[Intro: Mos Def] History, it's happenin' every day, y'all (right now) Everyday (right now) Right now (good mornin', Vietnam!) [Verse 1: Mos Def] Listen! Brooklyn wins again It's the Stuy, it's the Bush, them n***as again Ta' Kweli, Mighty Def, and S. Dot on the guest lock Kanye, you're the dope man in hip-hop, now let's rock Now roll out, n***as, my hometown n***as I get it good in your hood, so slow down, n***as Watch the speed though, mind your pedal and ease off Or screech into a collision course with these walls – BAM! They don't move, don't pray, don't lose Don't sleep, life pa**in', light flasin' Life happens that fast, part a gun, black hands up in 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 in victory, you live it up, the beat'll get risen up You're knocked down, then 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 gut, 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 short, I MC Me and mine we don't just get by We get free and that's ready [Mos, n***a!] [Verse 2: Jay Z] Just to get by, n***a, I sold coke, n***a, 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 Thinkin' either I load up these 9's, or blow up with rhymes ‘Cause this flow of mine is like blow up but lines of c**a 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 of 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' [Verse 3: Kanye West] It's somethin' about that Nina Simone's 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 Chi, n***a, I'm Mr. All-of-that f** a map, let's put this b**h on the almanac Dice what they hittin' fo', lax what you sittin' on Tracks who you spittin' on, rap 'til 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 ba** in your voice They used to tell me lighten up, put some Mase in your voice Lord willin' I ain't k**ed nobody But I have a feelin' this album that I'm gonna make a k**in' 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 [Hook: background singers + (Talib Kweli)] 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 smokin' 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) (Just to get by, just to get by) (Just to get by), just to get get buh buh buh bye bye [Verse 4: Talib Kweli] We keep it gangsta, say 'fo shizzle', 'fo sheezy' Desensitized by the violence on the TV during the war k**in' each other is easy, its pourin' liquor for fallen n***as Believe me, it's ghetto libation, seen it all before Just to get by, my people, we get fly My people, we get high, fillin' cigars with the lah n***a, come on! Even Jesus was stoned Before receivin' the throne I send a rest in peace to Nina Simone [Verse 5: Busta Rhymes] Back in the days we was used to doin' the sh** I can't call it all in the streets We was hustlin' fiends that asked 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 n***as and street mothaf**as 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) *Ayo, Mom, pick up the phone, 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 in session [Hook: background singers + (Talib Kweli)] 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 smokin' 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) [Outro: Talib Kweli] Some people try, some people try Just to get by, for my piece of the pie We love to eat and get high We deceive when we lie And we keepin' it fly – yo, yo, yo, yo, yo When people decice to keep a disguise Can't see your eyes, see the evil inside The best people you find Stronger people in mind I stay readin' the signs