[Mos Def] History It's happening every day y'all (right now) Everyday (right now) Right now (good mornin', Vietnam!) Listen Brooklyn wins again It's the Stuy, it's the Bush, dem niggaz again Ta' Kweli, Mighty Def, and S Dot on the guest slot Kanye, you're the dope man in hip hop, now let's rock Now roll out niggaz, my hometown niggaz I get it good in your hood so slow down niggaz Watch the speed though, mind the pedal and ease off A street talk into a collision course with these walls - bam! They don't move, don't brake, don't lose, don't sleep Light passin', light fashion, life happens that fast, party done Black hands up and prayer Black guns up in fear Dyin' wish is to touch the air Seekin' heaven that wasn't here Eyes will not see another year It's another day It's the same fight Different round, sound the bell Mix it up as if you're where you live it up the beat And get risen up you're knocked down get back and get it up Get off of queer street and get with us And get clear where we did it From the heart, from the people From the top, from the jeep From the gutter, from the street From my soul to the mic to the essence So in my absence you feel the presence, exactly I make contact for sure the emcee Me and mine we don't just get by We get free and that's ready [Mos -- nigga] [Jay-Z] Just to get by Nigga I sold coke, nigga I pushed lah Carried a fo'five Claimed I was ready to die Promised never to cry Held it all inside Reality was too much to take so I Kept my mind fried Slept for most of mine Soon as I closed my eyes Then I woke up behind Thinking either I load up these nines Or blow up with rhymes cause this flow of mine is like blow up but lines of coca And your folks think Hov' just wrote stuff to rhyme Nah, I'm a poster for what happened seein your moms Doin five dollars worth to work just to get a dime So pardon my disposition Why should I listen to a system that never listened to me? Picture me working McDonald's I'd rather pull a mac on you Sorry Ms. Jackson but I'm packin [Kanye West] It's on I'm packin weight like nina simone Piano flow It's like a Michaelangelo painted a portrait of Maya Angelou And gave it to a sick poet for they antidote If music gets you choked up this is the tree and the rope This is shy nigga I mista all of that Fuck a map, let's put this bitch on the almanac Dice what they hittin' for, 'lax what you sittin' on Tracks who you spittin on, rap till we get it on And don't let nobody with the power to sign Ever tell you you ain't got the power to rhyme They used to tell me toughen up Put some bass in your voice They used to tell me lighten up Put some mase in your voice Lord willin' I ain't killt nobody But I have a feelin' this album That I'm gonna make a killin' Or not a shillin' This is love it or hate it music But, at least we made it music And we didn't make it industry This is gon' be interesting This'll be the end of me or I'm finna be an entity Kanye, Jay-Z, Mos Def, and Kweli We are not makin' songs no more We're makin' history [background singers] This morning I woke up Feelin brand new, I jumped up Feelin my highs and my lows In my soul, and my goals Just to stop smoking and stop drinkin But I been thinkin I got my reasons Just to get (by), just to get (by) Just to get (by), just to get (by) [background singers repeat in the background] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by [background singers] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah Bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by We keep it gangsta, saying 'fo shizzle', 'fo sheezy' Desensitized to the violence on TV during the war Killin each other is easy as whore and liquor for fallen niggaz Believe me, it's ghetto libations seen it all befo' Just to get by, my people we get fly My people we get high, fillin cigars with the lah Nigga come on, even Jesus was stoned before receivin' the throne I send a rest in peace to Nina Simone [Busta Rhymes] Back in the days we was used to doin the shit I can't call it all in the streets We would hustle and fiends would ask for it I guess I was used to just standin on corners Waitin for paper bags with bundles of crack Hopin the week was good so I could get money back To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by When I was stressed I possessed a side of my strength That made me angry and bleed With the frustration havin me smokin Newports and weed To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by Those be the times when I try to rely On my niggaz and street motherfuckers And reach out to wifey and then I place a call on my mother To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by (Hey yo mom pick up the phone, I g- I gotta to talk to you ma) If you was five percent instead of actin stupid and guessin You had to go and study your lessons And know your math in the building recession to get by [Hook: Talib Kweli + background singers] This morning I woke up Feelin brand new, I jumped up Feelin my highs and my lows In my soul, and my goals Just to stop smoking and stop drinkin But I been thinkin I got my reasons Just to get (by), just to get (by) Just to get (by), just to get (get buh buh buh bye bye) [background singers repeat in the background] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Some people cry Some people try just to get by For a piece of the pie You love to eat and be high We deceive and we lie And we keepin' it fly - yo yo yo yo yo When people decide Keep a disguise Can't see your eyes See the evil inside The best people you find Strong or feeble in mind I stay readin' the signs yo-yo-yo-yo yo [repeat]
