Jimmy Jam - New Agenda lyrics

[Intro: Chuck D] It ain't nothing but an us thang And it's time for us to Step it up and respect That level of sisterhood That's been holding up Our neighborhood And if it wasn't for our mothers There would be no brothers And if it wasn't for our sisters There would be no misters So it ain't nothin but a us thang She's strong and that's a fact Now it's time for us to Take up the slack Step it up, step it up Time to go to work [Verse 1: Janet] History hidden from me To hide my identity So I'd never feel I am somebody You've gouged my eyes I see more clearly You've tried to rob My humanity My spirit you tried to break My soul you tried to take There's no need to be afraid Cause I won't do unto you now [Hook: Janet] Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen It's time to know the truth Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due [Verse 2: Janet] (no no) Because of my gender (no) I've heard no too many times Because of my race I've heard no too many times But with every no I grow in strength That is why African-American woman I stand tall with pride You want to know what it takes To rid yourself of me now There's nothing you can do Accept me for who I am now [Hook] [Verse 3: Chuck D] Time to step it up, step it up Better check yourself I get vexed to protect what we got Left her alone Lookin for your own Here it is I know what I'm sayin But the Klan ain't Playin at the range Gotta step it up us to Discuss a must It ain't nothin but an us thang Rewind back to the time Where the color of our mother, had 'em call it a crime Brother what in the world? And the world says where Is the black man Support the woman and children Time to step it up, step It up, it's playoff time And the rhyme go to check So check yourself Amen A new agenda's due [Hook x2]