Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim...
They say the Lord will come
Like a thief in the night
Perhaps the lord will come
In the things that I write
In the things that we bleed
And the things that we read
And the things we recite
Maybe they're afraid I'll spit fire
In these kerosine streets like night
Or that I'll spit water
Into these barren streets that give life
But I've learned the thing that pulls the fiend to the pipe
Is the same thing that pulls a human being to the light:
The love of love
A means to cope
So I try to inhale their dreams and exhale hope
Homeboy said 'man, the people either feel it or don't
So you can inhale their dreams and exhale hope
But you better chew c**a leaves and spit out dope'
And that reminded me of a pa**age, and I quote:
"Our Lord will not change the condition of a people
Until they change the condition that's what's within themselves," end quote
In short, Lord, I won't falter
Steady rock of Gibraltar
Swift traversin' waters
Verses I've authored, I offer
As a solemn sacrifice upon the altar
In order to alter
The current conditions
Of our sons and our fathers
And they say we need more black mayors and lawyers;
I say we need more black John Mayers
To win Grammys for singin' songs about our "Daughters"
Because we are caught in a culture
Of defeatism, worshipping victims and martyrs
We are not victims but victors
If we but witness or honor
Our brilliance, our resilience and our beauty is farther
Than pimpin' ho's, trick and dope
Gucci and Prada
From South Street to Central Road, we are shook in a trauma
Of terrorism that precedes Al Qaeda and Osama
Forget Bin Laden; Ben Franklin
Enslaved my great-great-grandmamma (comma)
Great great grandfather (comma)
Indigenous nations of reservations (comma)
But we caught in a coma
Sleep
So the truth will have to come
Like a thief in the night
But if you're awake, you'll hear it
In the things that we write
In the things that we bleed
In the things we recite
And because the truth will come
Like a thief in the night
Being awake, I've learned
Is the meaning of life