I Want to Be Free (That's the Truth)

You think Oakland, California is a city of punks

It only takes a second to pop the trunk

And just like that you know it's real

You're in the right damn town to get killed

It's all about the game and nothing else

You come out here, you better watch yourself

'Cause you can wear what you want, even blue or red

But cross the wrong brothers and end up dead

You catch a body full of bullets and get blasted

Tryna be a gangster but you just ain't lastin'

This little town is gettin' wild as hell

Check the penitentiaries and all the jails

If they could lock us all up, that would be just fine

Got my partners from Oakland doin' serious time

You can't argue with the truth, it's hard to be black

But it's a mind game and you gotta deal with that

I wake up every day and I just can't wait

To make more money 'cause back in the days

When I rapped, I did the same damn thing I do now

Grabbed the microphone and show you how

But I was broke, the only thing I had was game

I started makin' money and knew things would change

Bought a Benz, thought it might earn respect

But the OPD found it hard to accept

I got jacked by the Task and jacked by the Vice

Facedown on the ground, keep my hands in sight

Put the handcuffs on, backseat, I'm in it

Illegal search for about thirty minutes

Askin' me where's the dope?

Where's my gun? But I don't know

I said I'm rappin', they laugh like I told a joke

And to this day they think I'm sellin' coke

I want to be free and that's the truth, oh, yeah

I want to be free, oh, yeah

I be in Oakland, California every day of my life

Bass so hard you think I'm smokin' a pipe

And if I don't smoke it, I gots to grind

Searched all my stuff and all you find

Is a pocket full of money, count seven Gs

Now you wanna think I'm sellin' keys

'Cause I'm a black man, but I run my own business

So why the police wanna send me to prison?

They see a brother makin' major cash

They knock a patch out his black ass

And that's the truth, you can't argue at all

Tryna give you ten years for a phone call

Ain't even trippin' on the dank smoke

'Cause all they wanna find is guns and coke

In court all the time tryna fight it

We get rich, we get indicted

(I want to be free)

So what's the problem, Officer, this time?

Is havin' big money, bein' black my crime?

Or did you take me to jail to teach me a lesson?

Charge me with somethin' or just ask questions

About the brothers I hang around

What's really goin' on in the Oakland Town?

Tell me who went broke and who got rich

But Too $hort, baby, just ain't no snitch

You say you're just doin' your job

But you're gettin' on my nerves just like Bob

Every time I hit a corner, I see you

Always tellin' brothers what to do

You lock me up 'cause I don't know how to act

But I'm down for mine so I be talkin' back

And when I do, you treat me bad as hell

I'm sick of spendin' nights in jail

I want to be free and that's the truth, oh, yeah

I want to be free, oh, yeah

Got outta jail 'bout 4:15

Walkin' down the street like a broke dope fiend

Had a pocket full of money tryna play the role

Benz got towed and I was hella cold

But I ain't trippin', I'm gettin' used to it now

Handcuffed your boy, took me straight downtown

For three warrants, had to catch me sooner or later

'Cause the 5-0's always tryna jack a player for no reason

Wasn't doin' nothin' wrong

You think I'm lyin', singin' that same old song

Well, I'm a black man, ridin' in a Benz

How in the hell did I make these ends?

Here we go, I pull over to the right

Stop the engine, keep my hands in sight

I start cursin' 'cause it don't make sense

Why would I run and try to jump a fence?

If I was plannin' a smooth getaway

I never woulda stopped in the first place

You be high speed chasin' me but this time you ain't

'Cause all I got on me is a big fat bank

And I hope I don't get robbed by you know who

Make me donate some Gs to the boys in blue

And if I sue, I won't get nothin' back

But I ain't mad, I'm just black

I want to be free, oh, yeah

I want to be free, oh, yeah

I want to be free, oh, yeah

I want to be free, oh, yeah