Talib Kweli Album

(Instrumental)

[Talib Kweli: repeat 16X]
Feel the rush

[Talib over the repeated line]
Yeah, I do this shit for real (you get
Chuck D'd, "Shut the Fuck down")
Ain't no games being played
(remember that, remember that)
It might be the career (yo)
It might be on the stage (yo)
It might be in the street (yo)
But the people come to me (why?)

[Talib Kweli]
They come to me for the lyrical,
spiritual, raw shit I spit at you
Original, and I see collective, not
individual
Visual, in the mic I'm un-fuck-wit-able
Invincible, offical nigga who they
come to
For the hardcore, art of war, rhymes
that I got in store
Triple W in curo son or die or
For education and culture, heads is
waitin' for Mos to
Do the album with Kweli, we do it like
we suppose to
Nobody come close to my crew, we
wild nice
You ain't tight, your rhymes is like
what a child writes
When he can't spell, you chase
crumbs and get ate like Han-sel
Can't hold your mic, like your liquor,
your style like an Amstel
Smack a nigga til my motherfuckin
hands swell
You ain't fly and you prolly got can-
cell
Y'all niggas shaky like handheld,
amuteur camera work
In walking this planet of earth
I'm the illest emcee and a man of my
word
When I came out, niggaz didn't
understand it at first
I'm known to roll up my sleeves and
put my hands in the dirt
We at war and I got a battle plan that
can work
With the proper execution so I'm
killin' 'em right
You get hit like a deer standin' still in
the light
I'm spillin' it like, I ain't never had a
meal in my life
Feed my family with my pen, it's so
real what I write

[Bridge]
We fight, fuck, get buckwild
Kill, chill, make love, have child
Freestyle, b-boy, hit the block
Build, destroy, get it hot

Yo, I make the place go apeshit
(c'mon)
Ain't no other way to say it, ain't nuttin
to play with
I'm Langston Hughes, "Dreams
Deferred" seen and heard in the flesh
Cause so many people believe the
word even when it seems absurd
With keen observation I peep the
game
And got blood on his hands, I can
see the stains
My street slang spray like shots when
heat bang out
Niggas keep my name in they mouth,
I put they flame out
Where I'm from, action is first and talk
is second
I'm sharp like the blade in the logo of
Rawkus Records
New York's infected, niggaz beefin'
on the mix-tape
Got Nickelback niggaz thinkin' they
can fuck with big weight
Hell no, give it up, it's enough
We about to live it up, with ten of us
We ride and you live with us
Pick it up, party people, you about to
get in touch
Give it up, everybody, you about to
get a rush
You can find Kweli in the cut, wth a
Cohiba lit up bout to split a Dutch
Get it up, everybody, you about to get
in touch
Give it up, everybody, you about to
get a rush (whooo!)

[Xzibit]
Yeah, yeah
Quality material
Yo, check this out
Yeah, you heard it
Kweli
You don't know how to say it by now,
fuck you
Broadcastin' live, from Brooklyn, New
York City
Yeah, turn this shit up
It's Quality music
You know how we use it
Feel the rush

[Talib Kweli: repeat to end]
Feel the rush

[Talib]
Yeah.. my Lord.. yeah

[Verse 1: Talib]
We sell, crack to our own out the
back of our homes
We smell the musk at the dusk in the
crack of the dawn
We go through "Epidodes II," like
"Attack of the Clones"
Work 'til we break our back and you
hear the crack of the bone
To get by.. just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
We commute to computers
Spirits stay mute while you eagles
spread rumors
We survivalists, turned to consumers
To get by.. just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
Ask Him why some people got to live
in a trailer, cuss like a sailor
I paint a picture with the pen like
Norman Mailer
Me and Willa raised three daughters
all by herself, with no help
I think about a struggle and I find the
strength in myself
These words, melt in my mouth
They hot, like the jail cell in the South
Before my nigga Core bailed me out
To get by.. just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
We do or die like Bed-Stuy through
the red sky
with the window of the red eye
Let the lead fly, some G. Rap shit,
"Livin' to Let Die"

[Chorus: Background singers]
This morning, I woke up
Feeling brand new and I jumped up
Feeling my highs, and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smokin, and stop drinkin
And I've been thinkin - I've got my
reasons
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by), just to get (by)

[Talib and background singers]
(ba ba ba, ba da bada, ba da bada,
ba da bada, ba da badahh
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by by by by by by)
(ba ba ba, ba da bada, ba da bada,
ba da bada, ba da badahh
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by by by by by by)

[Verse 2: Talib]
We keeping it gangster say "fo
shizzle", "fo sheezy" and "stayin
crunk"
Its easy to pull a breezy, smoke trees,
and we stay drunk
Yo, I activism - attackin the system,
the blacks and latins in prison
Numbers of prison they victim black in
the vision
Shit and all they got is rappin to listen
to
I let them know we missin you, the
love is unconditional
Even when the condition is critical,
when the livin is miserable
Your position is pivotal, I ain't
bullshittin you
Now, why would I lie? Just to get
by?
Just to get by, we get fly
The TV got us reachin for stars
Not the ones between Venus and
Mars, the ones that be readin for
parts
Some people get breast
enhancements and penis enlargers
Saturday sinners Sunday morning at
the feet of the Father
They need somethin to rely on, we
get high on all types of drug
When, all you really need is love
To get by.. just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
Our parents sing like John Lennon,
"Imagine all the people watch"
We rock like Paul McCartney from
now until the last Beatle drop

