Rakim - Madiba lyrics

[Mandela's Speech] We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete Just and lasting peace [Verse 1] On July 18th, 1918 Divine faith brings what life needs, a great king That tried to make peace, fight beasts and make means Prior to their needs might lead to great things Rolihlahla, brands breaker, troublemaker But later on he reform his life to something major In a time where no one knew the meaning of loving neighbor Born to take the world by storm like Mother Nature Nelson was the name given By a school teacher at the age seven Cause of racism and his African name I guess it stayed with him, not just the alias, the pain And soon the man emerged in tune with the planet Earth He made a move to Johannesburg under the dark sky He realized being free would cost him his life due to the Apartheid [Hook] It's a long road to freedom, let's take a long walk It's a long road to freedom, let's take a long walk [Verse 2] Trapped in a system that'll mistreat 'em and mislead 'em He know it's a long walk to freedom He went to the best colleges, he got his Bachelor's to study law Hungry for knowledge, he studied more By his mid-twenties he joined the ANC Years later chief of the NDC, Africa's MVP The foe exposer, vocal soldier Everywhere he go he hear Shosholoza He gaining power, it's a lot of 'em So now the government is watching him, plotting on stopping him So they put him under observation So the oppressors outlawed his operations Knowing the power that be is biased Instead of street riots he tried to teach 'em to be righteous But the chief of violence went underground And formed the Umkhonto we Sizwe, the peace fighters [Hook] [Verse 3] I guess he had enough of it He got an army to specialize in guerilla warfare to stop the suffering Authorities wanted before trouble hit To charge him with conspiracy to overthrow the government I guess defending it would legitimize the case Being locked without proof would emphasize the hate They thought they'd k** him by giving him life This only made him bigger than life Every moment more noble, the movement more loyal Then the news went global, the storm is more royal The world couldn't wait to see him on his release He gave 27 years of freedom for his beliefs Finally free to complete the prophecy He won the peace prize, beat Apartheid to see democracy Some say heaven sent, yeah, that's evident South Africa's first black president Salute, pay homage and pay your respects Cause he fought doe human rights 'til the day of his d**h Nelson Mandela, rest in peace But may your legacy live forever and ever [Hook]