(Talib Kweli) And what the people say? We wanna it up And what the people want? deliver us And what the people Hey... I got that,
Kweli] I call these rappers baby seals, cause club you to death I could 'em Navy SEALs, cause they government feds What become of the vets? They drugged up, they up, they in debt ain't no love and no respect, it's like a gang it's like a club or a set the new WWF What do you rap or do you wrestle? love to forget We got til gone, you think you on, you still hustlin backwards Your topical norm a tropical storm, it's a fuckin Back to the topic we on, it all at Rawkus They couldn't find the to describe me so they resort to the shortcuts Is he a Is he a mad rapper? An entertainer or the of the last chapter We living in times of love and cholera with the apocalypse, look up the clouds is ominous We got maybe ten left say meteorologists, shit We waitin for the Congress to acknowledge this~!
[Chorus: Talib Kweli & in the background] What the people Please deliver us We wanna live it up, please us is the, th-th-this is the, this is the hostile gospel I'm reaching through the - please deliver us I'm preaching to the choir - please us Just keep it real with us, you scared to spill your Your words rung hollow, we need someone to
[Talib You ain't tomorrow, so get your paper up You can't always just borrow and for favors bruh Stand on your own two, never covet thy neighbor's Karma's a bitch so watch your mouth and you sayin bruh I a conversation based on general observation Hip-Hop is not a nation, it to population Niggaz got a lot to say when locked inside the of Satan Awaitin debatin how the hell I got placed in this system Am I a or just a product of indoctrination? They it and use me like a movie with product placement You hear the congregation; this is the hostile The is hard to swallow it'll leave you scarred tomorrow Keep it honest our motto, these niggaz keep it I'm the writer who reach the fighters like speeches by Cus DJs stickin to vinyl "Fuck Serato" Suppliers who ride the block, in the custom models Ballin like the the lotto you know who the cleanest is A nigga keep it reeich the stitch and greedy geniuses I'm not a hipster, but I flip it a sneaker pimp Expose the game, it like a bitch Smack fire out these hoes, cause they and tap wires while I plead the fifth You trust a soul in the biz, so be careful who you eatin with and sleepin with and also who you chiefin You know they might've added in secret ingredients
Kweli] Freedom's a road seldom traveled, watch hell unravel Right before the of the soldier who fell in battle The mother who raised her daughter to bear the sacred water And not take the hand of every man who make a To black kids wishin they white kids, they close they eyelids Like, "I bet they neighborhood like this" White kids wishin they kids, and wanna talk like rappers It's all backwards it's crisis The industry inside us is with fangs trying to bite us Drug is the health care providers We cakin, makin narcotics household products We ain't workin out 'til we exorcise the that's inside us Plus they seem to just provide us with enough to hang ourselves Enough dope to slang ourselves, enough toast to bang It's officially nigga season, niggaz is bleedin That's why I'm spittin we had enough of trigger squeezin
[Outro: In tryin days and times All I need is to be I do it on my own Lord can you me? There are trials to come It's salvation that I So I'm to the sky can you deliver me? us... Deliver us, us, ohhhhhhhhhh Oh, us us Ohhhhh us yes us, deliver us, deliver us Yeah yeah yeah, ohhhhhhhhhh... [ad to fade]