goin' on outside no man is safe from

You can run but you can’t hide forever

If you come to my block, you’ll see some territoriality

A place where kill or be killed is the mentality

But get it straight, it’s just a necessary strategy

You gotta play the hand you’re dealt;

you can’t magically

Escape from the habitat that you was born in

Three homicides in my neighbourhood this mornin'

Cops came and kicked the crooked door in, with no warnin'

And started roughin' up my young cousin

She’s only seventeen and got a bun in the oven

Plus a concussion, but she ain’t done nothin'

So keep your mouth shut and don’t jump to judgment

On the lives we’re livin' - just close your eyes and listen

While I break down some homicide statistics

So if you’re thinkin' the criminal mind is just vacant

You’re mistaken, this is calculated risk takin'

We’re livin' in a situation with a low

Life-expectancy, and a major discrepancy

Between the haves and the have-nots, and you wonder

Why the padlock on every cash box is smashed off

C’mon, you can’t call it «pathological»

Nah, that’s illogical;

you can try to understand it

But you can’t stop it though, not unless you address

The root causes, the conscious and unconscious

Decisions to discount future prospects

C’mon, it’s obvious — the beat keeps bouncing

The homicide rate keeps mounting, which leads

To steep discounting, and a lot of violence

But it’s not a virus;

it’s a rational response

To high risk environments and short time horizons

With high stakes and highly visible prizes

And you wonder why we’re criminal-minded

Hey, you can’t say we’ll get satisfaction if we’re patient

With self-control and delayed gratification

When the only job that pays is casket-makin'

And death is the ultimate plan cancellation

So check the facts and recent data releasin'

You’ll see a pattern of increasin' competition

A bunch of young guys all stugglin' and status seekin'

And causin' the crimes that make the social fabric weaken

And life expectancy also predicts teen pregnancy

The need to leave a legacy genetically

Will never be completely controlled contraceptively

Yeah, that’s transparent — imagine if your kids

Would never meet their grandparents, unless you followed

The Bristol Palin plan for parenthood

And then they say, «Ooh, these young girls are so damn careless

Getting' pregnant before marriage;

it’s such a tragedy»

Apparently it’s also a reproductive strategy

Especially when you can see them adjusting actively

When their circumstances change;

in both the cases

Of the young ladies with babies and the male risk-takers

You see people adapting to their situations

And it’s the same in different places and with different races

This is not about ethical justifications

It’s evolutionary psych, and it’s just the basics

And still people call this behaviour «maladaptive»

Because of our reaction when violence happens

But if we really want to change the outcome

Then maybe we should just start questioning how it’s adaptive

And the bottom line is that inequity and life

Expectancy are the ultimate causes of crime

And the results of crime;

to me that’s true

The two combine together in a feedback loop

But I got some moves to make, so I’ll be back soon

Just don’t ask me what I’m about to do

‘Cause I can’t say, so it’s left to untold fact

Until my death, my ghost will stay alive

Survival of the fit, only the strong survive

That’s right, we livin' this ‘til the day that we die

Survival of the fit, only the strong survive

Yeah, sendin' this out to all my evolutionary psychologists

Daly and Wilson, Steven Pinker, Robert Wright, yeah

David Sloan Wilson, yeah that’s right, gather the evidence

Make it real, make it real.

Human mentality represent

Yeah, this is human nature — human nature to the core

I’ma get mine, and you get yours.

Don’t question my actions

Unless you’re ready to make a little addition, before I make a subtraction

End you up in traction.

That’s right, I love scrappin'

Peace