to put the blame on something else rather than sometimes looking at
 ourselves, recognizing a lot of the stuff that happens...but if we look
 within ourselves, we could prevent a lot of this nonsense. It's about
 relating back to the essence, where it all stems from. I'm-a do my thing
 over this drum, like a native tongue.

 Verse one
 Q-Tip:
 Do what you will, if you feel that your steeze is real
 complicated with the skills over reel to reel
 brown skin is what i feel, my mind and body's appeal
 is to the no-frill mills, who hear the beats to chill
 constantly, I'm hearing Black Americans just sneering
 Looking for a leader who can fill us up with either
 Hitting us up with great emotional chat
 about the fact
 that the black
 is constantly held back
 Like 50 tracks back in a relay race
 and the white team's ahead
 so let's keep up the pace
 And I be needing something
 To feed my logical taste
 At the end of the race is there a paradise place?
 Yo, we can't get involved in what the next man is doing
 Material gain we put too much in persuing
 "Yo duke, I need this dough so we can step to this party"
 But we can all mardi grati
 Minus that shit in our body
 "What that got to do with that"
 'Cause kid that's the essence,
 your physical presence
 embodies every lesson
 You can't run the Rolls Royce if the engine is busted.
 Can't even life the knife to cut the mustard.
 What we need to do first
 Now listen to this verse
 Let's concentrate on our spiritual plate.
 Recognize your existence in this vast blue space
 From a tiny cloud of blood
 To the human beings with taste, sight, touch, smell
 and sound
 Let's deem it profound!
 And prioritize this cause it was Allah's wish
 "Allah? I'm God"
 "No I ddon't believe that. That's a mystery"
 "If God is so good why does shit be happening to me?"
 There's divinity within
 because we come from the divine
 A froce that's not seen But you feel it every time
 When the wind blows, and the world turns,
 and the rain drops, and the baby cries
 and the bird flies, and the ground quake,
 and the stars gleam
 So many things are eident of its existence
 What we need to do is link it with persistence
 Once we recognize that, we can move ahead
 Native Tongue, Common Sense yo he's Hip-Hop bred...

 Common:
 From the spiritual world my former life has developed
 First person I lost close to me was Stella
 Some of my mellows
 Lost their mothers and their brothers
 For them I feel empathy
 But I ain't pouring out no liquor for no niggas
 I pour my heart out when I see Dot out on the deck
 Knowing two weeks ago he slapped-box with death
 I hear of niggas dying in the wind-in the news
 But when it's somebody you know it hits you
 and emotions get bruised
 I ain't been in your shoes,
 I won't judge you for knocking
 Because the spirit of the ghetto says "You Gotta!"
 They snatch you again from rock flippin'
 Give back into the neighborhood, you better start kickin'
 Stickin' stores
 On the strip
 I'm tired of Arabs giving me my change back
 Devil bomb my yesterday
 My tomorrow he never gave back
 I lay back, looking at the ceiling
 Wonndering what can I do
 So my homie won't have to be dealing
 Not cause you serving and I'm rapping I'm better
 Just different pieces to the puzzle of black life
 That we have to put together, better ourselves
 cause families we gotta raise
 No matter how long the money
 Shorter become the days
 Men become like women
 and no difference in the season
 If you got popped five times
 You breathing for a reason
 Let's put the five tenure plan into progression
 Before we count our paper
 Count our blessings