[Chorus: Background singers]
This morning, I woke up
Feeling brand new and I jumped up
Feeling my high's, and my low's
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smoking, and stop
drinking
And I've been thinking - I've got my
reasons
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by), just to get (by)

[Talib: repeat 2X - with background
singers]
Yoyoyo, yo
Some people cry, and some people
try
Just to get by, for a piece of the pie
You love to eat and get high
We decieve when we lie, and we
keepin it fly

Yoyoyo, yo
When, the people decide, to keep a
disguise
Can't see they eyes, see the evil
inside
But there's people you find
Strong or feeble in mind, I stay readin
the signs

(Kweli)
Yeah, yeah
(Girl)
La, la, la (continuous)
(Kweli)
It's like what you gonna do when we
come through when you
Yeah, shock body like
What you gonna do when we come
through, Kweli
Uh, yeah, BK MC, like what you
gonna do when we come through
when you
Woo, yeah, come on

[Verse 1]
Watch how Talib Kweli Greene do it
What I bring to it
You hear the theme music
My rhymes' life support, dog breathe
to it
Rhymes are bright, the sunshine
beams through it
Stop haters in their tracks like high
beams
Like the moment you was at the crime
scene screaming "I ain't do it"
But, I seen through it, it's obscene
how I spew it
Martin Luther King had a dream to it,
people cling to it
I seen your momma lean to it in a
green Buick
Wack niggas get passed over so
much they seem Jewish
Better leave and do it now or seem
foolish
This music I bleed to it, I raise my
seeds to it
I MC with the truest in the game
I stay hungry like I'm the newest in
the game
And stay hot like I'm bluish with the
flame
You heard the truth when it came
And you knew it was the name that
you couldn't pronounce
Now I'm all up in your mouth
My people all up in the house and we
calling you out
Y'all niggas crying, what you bawling
about
This shit is down like we chalking you
out
Hey yo, that's what I'm talking about

[Chorus]
(Girl)
Look up in the sky recongnize it's
sunshine (la, la's cont'd)
(Kweli)
Yeah, what you gonna do when we
come through when you
(Girl)
How can you deny when it's right in
your eyes
(Kweli)
Shock body, ro-ro-ro-ro-rock body
Like what you gonna do when we
come through when you
(Girl)
Look up in the sky recognize it's
sunshine
(Kweli)
Come on and, come on and
Kweli like what you gonna do when
we come through when you
(Girl)
How can you deny when it's right in
your eyes
(Kweli)
Yeah, come on

[Verse 2]
Check the writing skills forever
coming tight with the quill
You sound like you liking the thrill
Or filling the pipe with the the krill
YOu must be smoking like the spliff
we like to light when we build
Out of respect for the dead we let our
Heinekens spill
Cats taking Vicatin pills to numb the
pain that they feeling
Pertaining to stealing my rhymes
finding their brains on the ceiling
I'm blowing their minds wide open
when I'm flowing I'm fine
Hey yo my whole style banging like
I'm throwing up signs
Niggas get cut like I saw someone I
know in the line
I live life to the fullest cause I know I
could die
Right now, I don't believe I know
when to sto'
My face soldier's going to lie, when
I'm going to buy
You gonna see a rainbow in the sky
And my momma's face glowing with
pride
My first born held it down and through
my baby's soul I survive
Put your hands in the air and let me
know you're alive
I love this game y'all, I ain't even
going to lie
I can see you all rocking cause you
know when it's live, word

[Chorus]
(girl)
repeat chorus
(kweli)
repeat chorus
**Continue

[Outro]
BK, BX, Q-borough, like what you
gonna do when we come through
ATL, Chi-Town, Los Angeles, Bay
Area
Everybody like what you gonna do
when we come through yeah
My whole world rocking
Yo BK like what you gonna do when
we come through, Kweli

[Talib Kweli]
Now, If I'm out of town my crew take
of your bodies the more the merrier
Point and spray the area
Niggas is quick to bury you
Punk niggas feel inferior
Guns make us superior
Cats start acting scarier
Situations get hairier, yo
You know who killing it, niggas saying
they militant
The only blood in the street is when
the government spilling it
You could have a hand gun or a
cannon
And you still (?)
without the knowledge and wisdom
and understanding of
a 22 derringer
a 38 long
a 44 desert eagle
a Glock Nine
time to protect the fam I'm a cock
mine
I make the streets run red like a stop
sign stop lieing

[Hook]
Co Coi Coi Clak Clak Clak Clak Clak
Gun man music never take shot back
(oh!)
Co Coi Coi Clak Clak Clak Clak Clak
(Come On)
Ghetto Red Hot 'round the world you
hear that (oh oh oh come on)
Co Coi Coi Clack Clak Clak Clak Clak
Gun man youth never take shot back
(Yes!)(Brooklyn)
Co Coi Coi Clak Clak Clak Clak Clak
Ghetto red hot 'round the world you
hear that
In Jamaica (Kingston), In Brooklyn
(Flatbush), In Ethiopia (Yep)
We Go There and Back (Come On)
To all my real live soldier cats where
you at
Dogs don't hold them back
those the cats that go to strapped to
blow a back

[Talib Kweli]
You could be whoever, a black
panther or lap dancer
when respect is the question folks
coming with the gat answer
Shoot at your feet like spider, you a
tap dancer
What am I amusing to you?
You better have that answer
Toys for guns, I got guns for toys
Silencers bring the heat without
bringing the noise
Bringing the funk of dead bodies, go
ahead bring in your boys
You'll see the soul of black folk like
W.E.B DuBois
Israelies got tanks and Palestinians
got rocks
Inmates got shanks and dirty cops
they got glocks
We got tribes in Africa that listen to
Pac
fighting with brothers who pump
Biggie like they live on the block

