| This a portrait of America that Norman couldn’t master
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| But crack rock well-suited for the capture
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| Whole hood hostage to that white in the glass
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| But because the prisoners Black, it wasn’t labeled a disaster
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| Too hard not to internalize
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| So I keep burning in this personal hell 'til the inferno dies
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| Government feeding us bullshit 'stead of truth
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| Giving birth to a dishonest nation, we call it fertile lies
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| We had a house kept getting robbed
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| 'Member the night daddy brought the pistol out to end the men involved
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| And 5−0 came to grace us with their presence two hours after mom dukes had sent
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| the call
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| And who was I?
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| Young Assata from the Zulu tribe
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| Trying to breed love from hate like The Bluest Eye
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| Too many friends long lost to this useless cycle
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| I guess that’s a revolutionary suicide
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| Huey saved me, Paulette and Henry made me
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| Proud of humble beginnings, but hungry for domination
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| I’m an abomination
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| The X they can’t solve for, smoking revolver
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| Ghost of a Mau Mau, rolling through Upper Marlboro
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| And all of us was struggling just to get by
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| And the reflection is eternal, Talib gave us words to live by
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| But all we want to do was get high
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| Kept a one-hitter of that indica hidden above my mid-thigh
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| Building with the gods 'bout the 120
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| Hit the Rastas up with the change from my lunch money
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| Cop a Final Call from the NOI
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| Tryna to figure out how to stay up when that misery seems to love our company
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| But we made it through the hurricane
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| That’s why I’m quick to speak the truth, but I’m careful not to hurry fame
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| 'Cause even though I came a long way, I
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| Owe less to the struggles where I am than to the tragedy from where I came
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| Sa-Roc, Sol Messiah, SP the Ghost
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| I am Malcolm and Mandela (I am)
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| From the concrete jungle with knowledge of sand dwellers
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| Shout to the sisters (Shout)
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| Smoking while I listen to the ancestors whisper
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| Fight for your freedom and your rights 'cause you need 'em (You need)
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| And it’s the tech days, so your life gets deleted if your cypher ain’t
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| completed (Cypher ain’t complete)
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| If you ain’t complete, you ain’t elite (Uh-uh)
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| If your little brother’s hungry, then tell me, how could you eat?
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| (How could you?)
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| It’s one for all, all for one (One for all)
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| Brand Nubians, light up a doobie, give me a gun
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| I been watching the news (Yeah), I been feeling the blues (Yeah)
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| You could get killed by the boys wearing the blue (You know)
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| And I don’t mean the Crips (Uh-uh)
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| I’m talking 'bout the cops on the strip
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| See the opps and your option’s to dip (You gotta dip)
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| It shouldn’t have to be like that
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| Hard to survive, third eye, can’t see like that (Can't see), Ghost
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| To my Black bro and Black sis
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| Keep your Black thought and Black fist
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| Yeah, I’m always on some Black shit
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| Probably got me on their blacklist
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| I’m willing to die for these Black kids
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| Are you willing to die for these Black kids?
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| We gotta survive for these Black kids
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| We gotta be wise for these Black kids, yeah |