Joell Ortiz - Young Lords lyrics

[Intro: Immortal Technique] New to the world Fresh out the barrio I was an outlaw rebel Out of my mind, young and wild My existence defined in one word: Survive [Verse 1: Joell Ortiz] If it could be sold, I can sell it; if it can't, that's cool I'll fix it up make it look good enough to catch some fools It started when I was young with my Genesis games He traded me John Madden for--I don't remember the name But it was weak though The streets though, they play with perico So Tito became my hijo, he had cheap blow And each O like three, four times, I flipped ones But it's evil, the people I deal with'll stick nuns With big guns, the diesel, that diesel never change The custies still nod like they agree with everything The weed ain't the same, all the colors is new It ain't just green, the haze is purple and them berries is blue I don't care if it was pink, as long as they still smokin' I'll have them bags packed until they damn near open The hustle's in my veins, I could bleed in a pot And make a soup that'd go for 10 dollars a pot [Immortal Technique] In la calle On a collision course with incarceration Consumed by the lies of the streets They were an illusion But I awoke, caged like an animal [Verse 2: Pumpkinhead] They got me locked in a cell Where I'm feeling like an experiment My spirit sharper than lasers they used to build pyramids Writing on the walls keep me sane Knuckle push-ups on the concrete till I bleed out the pain Thoughts of my freedom lingering in my brain I'm stronger and much quicker, I appreciate the gain Building with my a-alike, brown power reunite Tattoos of my flag, PR pride, Jesus Christ But I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy So when I'm free I'll teach and spread the speech Of how they try to divide us (to make us weak) Find us (and break a piece) So I gotta (To make a peace), honest (I play for keeps) This is the life of your forefathers that fought hard Four corners of backyards, power in numbers So they subtract us and add bars If they want it, we gonna take ‘em to war We not a gang or a clique, we Young Lords [Immortal Technique] I came to my senses, un esclavo no soy That is now my past I came to know me and my people Red, brown and black helped me paint the future [Verse 3: CF] The world got a template, to turn us into inmates Caged in a state pen, man, f** going to Penn state Bonded to slave ships to punch in your timecard Walk my oasis spacing jungle behind bars Got my epiphany like Malcolm X Prison to the bricks, but I'm stuck in this global house arrest I'm a free man so I changed my mannerisms This Greenspan system wanna dent my activism Estilo machetero get my people out the ghetto 21st century Grito De Lares estate quieto (stay calm) We vocal minorities, no pookie man trail Guess the local authorities to be the Ho Chi Minh trail From robbing bodegas and boasting like low-lives The medium figures toting the 45 Revolutionary gangsters in your presence Trying to dead us with cancer through chemical testing [Immortal Technique] Unidos por fin! We seize the time, free at last Learn to love, live to fight Not just for me, but for others Teach the new blood, and live for freedom! [Verse 4: Immortal Technique] I survived the COINTELPRO a**a**inations AIDS epidemic crack era fractured a nation The interpretation of American democracy Is best exemplified in its foreign policy dichotomy I live a double-life of political philosophy But revolution follows me, the struggle for equality Against the morally bankrupt, claiming to be born again It's a civil war again, like MS-13's origin Banned ethnic studies claiming our culture will swallow them But you can't conquer people And build a country on top of them And then feel offended that they breathe the same oxygen Your family values lack the wisdom of Solomon But Operation Condor and Operation Bootstrap Are Poli Sci 101, research for the New Jack It's hard to reach Communist Utopia tomorrow When your hands are in a f**ing gla** jar, like Che Guevara Forget the distorted historical facts you were given Slave trade was the capital for capitalism Trapped in a prison mentally, dying existentially Separated from people you can't see yourself to be Then racially integrated into a burning house Colony of an empire economically burning out Can't win a debate, so they sponsor every threat to me I wonder if Agent 800 is standing next to me [Outro: Panama Alba] In Puerto Rico, the main problem we have es que somos colonia. We are a colony, we are fighting for freedom Because we will not be a slave nation por favor The struggle here is to make universities The struggle here is in the community It's against the police and violence It's against discrimination It's against the crime against humanity on this beautiful Caribbean Island. This is Panama Young lords, revolutionary always, from San Juan, Puerto Rico Que viva Puerto Rico libre!