I try to keep my patience
But my spirit's growing hardy
Hoping I won't have to tell
My predecessor's sorry
The time's been up
For justice but as usual we tardy
Cuz we been lookin' for our
Invitations to the party
A seat at someone else's
Table eatin' smaller portions
Instead of pooling resources
To create a fortune
We conceived our own once
But opted for abortion
And the ones we brought to life
Soon became orphans
A black white house
Created an amnesia
Put even the wokest
Under luring anesthesia
And we've always got
A threat to our development
Cuz some of these supremacists
Are out here wearing melanin
We giving accolades to people
Too quick to forgive
And wonder why they keep
Challenging our basic right to live
All these years still dreaming, MLK
All these tears and
Aint one bill been paid
How many cheeks turn
Before you're just a pushover?
How long before the chance
To turn things around is over?
Much respect to King
But now we need to understand
We can't afford a dream this time
We really need a plan/
Only a fool placates to the morality
Of people who have yet
To face their own innate brutality
And if we really
Wanted liberty as a reality
We wouldn't ask permission
To protect our own vitality/
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise and Grow
Rise, Fight and Grow
Imagine having a stranger
Stab you in the back
Knife all twisted up
To leave a trail of blood to track
Then the next day
They invite you out to eat
Acting like ain't nothing happen
Knife still planted nice and deep
I can't think of any fucing
Thing more insulting/
Besides the people
Who sit down to eat and feel exalted
Thick lips, big back
Fit for just a savage
Fast forward white girls
Buy 'em--they the baddest
We could've taken up arms
But didn't take a look
Cuz while this shit went down
Our heads were stuck inside the Book
Praying to a god who saw
The chains and turned away
Much like the people
He's protected up until this day
Could've had our own
Wakanda and built a nation
But we chose integration
Begging for representation
We like equality
But prefer to be the token
Narcissism is rewarded
By the cultures of the broken
A smile on a black
Face is revolutionary
But a smile that remains
Conscious is luminary
So be angry--but never
Let 'em steal your joy
Be peaceful
But prepare to deploy
Don't mistake the words
That I'm sayin' in this song
We can still win
But can't repeat what we did wrong
It's not a sorry regret
But it's a call-to-action
To put excuses down and finally
Make our visions happen
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise, Fight, Grow, Repeat
Rise and Grow
Rise, Fight and Grow
Wonder why they keep
Challenging our basic right to live
Some of these supremacists
Are out here wearing melanin
Narcissism is rewarded
By the cultures of the broken
We can still win---it's a call-to-action