Jean Grae
Take it Back
[Verse One]
Children of a single parent generation
Who found solace inside the meditation of the drum
Beats penetratin' from
Urban mediation radio feeds when hungry
Born from despondent sons and daughters of a broken country
Cause and effect is underestimated, highly
But when I question it prolly cause yes we made it finally (yes)
Another block party to step to
I put it in depth too
To let your nod slow so it gets through
Listen, this ain't fresh for skatin' mag to fashionistas
Get bashed for sayin' what just passed, I give a fuck, it's deeper
Ask why the black and latino audience never shows
But I know
So that none of our music was ever sold
It's uninspirin' to spit gold when tourin' in brick cold
And almost cryin' cause you miss those
Few ones that grip your heart straight into flip mode
And make you rip hard if the shit's old
I'm feelin' all the pain in my father with age
That almost nothings changed
And how we always lose control of everything we made
We need to step it up, reclaimin' our name
I hope you understand it wasn't easy livin' off fame
C'mon

[Hook]
All the schools and communities
Take it back
How you're rockin' clothes and your jewelry
Take it back
Rap music and culture
Take it back
We gotta, we gotta we gotta
Take it back
How we're represented daily
Take it back
Black record execs
We gotta take it back
C'mon, who's writin' your checks?
C'mon take it back
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta
Take it back

[Verse Two]
The most influential worldwide culture ever
We must remember history or everything will ease to be
Vultures swoop beneath the underground in the street
While we pursuin', just movin' a hundred thou in a week
Why I sleep restless
My chest fill with the sorrow of tomorrows entrance
Knowin' that what I speak is borrowed and neglected
Son check this
A young black woman tellin' life as it is, deflected
From all the peers who projected to white kids, see
You might not like this but you don't understand
What it's like to write the images and never be reflected
And
I'm feelin' rejected
The pain of my brothers who painted in colors
Only to fall the same fate in the game, loveless
Explain promoters
Strange range of the fan quotas
We reachin' venues and steppin' out of the van hopeless
You can't push us to the man, understand, know this

[Hook]
All the schools and communities
Take it back
How you're rockin' clothes and your jewelry
Take it back
Rap music and culture
Take it back
We gotta, we gotta we gotta
Take it back
How we're represented daily
Take it back
Black record execs
We gotta take it back
C'mon, who's writin' your checks?
C'mon take it back
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta
Take it back