[Intro] [Selection of Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have A Dream Speech'] "But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later..." [Verse One] No, this ain't another street hustler tale This is real life, real trife, real hell Something almost all people know well When some make it, most take it and you're supposed to fail From a single cell To a crack sale To a jail cell That's the black male That's what the news tell That's what these papers sell That's what these government politicians all try and yell But to no avail Cause yet we still prevail Oh yes there's progress but it moves like a snail Will we ever win, or will we only fail? I know you up there God, cause down here this is Hell Is Heaven really worth it or just another tale? But d**h don't ever snitch, so only time will tell So homie my advice Don't wait around for Christ Get up off your a** and live your f**in' life Try and do it right And keep your family tight Just stay committed to get it and you gon' be alright [Chorus] [Mike Ant] It's so cold Livin' in a cruel a** world you can't control Doin' what it takes to maintain and keep your soul If a n***a didn't have his dreams he might loose hope So cold [Verse Two] Yeah Uh, they call us gangstas We claim we gangstas But what about them slave ships that came to take us? Ain't been no criminal act greater than that Not since Christ's crucified worldwide, believe that Huh, sh** I'm talkin' 400 years I know the ocean's overflowed from my blood and our tears While shackled on them ships and brought on to this b**h They, kept us in them chains and beat us with them whips and sh** ain't really changed so n***as don't forget Cause n***as still with chains it's just now we push the whips So close, yet so far away I guess the sayin' ain't true that every dog has his day Cause we've been dogged and treated like dogs And really even worse sh** is like we cursed As soon as we're birthed and placed on this Earth They hung us on the trees and burned down the church and Just to think about it The sh** really hurts And if they Klan wanna race, well you know I'm bombin' first [Chorus] [Mike Ant] It's so cold Livin' in a cruel a** world you can't control Doin' what it takes to maintain and keep your soul If a n***a didn't have his dreams he might loose hope So cold [Verse Three] n***as know cash rules Look at these inner schools Where youngsters k** for shoes Stick Goodie Two Shoes They ain't got sh** to loose Ain't that some house rules? Cause f** makin' the bed, they'd rather make the news Or make the red, make a grand of that block go 'blam' Do anything but make the right decisions man And God damn they ain't even hit puberty Talkin' 'bout j**elry and stickin' up security Lost all they purity And think cause they f**in' now it gives them maturity Naw motherf**ers That ain't what it be That ain't what you gon' see It's either a new mouth to feed or H.I.V. (Message) What done happened to The Dream? They don't read about King but they know what Usher sing And f** a text book, they read the T.V. screen For sneaker logos and Evisu Jeans The platinum or the gold they see dangle and gleam But everything ain't always what it seem [Chorus] [Mike Ant] It's so cold Livin' in a cruel a** world you can't control Doin' what it takes to maintain and keep your soul If a n***a didn't have his dreams he might loose hope So cold