America

VERSE 1 It's the best of times It's the worst of times And for the first time A lot of blacks first in line We emerged though they told us we was too far behind We reversed what they schooled us on by using our minds Hey -- we on the come up Yeah we making moves Took a while to get our forty acres and a mule A lot of people winning Wanna move up out the hood So a couple of us feeling Like we all be living good Nah it's still a big gap For the poor and rich cats Ain't enough changed Since the days when they whipped blacks We got a middle class And that's a big deal We can't forget our past though I gotta keep it real You at the office rocking locs they investigate If a cop spot you on the block then he instigate When you want to get a job send your resume Boss spot Lakisha at the top now he hesitate CHORUS Got your hoodie on They want to stare at ya They think you fully armed Black in America I want to turn my whole back on America They make it hard to be black It's empirical x2 VERSE 2 Black kids guilty 'til a jury find 'em innocent That is clearly why some children get so militant School be feelin' like a world war death camp Students staying in they homes a la Anne Frank Textbooks older than the teachers at the school But the checks ain't coming when that features in the news They talk about the drugs And the crimes every day Not the blood left behind When they came and they raped us Fought back they would beat a nigga's lights out Never thought blacks could be living in the white house Yet the right's so unkind to our president They remind me that I'm not a resident We survived genocide we a testament To the pride of who lies in the sediment So I remain too aware of all my melanin Cuz Uncle Sam don't really care that I'm a relative CHORUS