History
You got the soul
Live with it every day
You got the role
That everybody gotta play
Break out the rows
Learn your history
You got the soul
Live with it every day
First and foremost
I'm a black Barbadian man
A Bajan Yankee
Who was born in this American land
My role?
Well, I'm the griot
Blessed with free flow
And a pea coat
My callin'
I came to connect with the people
My history is spotty just like yours
I've lied to myself
I've broken laws
I've told untruths to others
I love my father and my mother and my brother
You love your family too?
Well, let's consider this our glue
As we're bonded through this common experience
Don't get distracted by the variants
I'm holding pain
Here it is:
I can't be black without historic, systematic oppression
I can't look at a cop without second guessing
These are confessions of the heaviness & stress I hold daily
But still light on my feet like Alvin Ailey
I'm just a mortal man talking with you
We all cling to the things we hold true
You've got the soul
Live with it every day
You've got the role
And everybody gotta play
Break out the books
Learn your history
You've got the soul
Live with it every day
Maybe you heard of Nat Turner, the rebellious slave
He's well known because he misbehaved
Or, rather, he behaved in ways that aligned with his people's freedom
So, of course, you know, the system needed to delete him
This happened back in 1831
Nowadays I feel our lives are just a living, breathing issue of the re-run
The Power divide initialized
To never skip a season
Look at the collective consciousness and what we've become
The punishment for slave rebellion back then
Was to limit education for black women and black men
Look at the current costs of education
Plus
Check out the music on your local station
Mind numbing
The times coming
To seize a change
The media will spin the shit to make the activists all look deranged
I'm just a mortal man who’s talking with you
We all cling to the things we hold true
You've got the soul
Live with it every day
You've got the role
And everybody's gotta play
Break out the books
Learn your history
You've got the soul
Live with it every day