[Hook]

[Cocoa Brovaz]
These are the tools of the trade
that we use to get paid
When we cruise on escapades
and escalades with guns to blaze
we been this ways since the younger
days
Safe from the hunger pains
Pop Bang when the trouble came
Pioneers of gun slang
Supply you with them things
a little something, something
set fire to the game
my system be thumping
Co Coi Coi! the sounds of guns
busting
Co Coi Coi! your heart just start
pumping

[Talib Kweli]
From a 22 derringer
a 38 long
a 44 desert eagle
Time to protect the fam I 'ma cock
mine
I make the streets run red like a stop
sign stop lying

Gun Music y'all

[Bilal]
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock (It's your boy Kweli, BK MC)
So I can show you just what I got
(Memph Blow in the house)
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got

[Talib]
Music is the air I breathe
The prayer I leave
Rippin' in the atmosphere
Up there in the breeze
Stronger then the revolution
That you wear on your sleeve
Its all I know
Not an idea you believe
I spit bars you can't touch
Like tips in strip bars
Get charged, man I drop hits that hit
hard
Hit bars with my brown shook cuz this
starred
the night just start, I'm waitin' ....

[Bilal]
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock

[Talib]
We all hop in the car deep
We bring Brooklyn to the city
My fellas lookin' sharp my ladies
lookin' pretty
When the DJ let the needle drop
The beat'll rock, the beat'll start
Boppin' and my people got it poppin'
like needle marks
3 o'clock and it's mass hysteria
I'm about to hit the cafeteria
I'm Waitin' ...

[Bilal]
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock (Put it down for y'all)
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock (Put it down for y'all)
So I can show you just what I got

[Talib]
I read the lines and all the between
In my mind I'm rewindin' the scene
The club ain't the place to be findin' a
queen
You all in my dream girl
Though I can't sleep on you no
You was a star tonight
It like shown through
Vampires takin' a bite
I'm in the zone too
I always end up takin' the flight
Makin' a right for the fam
So tight in the jam
A fight began
Always heard bad niggas tryin' to act
like a man
The DJ had the mic in his hand
Like calm down (Waitin' for the DJ to,
let your body rock)

[Talib]
Yeah, it was like I was the audience
at the concert
You at the converse
With the Luis Vuitton purse
Tiger's eye around the wrist
With the fly and the prints
Lookin' up your arm a blender with a
tatooed gift
I had to catch a plane but you make
me warm as day
I had to catch your name and I'm
waitin' ...

[Bilal]
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock (Put it down for y'all)
So I can show you just what I got

[Bilal]
Cuz they let me chasing (?) through
the same old song
So just clap your hands together 'til
they make that sound

[Talib]
Yeah, hot runnin' the summertime its
why I said it
Guys see the flesh catch a dyed
fetish
Hunnies smellin' to sweet its like I'm
diabetic
On stars and the sky in seminal,
dianetic
Drop the top beat up the block
On plow, now when they smoke a
tree up
As shots reach the new tunes
Dogs who lose Hollerin' at the new
move
Ours, I'm like the sun, the flower in full
bloom
When I come out the house we
complete like the number 9
Gimme some of yours, I'm a give you
some of mine
Your off the sucka rhyme
A song will sound like one of mine
I know you love it when I shine, I'm
waitin' ...

[Bilal]
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got
Waitin' for the DJ to, let your body
rock
So I can show you just what I got

(Talib Kweli)
Wooaahh! yeah
On top of the world
Yeah, that's how my seeds got me
feeling' right now
On top of the world
Yeah, you ever felt like you could do
anything (Yeah)
On top of the world
Amani Fela, Diane Ashe, I'ma hold
y'all down for real (Gotcha!)

[Talib Kweli]
It was 1996, 4th of July, looking off in
the sky
dealing with thoughts inside, when
something caught my eye
It was a silhoutte of a beautiful
woman, bright with life
carrying my first seed, looking like she
gone bear fruit tonight
We at the African street festival, and
she walking around
talking about the midwife said, that
bring the baby down
I'm about to be a father, the sights
and sounds, seem brighter around me
and for starters, I know I'ma work
harder, word
We got home at three in the morning,
I was beat
them contractions started coming as
soon as I fell asleep
3:05, like every five minutes, then the
water broke
we on the go, yelling at the cabbie,
cause he's sort of slow
You know them hospitals all trying to
get paid, no questions
hear come the doctor's with they
drugs, trying to do c-sections
But my baby stay's strong, in labor for
yay long
eight-pound baby boy, to carry my
name on, joy!

