Gil Scott-Heron - Message To The Messengers lyrics

Hey, yeah, we the same brothas from a long time ago We was talkin' about television and doin' it on the radio What we did was to help our generation realize They had to get out there and get busy cause it wasn't gonna be televised We got respect for you rappers and the way they be free-weighin' But if you're gon' be teachin' folks things, make sure you know what you're sayin' Older folks in our neighborhood got plenty of know-how Remember if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be out here now And I ain't comin' at you with no disrespect All I'm sayin' is that you damn well got to be correct Because if you're gonna be speakin' for a whole generation And you know enough to try and handle their education Make sure you know the real deal about past situations It ain't just repeatin' what you heard on the local TV stations ...Sometimes they tell lies and put 'em in a truthful disguise But the truth is that's why we said it wouldn't be televised They don't know what to say to our young folks, but they know that you do And if they really knew the truth...why would they tell you? The first sign is peace, tell all them gun totin' young brothas That the man is glad to see us out there k**in' one another We raised too much hell when they was shootin' us down So they started poisoning our minds tryin' to jerk us all around And they tell us they got to come in and control our situation They want half of us on dope and the other half in incarceration If the ones they want dead ain't k**ed by what they instigated They put some dope on a brotha's body and claim it was drug related Tell them drug related means there don't need to be no investigation Or at least that's the way they're gon' play it on the local TV stations All your 9-millimeter brothas...give them somthin' to think about Tell them you heard that this is the new word, they got to work that stuff out But somehow they feel in the wrong way with a gun in their hands They feel real independent...but they just pullin' contracts for the man Five and five will tell you it's hopeless out there on the avenue But if they really knew the truth...why would they tell you? And if they look at you like you're insane And they start callin' you scarecrow and say you ain't got no brain Or start tellin' folks that you suddenly gone lame Or that white folks had finally co-opted your game Or worse yet implying that you don't really know... That's the same thing they said about us...a long time ago Young rappers, one more suggestion before I get out of your way But I appreciate the respect you give me and what you got to say I'm sayin' protect your community and spread that respect around Tell brothas and sistas they gotta calm that bullsh** down Cause we're terrorizin' our old folks and brought fear into our homes And they ain't got to hang out with the senior citizens Just tell them, “Dammit...leave the old folks alone” And we know who rippin' off the neighborhood, tell them, “That BS has got to stop!” Tell them you're sorry they can't handle it out there But they got to take the crime off the block And if they look at you like you're insane And they start callin' you scarecrow and say you ain't got no brain Or start tellin' folks that you suddenly gone lame Or that white folks had finally co-opted your game Or worse yet saying that you really don't know... That's the same thing they said about me a long time ago And if they tell folks that you finally lost your nerve That's the same thing they said about us, when we said, “Johannesburg” But I think the young folks need to know, that things don't go both ways You can't talk respect of every other song or just every other day What I'm speakin' on now is the raps about the women folks On one song she's your African Queen on the next one she's a joke And you ain't said no words that I haven't heard, but that ain't no compliment It only insults eight people out of ten and questions your intelligence Four letter words or four syllable words won't make you important It'll only magnify how shallow you are and let everybody know it And if they look at you like they think you insane Or they call you scarecrow thinkin' you ain't got no brain Or start tellin' folks that you suddenly gone lame Or that white folks have finally co-opted your game Or you really don't know...They said that about me a long time ago If they finally start to tell people that you lost your nerve That's what they said about Johannesburg You ain't insane...you have got a brain You haven't gone lame; you have got your game Remember...keep the nerve Keep the nerve Keep the nerve Keep the nerve ...I'm talkin' about peace