[Sample] “…we perpetuate it now because it's dead. That word's dead. We men and women, we come from, we come from the first people on the earth. You know?” [Hook: Torae] Now when my n***a calls me his n***a, I ain't tripping ‘cause I figure That he love me, so I feel it's all good But when they're treating us like we're n***as, they're choking and pulling triggers Then we wonder how to put a hold to it, put some fall to it [Bridge: Torae] See I don't want to cry no more See young brothers die no more And if it mean I got to walk away from my n***a And I ain't by his side no more [Verse 1: Torae] (“n***as”) See I remember from the beginning In every line, every conversation, the sentence It's always been my word, but word, I might end it (“n***a”) making change to make a difference [Hook: Torae] Now when my n***a calls me his n***a, I ain't tripping ‘cause I figure That he love me, so I feel it's all good But when they're treating us like we're n***as, they're choking and pulling triggers Then we wonder how to put a hold to it Now when my n***a calls me his n***a, I ain't tripping ‘cause I figure That he love me, so I feel it's all good But when they're treating us like we're n***as, they're choking and pulling triggers Then we wonder how to put a hold to it, put some fall to it [Verse 2: Torae] And then almost like it was planned
Overseas on stage talking to fans And whether German or Poland, I always cringe at the moment They say “you k**ed it, my n***a, you the man” (“n***a”) Damn, ‘cause they don't even know the origin They just heard it in every song I perform for them Be the change you want to see So who really looking crazy, them or me? [Torae speaking] See I came up using the word, you know? I always took it as not as a term of endearment, but the older I get, the more mature. It's like I understand it's not. Our forefathers fought and died for that, you know what I mean, that word and it's like, no matter how much we march and protest and say we want respect, we got to learn how to respect ourselves first [Hook: Shaquawna Shante] Now when my n***a calls me his n***a, I ain't tripping ‘cause I figure That he love me, so I feel it's all good But when they're treating us like we're n***as, they're choking and pulling triggers Then we wonder how to put a hold to it Now when my n***a calls me his n***a, I ain't tripping ‘cause I figure That he love me, so I feel it's all good But when they're treating us like we're n***as, they're choking and pulling triggers Then we wonder how to put a hold to it, put some fall to it [Outro: Shaquawna Shante] Put some fall to it How we gon' be change How we gon' be the change If we don't change ourselves