[Chorus: Mos Def] + (Talib Kweli)
Huh, yeah
I know how you feel, Kweli I know
how you feel
(That's the sound of joy)
See my brother, I know how you feel,
Kweli, I know how you feel
(That's the sound of joy)
So when you, have a seed, come in
the world, say dog that shit's real
(That's the sound of joy, y'all)
Huh, Kweli, yo I know how you feel,
Kweli, yo I know how you feel

My baby girl

[Talib Kweli]
June 10th, 1999, I been on the grind
since the birth of my son, it's been
about, way more then rhymes
Baby on the way, my lady glowing
today, at least
that's what the midwife said, on the
phone
Anyway, the music got me going
away
Like everyday, but it's a blessing, so I
gotta have patience
and she got pregnant on a Jamaican
vacation
So it's all good, this time well have the
baby in a house
I went the hospital route, I know what
they all about (Never again)
So I'm out on tour, in Baltimore
get the call around four, when the
water hit the floor (Damn!)
I gotta rock my show, but I gotta go
got second thoughts about her not
going, to the hospital
I left the show early, Mos held me
down, good looking (No doubt)
call the car service, like, take me
straight to Brooklyn (Uh huh)
Got the news in the car, stayed sorta
calm
but I cried tears of joy, when they put
my daughter in my arms, how
precious!

[Chorus: Mos Def] + (Talib Kweli)
Huh, huh
Said I know how you feel, uh, said I
know how you feel when you
(My precious joy)
Said I know how you feel, uh, Kwe I
know how you feel
(I know you do, huh, my precious joy
y'all)
Huh, uh, said I know how you feel
(yeah), said I know how you feel
(My precious joy)
Huh, man I know how you feel
(yeah), said I know how you feel

[Talib Kweli]
I do it for the seeds y'all, in they
formative years when they need y'all
we gotta believe, in what we
conceive y'all, it's deep y'all
I give them the truth, so they
approach the situation, with
ammunition
I keep nothing away, they hear
everything, cause they know how to
listen
Teach them the game, so they know
they position, so they can grow
and make decisions, that change the
world, and break old tradition
They put kids in jail, for a life they ain't
even get to start
that's murder too, and it's breaking my
heart, it's breaking our nation apart
We gave the youth all the anger, it's
just
we ain't taught them, how to express
it, and so it's dangerous
You can't talk to them
Unless your language is relating to
what they going through
so busy ignoring them, you can't see
what they showing you
And you wonder, why we called
baby-daddy's and baby-momma's
when we grow up, we can't act like
adult mothers and fathers, yo
I'm so blessed to have a boy and a
girl, everyday they bring joy to my
world

[Chorus: Mos Def] + (Talib Kweli)
Huh, yeah
I know how you feel, Kweli I know
how you feel
(That's the sound of joy)
Brother Kwe', I know how you feel,
Brother Kwe', I know how you feel
(Baby girl, my precious joy)
Kweli, I know how you feel, say bro' I
know how you feel
(Fela, be my joy, yo)
Huh, if you know how the people
feel, let me really know how you... yo

I do it for the seeds y'all (Repeat 5x)

[Talib]
Let me holler at you

[Talib and Bilal]
Can I talk to you?(x5)

[Talib]
I want you, cuz you make my heart
skip the beat that I drum to
I want to be the one you run to, when
pain confronts you
You're everything, sometimes I get
nervous when I'm in front you
You can hear it in my voice when I
ask you if you comfortable
Look how love do, I'd practice the Art
of War for you like Sun Tzu
Come through and arouse you every
morning like the sun do
If you blackout and collapse I want to
help you to come to
Notice I haven't yet got into what I
want from you
I want you to come to when I come
through and make you shine like the
sun do
I want you to be the valley for my river
to run through
You're everything, you send your soul
through your lips to my heart
Sweet music will start I want you to
be the music of my art
When people try to rip us apart we
got to work to stay together
Go through the seasons of love and
never change with the weather
This is my wish list, what I want not
what I need there's a difference
These days I'm learning that words
got power so I'ma be specific

[Bilal]
Can I have a talk with you?
Can I make a dream come true?
Can I be in love with you?
Cuz I would if I could

[Talib]
Yeah sunflower
You must live in the infinite blackness
that exists when I close my eyes
I see you when I fall asleep, I see you
when I dream

[Bilal]
Lil' darlin'
Set your soul on fire (lil' darlin')
Be your one desire (lil' darlin')
Lil' darlin'
Can I talk to you? (lil' darlin')
Lil' darlin', lil' darlin'
Can I talk? (lil' darlin')
Can I talk, can I talk, can I?
Lil' darlin' (lil' darlin')
Can I talk to you? (lil' darlin')
Let him talk to you
Set your soul on fire

(feat. Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Kanye West)

[Kweli talking]
Yeah...
Yeah! That's what I'm talkin about!
Let's do it... Kanye West, c'mon turn me up and
Black Thought, c'mon turn me up and
Pharoahe Monch, c'mon turn me up and
Talib Kweli in the house with

[Hook: Kanye West]
Guerrilla monsoon rap - all the shorties like "who dat?"
Got the whole crowd like "how ya do dat?"
Nigga you, get smacked 'til ya blue black
And ya crew, give me dap like true dat
We come through and all the shorties like "who dat?"
Got the whole crowd like "how ya do dat?"
Nigga you, get smacked 'til ya blue black
And ya crew, give me dap like true dat

[Black Thought]
Yo, I hit these emcees with the grip of death like I was a Vulcan
Ain't a lot of "ifs" an "ands", it's just straight talkin
It's hard to swallow at times, so take portions
Bitin off more than you can chew, create offense
Emcee species endangered like dolphins
Rappers is spittin nails into they own coffins (c'mon)
Hear come the Dundee moves rocket-launchin (yeah)
Black Thought, quit playin him close and back up off him

[Talib Kweli]
Kweli -- spruce to the tree, Bruce to the Lee
Favorite emcee, that your favorite rapper used to be
One by one I knock 'em out like Schoolly D - my rhymes is eulogy
A flea could move a tree, before ya think ya movin me
I black and blue emcees - actin new to me, get smacked stupidly
That lack skills, like the black community lack unity (uh)
Still my rhymes heard like Ali DePhrase
Step off the stage to shouts of "Kweli boomayyay!!"

[Pharoahe Monch]
See these four emcees came to get down
Rearrange the rap game, change ya whole sound
Nigga YOU, got ta, understand the plot ta
Movin and groovin and always improvin alot-ta
I'll outfox the, average Porsche ya Boxster talk
Break the bank on some old Frank Sinatra (New York...)
Slash Chi-Town, slash Philly
Check the blast from Genevo, you can get slapped silly

[Hook]

[Black Thought]
Okay... my sound drenches, each of the five senses
And hold the shock value of electrified fences
It's truth or consequences, ride wit us or against us
Is you a dedicated soldier, or you a princess, dog?
I'm in it to win it and not for the wealth
Got a crib with a Grammy and a gat on the shelf
Nan nigga competition, gotta battle myself
And me and Kweli on a mission, gettin Pharoahe for help

[Talib Kweli]
From natives walkin in trailor tears to players sippin Belvedere
We always comin well prepared, and all my dogs' smellin fear
PLUS, even my niggaz from the Bede say you hella-scared
Truth or consequences, and all senses be well-aware
Your style - under-developed there, hell if I care
What hardship you claim to see, but I can tell by your stare
Nigga you fugazi, sayin ya crew blazin
like sayin Miss Cleo is a true Jamaican, we makin...

[Pharoahe Monch]
Guerrilla monsoon rap, smell the fumes, get in tune wit it
When I attack your city, y'all gon' think Dr. Doom did it
Spit it like white trash in seed-spittin contests
With a vendetta that sent a betta letter bomb to Congress
I'm pissed - cumulus clouds of ominous
Words of the Thor, the rawness that'll restore ya calmness
Unless, you wanna be leg and armless
That's parapaleg' for those who believe in bomb threats

[Hook]

[various ad-libs til fade]

[Kweli]
We be blazin' (uh)
So amazin' (yeh)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (uh, yeh)
We be blazin' (uh)
So amazin' (c'mon, uh)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down
Yeh

[Talib Kweli]
New year, new record, time to do
bigger shit
Caught a plane to Cali linked with my
nigga Quik
I figure with the combination we bomb
the nation but stay calm and patient
As the world get hyped from hearin
our musical conversation
This a beautiful situation right here
Given birth on the track cuz the
cypher stay pregnant with ideas
And we rockin it - rock, rock, rockin it
Tell the hater players put a sock in it!
Proper shit, that you got to get, cause
we properly document
How cats look more like dicks than
the Washington monument
Validly try to challenge me, but who
you racin wit'
It's amazing the lyrical lyngerie I be
lacin shit, we be blazin it
Put it in the air with the chronic
My lyrics like drugs got you hooked
on my phonics
From Brooklyn to Compton the lounge
of Soundbombing
Still rockin' over "Balance and
Options," now

[Chorus]
If you got a spliff then put it in the air
If you want a rift then put it in the air
If you shakin yo' ass, put it in the air
If you makin it last, put it in the air
If you leave the crib strapped then
put it in the air
Take ya hand of your gat and put it in
the air
Snook your bud in the club, put it in
the air
Got nuttin but love, put it in the air

[Talib Kweli
They say my rhymes is too heavy, I
come thicker than the fog
You get it when I retire and battle my
catalogue
Writin rhymes in my captain's log,
BlackStar date
MC's fake like Egyptian Gods in
+Stargate+
Lovin the hate, bubble all types of
weight in they rap
I draw blood like mosquitos y'all
annoy like gnats
Pop that around the wrong cat get
laid flat
Concrete adjust to the contours in
your back
Quik where you at?

[Quik]
Yo i'm in the back room makin a run
Ain't even touched her n makin her
cum
N you can catch me out in Portland
we startin mine
Everybody doin shows but i'm the
hottest flyin'
Bitches say honest, I swear to God
So how come then believin them is so
damn hard
Could you really blame a nigga if you
fucked a skate
You ain't even pay that's why you
flunked today
All you heard was he sellin talk shit
about niggas and drink wine
And your answer kept changin cos
bitch you keep lyin'
Talkin bout 'he make me sick
All he do is disrespect me keep callin
me bitch
And he only wanna fuck me when he
all for that dough'
What the fuck you think i'm here for
not to love you I hope
All i'm bout to do is listen for a minute
While I get my drink in n' introduce
you to my dog Kweli n go up in it

[Chorus]

[Kweli]
C'mon
We be blazin' (c'mon)
So amazin' (yeh)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (yeh, c'mon,
yeh)
We be blazin' (uh)
So amazin' (c'mon, yeh, c'mon,
c'mon)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down
Now let me tell you how I am

[Talib Kweli]
I'm mild-mannered at day but
superhero at night
I got the special invite to make your
spot look right
No ice, no rain, not bottles of
champagne n'
HALF these motherfuckers can't
pronounce my name
I'm so cool while you hyper in the
coffee shop
Hype niggas make girls be like 'get off
me stop'
Real niggas like thirst so of course we
rock
Cos the game unauthordox, off top
You got cold feet like I pulled off your
socks
Always goin down town pullin all the
stops
Your breath smellin like fish from
straight off the docks
Dats how you lost your spot
You too hype

[Chorus]

Yeh
We be blazin' (c'mon, uh)
So amazin' (yeh, everybody c'mon)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (yo, all the
people in the house)
We be blazin' (c'mon yeh)
So amazin' (yeah, c'mon)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down
Yo, 1, 2, (c'mon) 1, 2
We be blazin' (c'mon, yo)
So amazin' (c'mon get dowwwn)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (yeh, everybody
yo)
We be blazin' (light it up, light it up)
So amazin' (yeah, i'm feelin that,
c'mon)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (yeh)
Yo do that shit
We be blazin' (yeah)
So amazin' (c'mon get dowwwn, uh)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down (yo, yo do that
shit)
We be blazin' (c'mon, yo)
So amazin' (yeh)
Everybody get down
Everybody get down

[Talib Kweli]
The proud
Stand tall or don't stand at all, c'mon
Uhh, yeah
Break it down
What we do?

