Ballad of the Black Gold

[Hook: Talib Kweli] This is the ballad of the black gold They call it Texas tea But it's bigger than a cowboy with a lasso It's deeper than a black hole Create monopolies Except they collect your fee when you pass Go Crisis international The government de facto We got no control of this fiasco Darker than the back roads Bubble hotter than Tabasco More than what you bargained for or asked for [Verse 1: Talib Kweli] You never see happy, hungry people - that ain't rational They blasting through the gates and they attack you at the capital Run up in your palace, find the heads of the state and crack a few Get a taste of power, then they become fascists too The fiscal conservatives, don't know what they purpose is Spend money on the war, then they cut your goods and services Murderous, corporate monsters is breaking records Exxon is at 40 billion a year, they raking in record profits. Stop it! How they banking while the auto industry is tanking? Leadership is sinking; oil pollution in the water stanking Loyalty to petroleum royalties spoil the economy We won't get it poppin' till we oil-free If you're oil-rich then we invadin' They call it "occupation," but we losing jobs across the nation Drill, baby, drill, while they make our soldiers kill, baby still The desert where the blood and oil spill [Hook: Talib Kweli] [Verse 2: Talib Kweli] Nigeria is celebrating 50 years of independence They still feel the colonial effects of Great Britain's presence Dictators quick to imitate the West Got in bed with oil companies and now the place is a mess Take a guess, which ones came and violated They oiled up the soil, the Ogoni people was almost annihilated But still they never stayed silent They was activists and poets using non-violent tactics That was catalyst for soldiers to break into they crib Take 'em from the kids and try to break 'em like a twig And make examples of the leaders; executed Saro-Wiwa Threw Fela's mom out the window right after they beat her In an effort to defeat hope. Now the people's feet soaked in oil So the youth is doing drive-bys in speed boats They kidnap the workers, they blowing up the pipelines You see the fires glowing in the nighttime [Hook: Talib Kweli] [Verse 3: Talib Kweli] History: a slippery creature It's full of plot twists and surprise endings like a mystery feature This oil shit is slicker than preachers It make the problems in the region amplified like victory speeches Poison the water, lead the boys to the slaughter Go in somebody' country, rearrange the order and destroy the borders You see 'em dancing through the fields of fire World domination their real desire The devil is still a liar [Hook: Talib Kweli] [Hook: Talib Kweli]