Music Video

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Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Common
Common
Vocals
James Poyser
James Poyser
Keyboards
Karriem Riggins
Karriem Riggins
Drums
Kanye West
Kanye West
Keyboards
Bilal
Bilal
Background Vocals
Lonnie Lynn
Lonnie Lynn
Spoken Word
The Kids
The Kids
Background Vocals
The Modulations
The Modulations
Sampled Artist
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
James Poyser
James Poyser
Songwriter
James Yancey
James Yancey
Songwriter
Kanye West
Kanye West
Songwriter
Karriem Riggins
Karriem Riggins
Songwriter
Lonnie Lynn
Lonnie Lynn
Songwriter
Robert Curington
Robert Curington
Songwriter
Willie Lester
Willie Lester
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
James Poyser
James Poyser
Co-Producer
Karriem Riggins
Karriem Riggins
Co-Producer
Taylor Dow
Taylor Dow
Assistant Recording Engineer
Bob Power
Bob Power
Mixing Engineer
Frank Hendler
Frank Hendler
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Andrew Dawson
Andrew Dawson
Recording Engineer
Common
Common
Executive Producer
Darren "ROCK" Darnell
Darren "ROCK" Darnell
Recording Engineer
Derek Dudley
Derek Dudley
Executive Producer
J Dilla
J Dilla
Producer
Kanye West
Kanye West
Executive Producer
Tom Coyne
Tom Coyne
Mastering Engineer

Lyrics

Feat. 'POPS' Night Blows, Stoves don't work, Hoes at work A warrior, so I wear 'em on my shirt Wish I was free as Che was, I spend a day buzzed Trippin on heights, wishin for nights in different flavors The age of Kane and Big Daddy, shown by the caddies Uncles named Larry, that never really grabbed me My mother gave birth but she really never had me Left to the hood to play daddy Raised by niggaz named Butch through the bay bay With waists so they weigh they status on the streets License plates that say they, motto This is Chicago in the hay day Similiar to Good Times, I guess that I was Jay Jay A skinny nigga, young girls with penny figures So many niggaz, stacked upon each other It's the black upon each other that we love so much Wonder how many of us, these drugs gonna touch Used to gangbang, ain't really thug that much Rather have some thick broads then the dutch to clutch Went to school in Baton Rouge for a couple of years My college career got downed with a couple of beers Came back home, now I gotta pay back loans Same nigga, same block, same shit they own Only thing different, quicker, they click that chrome In my defense, yo I had to hit that zone Man to man, I'm good workin with my hands My generation never understood workin for the man And, of bein broke I ain't a fan Now I stand in the same spot, as my old man My life I planned not to be on this corner I still wanna see California But this is my world "It's your world" Yeah Life and death law around us Four pounds and pounds a verb from out of towners It's hard to stay grounded We stay high, thats why old folks down us Lost, nobody found us, the force that sorrounds us Ain't with us, they get us on the ground and hit us We paint pictures of the chains under their names and scriptures Removed from earth, only to return through birth Knew this girl sellin her body, wish she knew what it was worth. Between God and trash, lookin in every car that pass With a walk that suggests head, to milk niggaz she was breastfed She know dairy so she say cheese to get bread In the area where it's more weaves and less dreads Kinda scary, amongst theives and base-heads Said it was her toes, but I could tell her soul hurt She was colder (?), growin up she got to know hurt Very well in a world where self hate is overt Her step-father that he was aite, so her mother he striked She got to like like minded niggaz, who liked crimes and figures Doin white lines and liquor, see hard times had kicked her In the ass, it used to be thicker Life is fast, some choose to be quicker I remember in high school she had a passion to sing Now she see herself in a casket in dreams These are the children of crack and rap, blacks done lack Self-esteem, yo we forgot the dream On our jeffersons y'all but we forgot the theme In the Chi, we even rootin for a garbage team This queen never seen herself on this Corner She still wanna see California But this is her world Be, be here, be there, be that, be this Be greatful for life, be greatful to life Be gleeful everyday, for bein the best swimmer among 500, 000 Be-nign, be you, be mom's mean pie, be little black sambo With bad hair Be aware of what a lynch is, Be, be boundless energy Be a four star ghetto general, be no one except I Be a strong academic student, be an A student in sociology Be food for thought to the growin mind, be the author of your own horoscope Be invited, be long-living, be forgiving, be not forgetful Be a proud run, only to return to fight another day Be peaceful if possible, but justice in ways (?) Be high when you low, be on time but knowin to go Be cautious of the road to college, takin a detour through vietnam or the middle east Be absent of wars at any past or present fought amongst themselves Be visual of foreclosure over your shoulder while beggin A nation built on free labor for reperation, Be a cartopogropher Be a map maker, be able to find afro-american man Search thoroughly it may be close to black man Be ammended 5/5ths, be ammended 5/5ths human Be the owner of more land than is set aside for wild life Be cupid, to world government Be found among the truth, lost tribe Be at full strength when walking through the valley Be not foolish as tender 18 of the mountain tops Be a brilliant soul, sparklin in the galaxy while walkin on earth Be loved by God as much as God loved Ghandi and Martin Luther King Be that last one of 144, 000, be the resident of that twelfth house Be... eternal!
Writer(s): Lonnie Rashid Lynn, James Dewitt Yancey, Robert B. Curington, Willie Lester Jr. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
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