[Chorus]
We survive, it's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride

[Chorus] - repeat through intro

[Intro: Talib Kweli]
One two, one two yo
Aight.. put it down yo
June 21, 2001
Timothy McVeigh is executed
And the country breathe a sigh of
relief
Goodness prevails over evil, it seems
Somehow when he's gone, we feel
safer
Little do we know

[Verse One]
Today the paper say Timothy
McVeigh's in hell
So everything's okay and all must be
well
I remember Oklahoma when they put
out the blaze
And put Islamic terrorist bombing, on
the front page
It's like saying only gays get AIDS,
propaganda
Like saying the problem's over when
they locked that man up
Wrong! It's just the beginning, the first
inning
Battle for America's soul, the devil's
winning
The President is Bush, the Vice
President's a Dick
So a whole lot of fuckin is what we
gon' get
They don't wanna raise the babies so
the election is fixed
That's why we don't be fuckin with
politics
They bet on that, parents fought and
got wet for that
Hosed down, bit by dogs, and got
blacks into house arrest for that
It's all good except for that - we still
poor
Money, power and respect is what
we kill for, for real

[Chorus] - repeat through interlude

[Interlude]
August 4, 2001
A drunken police officer mows down
an entire family in Brooklyn
The judge lets him go with no bail
It reminds us, of just how worthless
our lives are to the justice system
I struggle, to explain the situation to
my son, it's hard

[Verse Two]
Niggaz with knowledge is more
dangerous than than niggaz with
guns
They make the guns easy to get and
try to keep niggaz dumb
Target the gangs and graffiti with the
Prop 21
I already know the deal but what the
fuck do I tell my son?
I want him livin right, livin good,
respect the rules
He's five years old and he still thinkin
cops is cool
How do I break the news that when
he gets some size
He'll be percieved as a threat or see
the fear in they eyes
It's in they job description to terminate
the threat
So 41 shots to the body is what he
can expect
The precedent is set, don't matter if
he follow the law
I know I'll give my son pride and
make him swallow it all (damn!)
Fuck the pigs! I think the pigs killed
Big and 'Pac too
If they didn't they know who did, they
got to!
Who they serve and protect, nigga
not you
Cops shot off of ten G's but they got
glocks too
Let you protect yourself, or better yet
respect yourself
Straight into the hospital is where you
gotta check yourself
They be gettin tips from snitches and
rival crews
Doin them favors so they workin for
the drug dealers too
Just business enforcers with hate in
they holsters
Shoot you in the back, won't face
you like a soldier
Kurt Loder asked me what I say to a
dead cop's wife
Cops kill my people everyday, that's
life

[Chorus] - repeat through final
interlude

[Final Interlude]
September 11, 2001
Terrorists attack the Pentagon and
the World Trade Center
Kills thousand and permanently scars
America's false sense of security
We see the best examples of
humanity in the face of the worst
As fire fighters, police officers, rescue
workers
and volunteers of all sorts, fight to
save lives
The world will never be the same
again

[Verse Three]
My heart go out to everybody at
Ground Zero
Red, black, yellow, white and brown
heroes
It's more complicated than black and
white
To give your own life is the greatest
sacrifice
But it's hard for me to walk down the
block
Seeing rats and roaches, crack viles
and 40 ounce posters
People broken down from years of
oppression
Become patriots when they way of life
is threatened
It's a hard conversation to have
We lost kids, moms and dads, people
ready to fight for the flag
Damn, when did shit get this bad?
America kill the innocent too, the
cycle of violence is sad
Damn! Welcome to the world, we
here
We've been at, war for years but it's
much more clear (yeah)
We got to face what lies ahead
Fight for our truth and freedom and,
ride for the dead

[Chorus] - repeat to end

[Chorus: Res - repeat 2X]
Where do we go? What do we say?
What do we do?
Nowhere to turn, nowhere to run and
there's nothin new
Where do we go for inspiration?
It's like pain is our only inspiration

[Talib Kweli]
Yea, I see a place where little boys
and girls
Are shells in the oceans not knowin
they a pearl
No one to hold 'em while they growin
They livin' moment to moment without
a care in the whole world
Now, if I could help it I tell it just like it
is
And I may say some things that you
don't like to hear
I know this: that people lie, people
kneel
People die, people heal, people steal,
and people shed tears
What's real, blood spills, gun kill, the
sun still - rise
Above me, trust me, it must be,
morning - time
Wake up, the stakes up
Everybody want the cake up, to
break up with the crew
But when the karma come back for
what you do
It's too late to make up - some excuse

[Chorus]

[Talib Kweli]
I come from people who stronger than
time and space
Wherever there's competition you
gonna find the race
I find a place in my heart for this hip-
hop
And pump blood through my vein my
skin get hot
I take you very serious and make you
write more
If I don't celebrate I got nothing to
fight for
I'm tight raw, excite y'all like nightfall
I'm tight y'all, I walk the street like y'all
About action, talk is cheap, right y'all?
You start yappin' think about the beef
you might cause
The trouble you could get into
You don't study, you not prepared
and cats is testin you
What you gonna do when you gotta
face
The manifestation of the words that
you put in space
They already there you cant take 'em
out
The studio gangsta inside you tryin' to
break out

[Chorus]

[Talib Kweli]
Yea, I see a place where little boys
and girls
Are shells in the oceans not knowin
they a pearl
No one to hold 'em while they growin
They livin' moment to moment without
a care in the whole world
Now, if I could help it I tell it just like it
is
And I may say some things that you
don't like to hear
I know this: that people lie, people
kneel
People die, people heal, people steal,
and people shed tears
What's real, blood spills, gun kill, the
sun still - rise
Above me, trust me, it must be,
morning - time
Wake up, the stakes up
Everybody want the cake up, to
break up with the crew
But when the karma come back for
what you do
It's too late to make up - some excuse

[Kweli]
Go right to left, left to right
Middle passage connection
Yeah, about to build
Tell you which way to go

[Both]
We go right to left, left to right
If you fight to the death, what's left to
fight
X4
Yo, here we go

[Kweli]
I wanna write away
I wanna write here
I wanna write brave words to fight
fear
Write dreams and nightmares
Might scare the folks stuck in the day
But nothing to say,
Well I'm way ahead by light years
So beware we keep the lights on
I wanna write the songs from right to
wrong
Right on
Riding the light so you see in the dark
So deep you gotta be still like your
beating heart
My words apply the pressure to make
the bleeding stop
See the art, living right, eating smart
I wanna right to life, a right to death
Police read your rights from right to
left
But I never write to remain silent
I fight through police line
Cops walk the beat that I write to
I teach minds, write rhymes with the
right sound
Right now, journalists write up
I write down

[Both] :Chorus
Party people put a hand in the sky
Grab a cloud and squeeze til no man
is dry
We wet it up, go ask the people if
they plannin to die
Can't stay to live, consumers is
plannin to buy
Smoke death operators is standing by
They take you order for the slaughter
of the family why
Do they make it so hard for a man to
provide
You better get wit it, or {stand to the
side X7}

[Vinia Mojica]
And the story line goes on
Right to left, who's right who's wrong
Fuck the politics and pride
I just to try to stay alive
To witness where the battle lines are
drawn
Speak my mind and sing my song
I'm passin on the moral y'all
This is ain't play
True, you got to know the way
It's hard now
Open eyes
See hopeful lives
Sing it now

[Kweli]
Making my way through life
Talking to elders and taking advice
Ignoring their words and paying the
price
Living in the world where false
preachers got us praying to christ
Get with the young girls in the choir
and laying the pipe
No control of our soul we all wait at
the light
So comfortable they we hating to fight
to make it right
Late at night I'm controlled by the DJ
on the mic
I love hip-hop and every joint he
playing is tight
A day in the life is a brick in the
foundation of like
A maze in Egypt amazing when I'm
creating a sight
For the world to behold and the story
to last
So one day ghetto children can visit
their glorious past
After Pac and Notorious past what do
we have
Niggas worth more when they dead,
it's so sad
Started with the slavery we finish the
plan
But I broke the cycle, and became a
man

[Both] : Chorus

[Kweli]
Come on,
I got my man Savion in the house
We about to put it down
Here we go

(Savion Glover tap dances)

[Kweli] + (woman's Voice)
Yea (yeaaah)
Come on
Uhh
Yeah
Kweli

[Bridge]
Yo Yo
Ayo my silent moments, loud as the
crack of thunder
My hunger is like the crocodile that
attacks the hunter
It ain't commercial or underground, its
true cause I
(wanna be good to you)

[Chorus]
Call it skill, call it game, call it glow,
call my name
Like the lord, all in vein, screaming
like you all in pain
Treat it like a drug, all up in ya vain
cause (wanna be good to you)

[Verse 1]
We make the squares dance, and
get the do like dotsey
Y'all niggaz roll with pussy-cats like
Josey
All spoiled rotten like ghetto groceries
yo
I clutch the mic like ya grandma
clutch her rosary yo
Swooping the industry, like a bird to
prey
My stance has got stamina, ya verses
lack vertebrae
I heard them say I was a conscious
rapper
But I'm a monster when I hafta smack
the shit out of a nonsense actor
Using my 'hands solo' and I don't
need chewy
Over your head like Yamakas and
Koofies yo
Fuck the screen gems y'all niggaz act
in B movies
Type of niggaz proud to be groupies
Followers in the herd running over the
cliff
I'm the +Buffalo Soldier+, smoke ya
like a dread like rasta
blowing the spliff, loading a clip to spit
high
Like you holding blow in a stolen
whip, rolling the strip
Looking to hit cops, now that's a 4
alarm
Black queen falling on my arms, you
could call it charm
Mater fact call it what you want, its up
to you bro
(wanna be good to you)
Yea
Yea
Yea

Chorus (1x)

