Verse 1:
And I say, when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
The streets that I was raised in - you could do no harm,
Be unarmed - and cops would shoot before they reached for tasers
You'd be good if you walked among us and speak the language
L.ove A.lways S.hines E.verytime R.emember S.mile - Lasers
But if these things'll change up - and if my teams in danger
I will act a fool - bleed black and blue - and all I'll see is strangers
Tell me what my life is worth!
Get shot or we get beat to death!
N.igga W.ith an A.ttitude - middle finger to the feds
Yea, I do this for Oakland, Cali, and Oscar Grant
It takes a Public Enemy to Fight the Power
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - in fact
We hella live! - Just not on your screen
Cuz they tell us The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
But they won't tell us why
Chorus:
I'm so glad, that trouble don't last always
(So when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
I hope that when YOU cry somebody's there
And I hope that when YOU die somebody cares)
And I'm so glad...
Verse 2:
There is just "No Country for Old Men"
Where brothers feel comfortable in their own skin
This here aint gravy nigga - cuz in my city,
If them boys need someone to harass - I'll fit the description
Where I'm from - we don't call 'em - hate when they show up
One shot makes you forget what you'd wanna be when you grow up
Resisting arrest - is what they'd call it
Another family buries a brother
Another girl grows up without a father!
It's my society! - Cops that shoot blacks as routine for notoriety
The media don't cover that!
Judge'll find 'em innocent - the system is against us
Imagine being a victim but be considered the problem
The product, of where I came from
So even if we came up - we're seen as damn crooks!
Sam Cooke until the change comes
Trigger happy police - hate instead of embrace us
But trouble don't last always - that's what I pray for
Chorus:
I'm so glad, that trouble don't last always
(So when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
I hope that when YOU cry somebody's there
And I hope that when YOU die somebody cares)
And I'm so glad...
(News Coverage of the Oscar Grant Case)
And I say, when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
The streets that I was raised in - you could do no harm,
Be unarmed - and cops would shoot before they reached for tasers
You'd be good if you walked among us and speak the language
L.ove A.lways S.hines E.verytime R.emember S.mile - Lasers
But if these things'll change up - and if my teams in danger
I will act a fool - bleed black and blue - and all I'll see is strangers
Tell me what my life is worth!
Get shot or we get beat to death!
N.igga W.ith an A.ttitude - middle finger to the feds
Yea, I do this for Oakland, Cali, and Oscar Grant
It takes a Public Enemy to Fight the Power
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - in fact
We hella live! - Just not on your screen
Cuz they tell us The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
But they won't tell us why
Chorus:
I'm so glad, that trouble don't last always
(So when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
I hope that when YOU cry somebody's there
And I hope that when YOU die somebody cares)
And I'm so glad...
Verse 2:
There is just "No Country for Old Men"
Where brothers feel comfortable in their own skin
This here aint gravy nigga - cuz in my city,
If them boys need someone to harass - I'll fit the description
Where I'm from - we don't call 'em - hate when they show up
One shot makes you forget what you'd wanna be when you grow up
Resisting arrest - is what they'd call it
Another family buries a brother
Another girl grows up without a father!
It's my society! - Cops that shoot blacks as routine for notoriety
The media don't cover that!
Judge'll find 'em innocent - the system is against us
Imagine being a victim but be considered the problem
The product, of where I came from
So even if we came up - we're seen as damn crooks!
Sam Cooke until the change comes
Trigger happy police - hate instead of embrace us
But trouble don't last always - that's what I pray for
Chorus:
I'm so glad, that trouble don't last always
(So when was the last time someone ever said
That you were special and you were blessed?
I hope that when YOU cry somebody's there
And I hope that when YOU die somebody cares)
And I'm so glad...
(News Coverage of the Oscar Grant Case)
song info: