(25% of the couples in this country Are estimated to be in violent relationships) (Listen to the hit) --] Ice Cube (That is a fact) (Listen to the hit) --] Ice Cube [ VERSE 1: The Poetess ] Growin up as a kid I never understood the things my dad did Like hittin my mother, me and my brother hid In the parlor from the chaos, the cryin and the cussin The fightin and the fussin I used to go to bed holdin my ears tight Filled with fear when I hear moms and pops fight I never quite understood what the reasons were How could he love my mother if he kept on hittin her? I don't know, but what I do know is this Love hurts when it's comin from the throw of a fist And the list goes on from the mental to the physical Use of verbal abuse, beatdowns, it ain't cool It's bad enough we got it rough in society Opression and poverty, no need to be fightin e- Ach other, a brother hits a sister, and he's a bigger n***a He ain't nothin if he gotta hit, pick a Innocent victim three times smaller in size Head honcho, macho in whose eyes? Only a fool tries abuse to utilize Phyisical force to control, hurt, brutalize Time for change, to rearrange the chain of thought Unball your fist and think of the pain was brought To the hearts of your brother or your sis Love hurts when it's comin from the fist [ Def Jef ] Now I want you to think of six women that's close to you And I want you to think if somebody was beatin on em What would you do? [ VERSE 2: Def Jef ] I wish my step pop would stop hittin on moms She got bruises on her arm from protectin her face from harm Bein done he looks at me and says, "What you're seein, son Is me disciplinin my woman You're gonna hate me for the rest of your life But this is my wife" And I'm thinkin I wanna stab him with a steak knife Too little to interfere, I wish he would disappear But he won't, so I put the pillow over my ear in fear Dreamin when I get to be a man I'ma stand up to him If I see him hit her again I'ma do him I encourage her to go, she says, "No I love him, I stay" "Mom, what you see in that idiot anyway? He beats you and mistreats you Daddy wouldn't do that" But she said: "Your daddy did it too" Ain't that much love in the world to be gettin bruised for Used, abused or even singin the blues for He's addicted to inflictin abuse, he said he'll quit If he's the one with the habit, then why you always takin the hit? A weak later the same sh** - I doubt it I'm grown now, mommy, don't even worry about it (In 20% of child abuse cases a spouse will be involved in) [ VERSE 3: The Poetess ] I was twelve years old when daddy started to get rough Puff in one hand, the other holdin a gla** of that 80 proof stuff He never got enough, I thought he was tough, but it was all a bluff I tried to understand and got verbally beat down But I thought one day he would come around But man, oh man, was I mistaken Nothing's right in his life and the abuse I was takin I was accused of things I never thought of Good grace got no praise But I got a lotta negative words thrown in my heart like a dart With the point of steel k**in me softly at his will The big one came when I got the blame for Not bein the joy of a boy that he aimed for One day I came home, he was sittin in the chair by the front do' Just waitin to let go (Where you been all night, out hoein?) He didn't raise, rolled up in his gut, I got a blow And that was it, the last hit, he'll ever do The pearl handle was popped and co*ked and it blew The only thing on my mind was payback, let's say that I've put an end to that madness and pray that I can overcome what mentally dad did well While I count the days in my padded cell (Several women a day are k**ed by ah, battering) (Listen to the hit) --] Ice Cube [ VERSE 4: Kool G. Rap ] Does he love her or does he hate her? That's what I'm thinkin as I look at mommy hooked up to a respirator It started with a smack And that smack became a punch and then a kick and then a broken back But mommy never dropped dime Now she's damn near blind, yo, what the hell is on my pop's mind? I feel like gettin daddy done in And put like one in his gun and pull the trigger and start runnin Man, I see the walls turnin red I'm gettin kinda fed so instead of the lead, how bout a burnin bed? In order for my mother to last So while he's laid up, straight up, I be puttin some gas on his a** Blow him up like a grenade And this is for all the times my mother used to wear shades Tryin to cover the damage he did her So when that fire's on your a** you remember how you hit her [ The Poetess ] This is a special dedication for my sister Dee And all the sisters out there that have been physically and mentally abused I like to send a special thanks to Def Jef And my sister Almighty And definitely Mister Kool G. Rap Peace from the Poetess