Charlie

It’s hard to love yourself when you ain’t got a job
I got headaches you can’t treat with no Tylenol
Seen a lot of rainbows with no pot of gold
Tried to run away from home never learned to crawl
Ooh, I’m a black boy, targets on my back, boy
Three strikes comin' better go and get your bat, boy
Face up on a plaque boy, don’t you know that
Slavery is back, boy, go on and get your passport
Can you see a difference between a white hood or a badge?
This my middle finger to the Ku Klux Klan
I got arrested and almost died and I’d do it again
I’d rip solar systems down just to give them to kids
I’m a one man band, one man army, rapper Bob Marley
Revolution in my one hand tryna buy Ferraris
Yea I messed up, but it’s messed up
Papa taught me to clean my mess up
But who gon' teach these politicians
To stop kickin' it with their legs up?
What if Jesus was a nigga from the Middle East
With a bomb strapped to his chest to bring peace?
And when it exploded it rewarded everyone
With the American Dream?
What if insomia was the cure to an illusion?
Bill Nye The Science Guy solution?
Dave and Goliath not a storybook
But how poor people came to conclusions
Ooh, I’m a black boy, targets on my back, boy
Three strikes comin' better go and get your bat, boy
Face up on a plaque boy, don’t you know that
Slavery is back, boy, go on and get your passport
We could be free and beautiful but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned
mens souls, has barricaded the world with hate. Has goose-stepped us into
misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us
cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity
Picture this: who kills Laquan McDonald more
An officer, a jail cell or McDonalds stores?
Donald Duck, Donald Trump
We leaving racism in the Devil’s trunk
Deflated, like Tom Brady bunch
What if they called Jesus a terrorist cause he cared a bit?
They called me a terrorist cause I cared a bit
City on gridlock but I care for it
Even on a dark night I care for Gotham
What if the genesis of Jena Six was just forgotten?
(We need kindness and gentleness)
What if we had the kindness of Mary Poppins
And everytime gay people wanted to got married
We didn’t pop in
And in the Future you could really do what you want
When you poppin' or if you’re popular
What if everything good was the opposite?
Ooh, I’m a black boy, targets on my back, boy
Three strikes comin' better go and get your bat, boy
Face up on a plaque boy, don’t you know that
Slavery is back, boy, go on and get your passport
History is written by the victors
But history is made by those who live without restrictions
I’m Easter ready but I’m not here to get dressed up
I’m resurrecting the death of the Panthers
Mike Brown is back for Christ’s sake, put your hands up
You could go on and put your hands up
But my heart is too big for my ego
They tried to turn me into a hero
But heroes die young and I want this shit forever
But best believe if I die, I won’t die with my hands up
Ooh, I’m a black boy, targets on my back, boy
Three strikes comin' better go and get your bat, boy
Face up on a plaque boy, don’t you know that
Slavery is back, boy, go on and get your passport
Look what they do to my sisters and brothers
My anger is righteous
And they’re paving the streets with our blood
And they want us to keep quiet
And keep the peace, but I’m tired
And we’re gonna rise up
And we’re gonna shut them down
We’re gonna rise up
And we’re gonna shut them down
And power to my people, right on, right on
And power to my people, right on, right on
And power to my people, right on, right on
And power to my people, right on, right on