[Verse 1]

I gotta few things I wanna ask the Lord

Why my people gotta be so poor, feel me

and why's it so rough when you're young and black

They say you go to jail or get strung on crack

Why the girl have a baby she was twelve years old

Ask the state why the cell's gotta be so cold

and why these niggas here with so many years

whole family in court crying so many tears

can you picture us living with hope [hell no]

when the same ones hanging us is giving us dope

***, it's hard to get by

I pray to God it's still hard to get by

Just wanna hold my son [my man]

but I can't leave my house until I load my gun

I gotta *** my sword

and when I die I got some things I wanna ask the Lord

like, why we dying from AIDS

and why on TV it's aight to be gay

aint that sorta like my gun got the right to be waved

if I could sit back and watch a whole cipher of slaves

ask my man where the blacks at

ask myself where the next Malcolm X at [I don't know]

Is he makin Salat, or upstate like a ape in a box

am I a human or a fallen angel

got to pray by myself 'cause I'm out of angle

I aint facin the east, tell the brothers I was shakin the beast

had the nine and the eight in the streets

open your eyes, stay wise, 'cause even Satan is deep

I pray for a better living

even though I think I'm better dying

why, 'cause I'd rather hear the angels singing

why, and I don't wanna hear my people crying, feel me black [HOOK]

We aint gotta die no more, I said we aint gotta die no more

Black woman Listen

You aint gotta cry no more, I said you aint gotta cry no more

Black child Listen

We gotta provide for y'all, I said we gotta provide for y'all

Devil man Listen

We got a surprise for y'all, I said we got a surprise for y'all

Black man Listen [Verse 2]

'Bout to be on some clever *** [I got to be]

I gotta think if the president is prejudice

and that's another eight years down

the 500 year warn, that's a eight year round

I don't really mean to sweat it

but the war been on before they came on your TV and settle

They don't need lead to shoot ya

why would a man make a computer to head the future

I think about it in a weed session

They said better technology, all I see is regressin

blew up our buildings in fact [blow us all up]

but if they live under the sun then them children is black

'fore the devil get more time I'd rather see the world cease

hit the afterlife of world peace

where black men don't die, the women don't cry

and the little kids get provided for and play in the sky, what [HOOK]