[Verse 1: Phife Dawg] So am I 'posed to be dead or doin' life in prison? Just another dummy caught up in the system Unruly hooligan who belongs in Spofford Versus gettin' that degree at Stanford or Harvard And by my work ethic, the way I speak Yo, should it be mentally weak versus bein' Malik Yo, should I be trapped in the trap? Would you prefer that? Fourth grade mean level but he knows how to rap Are you amused by our struggles? The English that's broken? The weed that I'm smokin'? The guns that I'm totin'? The drugs that I'm sellin'? No need for improvement Fuck you and who you think I should be, forward movement
[Verse 2: Jarobi] Melanin is shrouded in complexity Brain charge shocking like 'lectricity Mouth translate happens organically The media relates to what it thinks it sees Judging steps in shoes from a path they never walked Shot down in a blaze over phrases, how to talk Dark skin, walk with a bop, a trade feelin' I'm chillin', feelin' down at a DNA crime buildin' Supplement the youth, hypersexualizing women They ain't got the strong enough hold, so they built a prison Pumping false religion to all of these niggas' systems Every voice devoid of the truth Come on, listen
[Verse 3: Q-Tip] Look at this, look at this Whatever will be will be Like a billionaire investin' in a nigga's dreams Certainly a head scratcher, like Pac and Big's killas capture Or a women with the wisdom who's leadin' the way The rarity is in the rear, but never today Man, picture a PD lettin' good records play On the strength of what it is, not the finesse of your biz And your lady calls you dirty, her dirts under rugs You'll find out only if she tells you, take her kiss and hug, cuz In the answer for cancer in a prodigious kid's mind Yes, the government will for learning is feed for everyone And from that lie, your leaders will rise in the eyes Of despair and adversity in some universal sense will be true
[Bridge: Q-Tip] Everybody runnin' when they see the stars comin' But whatever's gonna be will be Everybody runnin' when they see the stars comin' But whatever's gonna be will be Some will dash to the mountain, some will crawl And the weakest amongst them, they will fall But the strongest in fate, they will stand tall Everybody runnin' when they see the stars comin' But whatever's gonna be will be
[Verse 4: Consequence] I just wanna feel as liberated as lions in Liberia 'Cause recently my heart turned cold as Siberia 'Cause everywhere I go, bein' cold is the criteria Let's see how well you know all your Tribe trivia Green and the white, we servin' that Nigeria North side of Queens, one-nine-two is the area This is for my dawgs from Shih Tzus to Terriers Fuck it, it's showtime, Tip, make sure they hearin' ya