[Chrisette Michele]
Oh American citizen, come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
No more giving in
Oh American citizen, come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
It's time to win
Keep us in the four walls of our churches & we'll be quiet
Most of us aint even democratic or Republican
And by coincidence we love the elected
Until they detected of being human
America falls, minorities lose war
But if we unite we would have won the
War on poverty
War on drugs
War on medicaid
War on love
Freedom isn't given & it is taken
Freedom isn't free, it's earned
Not known, it's learned
Been hung and burned,
Yet rest in peace, resurrected plea
This aint black or white, it's grey
This is not about my face
Most of us don't know what to say
Right from wrong or free from slaves
[Chorus]
Let freedom reign
Do you wanna be free or do you wanna be bound
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
Free,
[repeated]
[Talib Kweli]
America the beautiful
Suspect as usual
Liberty and death
give me freedom on my funeral
I walk across the planet with the steps of a giant
My rhymes bridge the gap between religion and science
Cause my evidence is spiritual
I know my sheer presence is a miracle
I wasn't supposed to be here to share with you
But here I am, standing with my chest out
I take my place in history
I never get left out
You stressed out and scared
So it's causing you to act hard
Freedom aint free,
Gotta put it on my black card
My passport claim I'm an American citizen
The constitution said I'm three fifths
I'm not a semi and gorrilla
Make my songs stronger than the horn of Gideon
Truth is the explorers gave the native people syphillis
Consider this:
Christopher Columbus ain't know where he was goin'
So let's stop calling our Native brothers Indians
[Chorus]
[Black Thought]
We were carried here in shackles from the homelands
Screwed chop, chain locked, brain washed, programmed
Time's change, freedom reigns, I'm a grown man
Holding the future in the palms of my own hands
In this World, the coonery and tomfoolery
All I'm trying to do is stay true to my community
The daily news aint the only thing that's schooling me
Watching these haters operating with impunity
It's dirty dollar signs, black and white collar crimes
Running out of time, out of sight, out of mind
It gets realer than Is-rael in Palestine
Troubles of the World start to seem intertwined
War criminals, conflict minerals,
Pillagers are coming home
And five star generals telling lies
In press conferences and interviews
I'm trying to take back the power cause it's been abused
[Chorus]
[Chrisette Michele]
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than
What we've been, what we've been
I said
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than
What we've been, what we've been
Oh American citizen, come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
No more giving in
Oh American citizen, come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
It's time to win
Keep us in the four walls of our churches & we'll be quiet
Most of us aint even democratic or Republican
And by coincidence we love the elected
Until they detected of being human
America falls, minorities lose war
But if we unite we would have won the
War on poverty
War on drugs
War on medicaid
War on love
Freedom isn't given & it is taken
Freedom isn't free, it's earned
Not known, it's learned
Been hung and burned,
Yet rest in peace, resurrected plea
This aint black or white, it's grey
This is not about my face
Most of us don't know what to say
Right from wrong or free from slaves
[Chorus]
Let freedom reign
Do you wanna be free or do you wanna be bound
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
I wanna be, (I wanna be free)
Free,
[repeated]
[Talib Kweli]
America the beautiful
Suspect as usual
Liberty and death
give me freedom on my funeral
I walk across the planet with the steps of a giant
My rhymes bridge the gap between religion and science
Cause my evidence is spiritual
I know my sheer presence is a miracle
I wasn't supposed to be here to share with you
But here I am, standing with my chest out
I take my place in history
I never get left out
You stressed out and scared
So it's causing you to act hard
Freedom aint free,
Gotta put it on my black card
My passport claim I'm an American citizen
The constitution said I'm three fifths
I'm not a semi and gorrilla
Make my songs stronger than the horn of Gideon
Truth is the explorers gave the native people syphillis
Consider this:
Christopher Columbus ain't know where he was goin'
So let's stop calling our Native brothers Indians
[Chorus]
[Black Thought]
We were carried here in shackles from the homelands
Screwed chop, chain locked, brain washed, programmed
Time's change, freedom reigns, I'm a grown man
Holding the future in the palms of my own hands
In this World, the coonery and tomfoolery
All I'm trying to do is stay true to my community
The daily news aint the only thing that's schooling me
Watching these haters operating with impunity
It's dirty dollar signs, black and white collar crimes
Running out of time, out of sight, out of mind
It gets realer than Is-rael in Palestine
Troubles of the World start to seem intertwined
War criminals, conflict minerals,
Pillagers are coming home
And five star generals telling lies
In press conferences and interviews
I'm trying to take back the power cause it's been abused
[Chorus]
[Chrisette Michele]
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than
What we've been, what we've been
I said
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than
What we've been, what we've been