(Talib Kweli) And the people say? We wanna live it up And what the people want? Please us And what the people Hey... I got that,
Kweli] I call these rappers seals, cause they club you to death I could call 'em Navy SEALs, cause government feds What become of the They drugged up, they fucked up, they in debt There 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 Niggaz love to forget We got til it's gone, you think you on, you hustlin backwards Your topical norm a tropical storm, a fuckin disaster Back to the topic we on, it all at Rawkus They couldn't find the words to describe me so resort to the shortcuts Is he a backpacker? Is he a mad An entertainer or the of the last chapter We living in these of love and cholera Synonymous with the apocalypse, look up the is ominous We got maybe ten years say meteorologists, shit We still for the Congress to acknowledge this~!
[Chorus: Talib & singers in the background] the people want? Please deliver us We wanna it up, please deliver us Th-th-this is the, is the, this is the hostile gospel I'm reaching through the fire - please us I'm preaching to the choir - deliver us Just keep it with us, you scared to spill your blood words rung hollow, we need someone to follow
[Talib You ain't promised tomorrow, so get paper up You always just borrow and asks for favors bruh Stand on your own two, never covet thy neighbor's Karma's a bitch so watch mouth and what you sayin bruh I start a based on general observation Hip-Hop is not a nation, take it to got a lot to say when locked inside the belly of Satan Awaitin debatin how the hell I got placed in this system Am I a victim or just a product of They exploit it and use me like a movie product placement You hear the this is the hostile gospel The truth is hard to swallow it'll leave you tomorrow Keep it honest our motto, these niggaz keep it I'm the writer who reach the fighters speeches by Cus D'Amato DJs stickin to vinyl "Fuck Serato" Suppliers who ride around the block, in the models Ballin like the the lotto you know who the cleanest is A keep it reeich with the stitch and greedy geniuses I'm not a hipster, but I flip it like a pimp Expose the game, it like a bitch Smack fire out these hoes, cause snitch and tap wires while I plead the fifth You can't trust a soul in the biz, so be careful who you eatin and with and also who you chiefin with You never they might've added in secret ingredients
[Talib Freedom's a road that's seldom traveled, watch unravel Right before the of the soldier who fell in battle The single mother who her daughter to bear the sacred water And not take the of every man who make a offer To black kids wishin white kids, when they close they eyelids Like, "I bet neighborhood ain't like this" White wishin they black kids, and wanna talk like rappers all backwards it's identity crisis The industry inside us is vipers fangs trying to bite us Drug is the health care providers We cakin, narcotics outta household products We ain't workin out 'til we the demons that's inside us Plus they seem to just provide us with rope to hang ourselves dope to slang ourselves, enough toast to bang ourselves It's nigga season, these 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 still to come It's that I need So I'm to the sky Lord can you me? us... Deliver us, us, ohhhhhhhhhh Oh, us us Ohhhhh us yes Deliver us, deliver us, us yeah yeah, ohhhhhhhhhh... [ad libs to fade]