(ab sings, dj zole cuts)
[Samples]
If you ain't go heart to play - then stay off the course
Rap - rappers disintegrate
I'ma - I'ma recommend this
[Abbey verse 1]
I've been the problem yeah
Now I'm part of the solution yeah
My own personal retribution yeah
The new me is new around here
I got new found vision clear moving so fast u missed a year
I might just disappear it'll feel like I skipped a year
I ain't got sh** to fear I can risk losing it what are the benefits?
Or should I hold it tighter in my clutches instead of just letting it go
I done been wrong before matter fact it wasn't that long ago
I even hit the bottom low but that was just part of my growth
A heart's always broken I guess I'm starting over
And now my battered soul is going back through the motions
I'm just half of a whole who once had no control
I was breaking my oath it was happening over & over again
That wasn't gold so I had to take hold
Sad how it goes when you don't even know to begin
[Chorus]
It starts with me I must admit
(I been a problem) but still I can't quit
Used to spend my time complaining to no benefit but nah
(Now I'm) making a contribution so that makes me the solution (2x)
[Bridge]
Follow me now if you're ready to do more than just talk
Walk with me be the solution
Offer critical thought for the youth be the solution
Everyone is at fault after all we're only human
I've been the problem you've been the problem
But now we're The Solution
[Slug - verse 2]
I spread my arms like frosting
Like a phoenix wing around this offspring
Soda Pop sing songs of optimism
1972 caught the rhythm of a heartbeat
Lost the change in a car seat
Aiming at the mirror but still blames the party
As if everybody's listening wrong
It's the vision I've drawn of this impossible mission I'm on
I ain't like the rest of the scene
I'm not swimming in a stream of synthetic wet dreams nah
I work hard keep everything clean
Cause the needle still stings when the pendelum swings yes
I'm tryna do my best I'm not the best though
I'll do it to my d**h I never let go
A student of the Revolution
We put the salute in the solution
[Chorus]
It starts with me I must admit
(I been a problem) but still I can't quit
Used to spend my time complaining to no benefit but nah
(Now I'm) making a contribution so that makes me the solution (2x)
[Brother Ali - verse 3]
I was raised on the doctrine of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
Do what u gotta do to be profitable ain't nobody stopping u
But ain't nobody tryna plant your seeds & water too
Yes your crew is starving who gotta harvest that garden, U
Meaning me, it became easy to see
I'm the one gotta put my life the way how its supposed to be
And it might seem kind of cliche but hey truth be that way
Those that don't know need to hear so those that do know need to say
You can quote them slogans over & over til you overdose
And coasting through life until u slam into that wall then bam!
Then it click, that truth is an upper lip
Chilling right there under your nose until one day it come to grips
As long as the world been revolving if I'm still groveling
In the same problem wherever I walk its probably not none of yall
But obviously some flaw that I ignore but got to see
And who got to solve it? Me - Brother Ali
[Chorus]
It starts with me I must admit
(I been a problem) but still I can't quit
Used to spend my time complaining to no benefit but nah
(Now I'm) making a contribution so that makes me the solution (2x)
[Bridge]
Follow me now if you're ready to do more than just talk
Walk with me be the solution
Offer critical thought for the youth be the solution
Everyone is at fault after all we're only human
I've been the problem you've been the problem
But now we're The Solution