[Verse One]
Black Man
You better stand strong
Hurry before our chances for survival are gone
It's the youth man
They get we at a young age
Try to live a better life but them want RAGE
You may ask me where this is coming from
So Imma let the numbers run
In the year 2000
46 % high school graduate Black man
Without a job or in the can
2004
The number had increased by 4% more
Where does this leave us?
Presently void
Shaking in a jail cell paranoid
I see lots of young Black men pun TV
Nuff j**elry
Yet them not free
How can it be that we can't see
We're still shackled on that boat in the great blue sea
Flee!
You don't like hearing the truth?
The message that you're spreading is deading the youth
A people with no foundation stand naked
Look in the mirror and sever the hatred
[Scratch Hook]
"Listen"..."Knowledge be the key...to unlock your brain" -Inspectah Deck
[Verse Two]
When I'm walking down the street, I see it all the time
People looking at me like my dreads are a crime
They signify the fact I refuse to conform
And I rock em' real thick, cause I'm allergic to the norm
I guess it makes them mad because I cause a reaction
Maybe I remind them of their own lack of pa**ion
Cops staring at me with a fatal attraction
Even Black people mad, cause I don't rock the common rapper fashion
Hoodied down
No bling, just intelligence
And a fire that'll burn nuff pestilence
Yet this man in my face with irrelevance
Told me go abck to the jungle with the elephants
Let me cross the street before I catch a case
Cause I could wild the f** out, and kick you in your face
Which brings us right back to where we started in the first place
Wanna make it home, but Brothers' out at 1st base
It takes a bigger man to see the bigger plan
To an*lyze experience and truly expand
You must, keep a level head and never combust
With true peace of mind, they could never truly conquer us
We're conquerors in our own right
We're blessed by the sun and we're one with the night
The darkness is a fertile ground for creation
Foundation, for the sun's presentation
Both provide energy, growth and chemistry
Reflect, redirect but respect your enemy
Without unity, we could never make it
Look in the mirror and sever the hatred
[Scratch Hook]