album cover
artist
KRS-One
R.E.A.L.I.T.Y.
3,692
Hip-Hop/Rap
R.E.A.L.I.T.Y. was released on October 10, 1995 by Jive as a part of the album KRS-One
album cover
AlbumKRS-One
Release DateOctober 10, 1995
LabelJive
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM89

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Music Video

Music Video

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
KRS-One
KRS-One
Performer
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
L. Parker
L. Parker
Composer
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Norty Cotto
Norty Cotto
Producer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
[Verse 2]
"These are the streets!
Shit is real out here!
This ain't no fuckin' joke!"
[Verse 3]
I lived in a spot called Millbrooke Projects
The original Criminal Minded rap topic
With twenty cents in my pocket, I saw the light
If you're young, gifted, and Black, you got no rights
Your only true right, is a right to a fight
And not a fair fight, I wake up wonderin' who died last night
Everyone and everything is at war
Makin' my poetic expression hardcore
[Verse 4]
I ain't afraid to say it, and many can't get with it
At times in my life, I was a welfare recipient
I ate the free cheese, while the church said believe
And went to school every day, like a goddamn fool
Well anyway, here I am, chillin' at the party
Brothers lookin' at me like they wanna kill somebody
A cypher manifested in the center of the jam
I got to show these wack rappers really who I am
[Verse 5]
It's me against them, so I clear the phlegm
And wage the war, hardcore to the end
For someone lookin' inside, yeah, from the out
It seems like disrespect is what rap is all about
But hip-hop as a culture, is really what we give it
But sometimes the culture contradicts how we live it
'Cause every Black kid lives two and three lives
The city's a jungle, only the strong will survive
[Verse 6]
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
[Verse 7]
Every single day I hear lie after lie
Like, "Black people don't die, we multiply"
So when I kick a rhyme I represent how I feel
The sacred street art of keepin' it real
Why I gotta listen to somebody else?
How they got wealth, let me talk about myself
But all I really got is hip-hop and a Glock
The results are obvious, if I'm confined to my block
[Verse 8]
Occasionally, in the city I'm released
To meet other beasts, lookin' for the feast
We grunt and growl, on the prowl, as the air gets thinner
"Yo, yo, there he go, him," there's the dinner
White meat, carryin' a bag of some sort
Life is short, white meat is quickly caught
A scuffle, a muffle, yet none of us hesitated
Like Mother Africa, white meat is violated
We quickly disappear, like Santa's little elves
And go into an area to fight amongst ourselves
We say, "peace/piece" 'cause that's what we really want
A piece of the pie that America flaunts
[Verse 9]
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
[Verse 10]
"Oh, shit!"
[Verse 11]
The truth is that police must serve and protect
REALITY is Black youth is shown no respect
The truth is government has a war against drugs
REALITY is government is ruled by thugs
With all this technology, above and under
Humanity still hunts down one another
Rappers display artistic cannibalism
Through lyricism, we fight each other over rhythm
Through basic animal instincts, we think
So the battle for mental territory is glory, end of story
[Verse 12]
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
Reality, ain't always the truth
Rhymes Equal Actual Life, In The Youth
Yeah
[Verse 13]
"These are the streets!
Shit is real out here!
This ain't no fuckin' joke!"
Written by: L. Parker

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