Be Black

(Richard Pryor) Have any of you ever been to Africa,

back to the motherland? It's somethin... *echoes*

All these lovely... brothers and sisters

The subject at hand is about your own people

The poison animal eaters, slaves of a mental death in power

And our next speaker, well... we know who he is

Verse One:

This is not a rhyme about the racial times

And if you don't want to hear it then pay it no mind

What I'm about to say may get you all upset

So I apoligize and the wise don't sweat

The matter at hand is toward the black

That live a falsehood life and that's no way to act

You don't wear gold because you can't afford it

The medallion was cheap, so you went out and bought it

From a Chinese man, or some Korean fella

I bet you think your money went to help Mandela

Oh really, has the past been forgotten?

Dressin how they used to in the days of pickin cotton

Martin Luther King did a lot for us

But today it's cool to play the back of the bus

I study 120, I'm right and exact

So I think I should reveal what it is to be black

Verse Two:

Now everybody's wearin the red black and green

Here's the point: do you know what it means?

Red for the bloodshed, black for the people

Green for the land to be utilized equal

"Yo I'm from Africa" boy you're just a faker

Name one city "Uhh, Jamaica!"

WRONG... and I think that's a shame

An African look with an American name

You might fool others but you can't fool Sun

Wanna build with the brother, then I am the one

Play connect the dots, all the way to the motherland

What have you done for your nation my brotherman

You can't even do the right things for self

Then you got the nerve to criticize somebody else

If it wasn't for Chuck you wouldn't know of Farrakhan

I understand that the man is a paragon

Open up your eyes and ears and try to learn

Stop perpetratin with your false concern

Even some rappers, frontin in their videos

Nothing but Oreos, tryin to be memorial

I'm not impressed, by the way some stars

perpetrate to be original, you know who you are

I diss my people who choose to lack

cause there's more to learn on how to be black

Verse Three:

And then they say I'm prejudiced, cause I like redbones

But nowadays original girls are headstrong

Not as a whole, but the majority I know

Are too busy frontin yo, tryin to be fly though

You might hear this and think I'm trippin

But knowledge the wisdom before you start flippin

As modern day God, I do analysis

To find out what makes them hard like callouses

Instead of being sweat, truthful and soft

They wanna be false and that turns me off

Your hair's not real, neither are your eyes

And your makeup is swine plus a big disguise

Your clothes are tight, I can see every inch

And then you wonder how I get this urge to pinch

Sellin your sex, without makin love

I'm not Keith to be Sweat-in you and that's unheard of

If I got dollars, I'm good for your number

If I look fine, I get a one night slumber

Wham, bam, but no thank you ma'am

Wanna knock the boots but you don't know who I am

This is not a diss to my black sista

If I screamed on ya daughter, pardon me mista

The point I'm makin, such a visual fact

Teach her to be original, and how to be black

Groove to this

Move to this

Verse Four:

I know you're probably mad and would like to roast me

But get yourself together, before you approach me

Cause I'm no sucka, I say what I feel

I might hurt your feelings, but at least I'm real

The way to be black is to strive for goals

You're no longer the people who was bought and sold

My advice to you is a word to the wise

Snap out of the negative, into the civilized

This place around you was meant to down you

Kings and Queens but yet they still won't crown

Sun Born Allah has a goal no doubt if you're black

and you're proud you better live that out...