[Verse 2]
How many niggaz ever been in love'
How many niggaz really think they
thugs
And can't think without the drink and
drugs
How many niggaz can't get in with
hats and sneakers on
Say 'fuck security' and get inside and
keep them on
How many niggaz think that gats
make the weaker strong
Can't do for self and wanna snatch
the plate you eating on
That don't take heart, slave, nigga
play ya part
I'd rather jump over board nigga, face
the sharks
We stay doing it, later for the
conversation
Hammers is cocked and waiting,
niggaz is not debating
We ain't got the patience You found
popping shit
Come in to town just to run you down
like poppa ditch
And dig a proper ditch, you lying like
a politician
Your proposition meets opposition like
contradictions
Get out my house, you ain't no real
representative
I make it happen, you ain't official,
you tentative
Niggaz is sensitive, see how they
catching feelings
It's so hot, the sweat rise and it wet
the ceiling
Barracuda, Spitkicker nigga that's the
crew (wanna be good to you)

[Breakdown]
Whoo! (yeaahh)
Come on
Yeah
Low ride
Yo
Yo
Yo

[Verse 3]
Niggaz be claiming shit, find a
gangsta movie, put
they name in it, biting like there ain't
no shame in it
You the hardest on the beat, I'm the
fire that you playing with
You a artist from the street, I'll give
you the blood to paint it with
So yeah I'm positive, I'm positive I'm
the best
Spit bullets to split ya vest and
deposit them in ya chest
Dark is the flesh on my bones, calling
Brooklyn home
Hang up on niggaz like 'I want you to
meet my nigga tone, word
Leave me alone like Michael Jackson
Or there will be more than butterflies
in your stomach
waiting to see what happens
You see me out, know that my crew
is flawless
So called gangstas need more
security than the Rawkus office
Yo, I thought you bust ya gun
You just a big joke, thinking you a Big
Pun
Yo, Kayne this is the big one (wanna
be good to you)
me and my niggaz having big fun

Bridge (1x)

Chorus (1x)

Come on,
BK and
BX and
Q boro and
Manhattan and
Harlem niggaz and
Long Island
Wanna be good to you you you come
on! (wanna be good to you)
The whole world rocking
Yo the whole world rocking
Ayo uhh

[Talib Kweli]
Yeah ... this is the best part of the trip
Hold on to something, hold on to
something
We about to take the road less
travelled
You ain't gotta go home, but you
can't stay here
Let's go

[Kendra Ross] (Talib Kweli)
I get lonelier each time
You go away I lose my mind
I lay awake til you come and make
things right (yeah yeah)
I get lonelier each time you go away
(cmon)
So baby won't you stay with me
tonight? (yeah)

[Talib Kweli]
Check it out
There's this lady I'm in love with (yes
there is)
Living inside this woman unknown
But she's scared to let it show
I know it sound like some bug shit
(yeah it do)
It's just she come with
Hang-ups and
Insecurities they gotta go
She always nervous around me
But see this lady inside
She's ready to be my baby tonight
And ever since this lady found me
This woman think I'm dangerous
And ain't ready to put her safety aside
I try to tell her that I got her back
And no matter where we at
In our lives
I'll treat her like she my girl
I asked her "What's wrong with
dat?" (What's wrong with dat?)
She like "It just ain't right
There's so many more women and
men in the world"
I have to admit the girl got a point
(true)
Maybe my ambition's made to make
me want something I just can't have
So now it's time for me to blow this
joint
I still know I'm in love
I just stay focused
And true to my path
Word

[Kendra Ross] (Talib Kweli)
I get lonelier each time
You go away I lose my mind
I lay awake til you come and make
things right (yeah yeah)
I get lonelier each time you go away
(uhh)
So baby won't you stay with me
tonight? (yeah yeah)

[Talib Kweli]
I got to get away
Ladies you ever felt growing away
By your man
Asking "Baby, won't you stay?"
He chilling with his crew
He should be building with you
He got you feeling the blues
Cause the children to glue
He willing to do
Whatever it takes
To save 'em
From a fate he can't see when he
misbehaving
Brave men don't let they ladies
Raise they children theyself
You're so busy trying to save 'em
That you you're killing yourself
With the
Stress and strife
And the fights and the advice
From the ladies of the night
Who can't run they own life
Up in your air
Nothing is fair
Why do you care?
Why do you always take it there?
The crying, the tears
You ain't prepared for the jewels
That I'm trying to share
Flying there
Dying inside
Hot in the fear
The writing is clear
On the wall
For you to read the sign
Ayo the fine is the way we design
To be fine
But still ...

[Kendra Ross]
I get lonelier each time (I get so
lonely)
You go away I lose my mind
I lay awake til you come and make
things right
(mmmmmmm .. make it right, make it
right, make it right)
I get lonelier each time you go away
(la la la la la la la laaaa)
So baby won't you stay with me
tonight?

[Talib Kweli]
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta, Gotta
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go
Gotta, Gotta

Yo
You can tell when people wanna
spend they life together
Despite the weather
They treat each other like a treasure
Can't fight forever
You got to give it up
I ain't got a lot of time
We got to live it up
I make my music like I make my love
People use it like they take they
drugs
In the morning
When they waking up
This music got me out late but
I holla at you when I'm done
Don't stay up
Will love play with us?
It sting like paper cuts
Doused in alcohol
But if it's real
They ain't no greater rush
I got faith in us
It's only you who really know me
I be surrounded by people
And still feel lonely

[Kendra Ross]
So baby won't you stay (why won't
you stay?)
Baby won't you stay? (why won't you
stay?)
Baby won't you stay with me tonight?
(ohhhhh)
Stay with me tonight
Stay with me tonight
Ohhhhh
Cmon