| Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
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| I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
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| I give a holler to my sisters on welfare
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| Tupac cares, if don’t nobody else care
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| And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
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| When you come around the block brothas clown a lot
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| But please don’t cry, dry your eyes, never let up Forgive but don’t forget, girl keep your head up And when he tells you you ain’t nuttin don’t believe him
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| And if he can’t learn to love you you should leave him
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| Cause sista you don’t need him
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| And I ain’t tryin to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em You know it makes me unhappy (what's that)
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| When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy
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| And since we all came from a woman
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| Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
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| I wonder why we take from our women
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| Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
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| I think it’s time to kill for our women
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| Time to heal our women, be real to our women
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| And if we don’t we’ll have a race of babies
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| That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
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| And since a man can’t make one
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| He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
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| So will the real men get up I know you’re fed up ladies, but keep your head up Keep ya head up, oooo child things are gonna get easier
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| ooooo child things are gonna get brighter
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| Aiyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be And suddenly tha ghetto didn’t seem so tough
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| And though we had it rough, we always had enough
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| I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
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| Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two
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| And I realize momma really paid the price
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| She nearly gave her life, to raise me right
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| And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream
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| Of how I’d rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen
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| I’m tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents
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| It’s hard to be legit and still pay tha rent
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| And in the end it seems I’m headin for tha pen
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| I try and find my friends, but they’re blowin in the wind
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| Last night my buddy lost his whole family
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| It’s gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
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| It seems tha rain’ll never let up I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up You know it’s funny when it rains it pours
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| They got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor
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| Say there ain’t no hope for the youth and the truth is it ain’t no hope for tha future
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| And then they wonder why we crazy
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| I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby
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| We ain’t meant to survive, cause it’s a setup
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| And even though you’re fed up Huh, ya got to keep your head up And uhh
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| To all the ladies havin babies on they own
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| I know it’s kinda rough and you’re feelin all alone
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| Daddy’s long gone and he left you by ya lonesome
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| Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I’m sure
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| And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
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| Cause ain’t nuttin worse than when your son
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| wants to kno why his daddy don’t love him no mo'
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| You can’t complain you was dealt this
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| hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless
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| Because there’s too many things for you to deal with
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| Dying inside, but outside you’re looking fearless
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| While tears, is rollin down your cheeks
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| Ya steady hopin things don’t all down this week
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| Cause if it did, you couldn’t take it, and don’t blame me I was given this world I didn’t make it And now my son’s getten older and older and cold
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| From havin the world on his shoulders
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| While the rich kids is drivin Benz
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| I’m still tryin to hold on to my survivin friends
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| And it’s crazy, it seems it’ll never let up, but
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| please… you got to keep your head up |