[Verse 1: SaeMonae] It went from come home with the street lights To my home is this street life Now me and my homies tryna get right It's rough out here I knew some dudes Who would give you that sleep tight But ya see that ish ain't my style That's not how I get down I'd rather sit around with some good smoke Make jokes with my kinfolk Listen to some good music Because peace love and happiness is my influence I know I know There's a war outside But we out here fighting each other When we should be out fighting the government With these here bootstraps There's no limitations Except who sold you those bootstraps? The Major corporations When they legalized They failed to realize We didn't forget their rotation This society is f**ed up I put it in quotations Ya see I don't mind / If I don't shine Without the major radio station Video seemed to k** the radio star Those k**ers know exactly who they are Old white men who stand from afar Record labels / Who leave the creativity ajar All I'm tryna do is bring it to your attention I'm talking bout the things the one percent forgot to mention Like how they poisoning the food sitting in your kitchen The news channels ain't fake / Y'all just gotta listen (PAUSE) But don't be afraid to question what they doin It's America baby / We the home of the ruin In history cla** / My a** was always truant Doing what I was doing / Making my way Living off of minimum wage / taken it day by day Thinking to myself there's gotta be a better way Yesterdays a memory / tomorrow isn't a guarantee Gaining independence has nothing to do with being free Chains become Jordans / Self-hatred is a new form of slavery We take two steps forward then we take ten back But see that's the struggle for us Blacks We stumble just to find equality / Not seeing the big picture but we look at the quantity Though I didn't learn in school / I know my ancestors are a big part of me From this point on it only gets rougher So you take your lesson and your skin it gets tougher I love you all / From my sister to my brother You gotta tell your loved ones that you love them Cause someone gotta sit at the bottom In order to celebrate the stardom / in order for the leaves to fall in the autumn Someone gotta be on the verge of suicide Daddy said the world's cutthroat / It's do or die So when the checks roll in that's when they down to ride [Poem: SaeMonae] In God we trust Those lies those same lines Are bars for the American Trapped in a system You've been a victim since birth Entering naked with cash rolling Can you picture the dreams I'm holding Far out in another world We don't speak the same language You can't hear me Nor can you comprehend The struggle I face on a daily bases Because you're privileged As if Kings and Queens still roamed the Earth We loved one another My Black is beautiful according to my ancestors