[00:14.68] Come on come on [00:15.99] I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself [00:19.15] Is life worth livin'? Should I blast myself? [00:21.24] I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm black [00:23.34] My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch [00:25.54] Cops give a damn about a negro [00:27.64] Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero [00:29.88] Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares? [00:32.04] One less hungry mouth on the welfare [00:34.41] First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers [00:36.27] Give 'em guns, step back, watch 'em kill each other [00:38.32] It's time to fight back, that's what Huey said [00:40.52] Two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead [00:42.84] I got love for my brother [00:44.46] But we can never go nowhere [00:45.27] Unless we share with each other [00:46.99] We gotta start makin' changes [00:48.68] Learn to see me as a brother [00:49.72] Instead of two distant strangers [00:51.72] And that's how it's supposed to be [00:52.98] How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? [00:55.78] I'd love to go back to when we played as kids [00:57.80] But things change, and that's the way it is [01:02.30] That's just the way it is [01:06.66] Things'll never be the same [01:11.13] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [01:17.20] [01:19.66] That's just the way it is (The way it is) [01:24.02] Things'll never be the same (Never be the same) [01:28.15] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [01:33.75] I see no changes, all I see is racist faces [01:36.48] Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races [01:38.57] We under, I wonder what it takes to make this [01:40.96] One better place, let's erase the wasted [01:43.27] Take the evil out the people, they'll be actin' right [01:45.26] 'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight [01:47.62] And the only time we chill is when we kill each other [01:49.71] It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other [01:52.05] And although it seems heaven-sent [01:53.34] We ain't ready to see a black president [01:56.18] It ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact [01:57.85] The penitentiary's packed and it's filled with blacks [02:00.59] But some things will never change [02:02.12] Try to show another way [02:03.18] But you stayin' in the dope game [02:05.03] Now tell me, what's a mother to do? [02:06.48] Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you [02:09.05] You gotta operate the easy way [02:10.74] I made a G today, but you made it in a sleazy way [02:13.27] Sellin' crack to the kids [02:14.78] I gotta get paid, well hey, but that's the way it is [02:20.15] That's just the way it is [02:24.46] Things'll never be the same [02:28.76] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [02:34.96] [02:37.46] That's just the way it is (The way it is) [02:41.56] Things'll never be the same (Never be the same) [02:45.92] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [02:51.69] We gotta make a change [02:53.73] It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes [02:57.35] Let's change the way we eat [02:59.34] Let's change the way we live [03:00.78] And let's change the way we treat each other [03:03.13] You see the old way wasn't workin' [03:04.92] So it's on us to do what we gotta do to survive [03:08.34] And still I see no changes [03:09.80] Can't a brother get a little peace? [03:11.38] It's war on the streets and a war in the Middle East [03:13.97] Instead of war on poverty [03:15.52] They got a war on drugs so the police can bother me [03:18.13] And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do [03:20.42] But now I'm back with the facts, givin' it back to you [03:22.81] Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up [03:24.99] Crack you up and pimp-smack you up [03:27.01] You gotta learn to hold your own [03:28.53] They get jealous when they see you with your mobile phone [03:31.17] But tell the cops they can't touch this [03:32.95] I don't trust this, when they try to rush I bust this [03:35.32] That's the sound of my tool [03:36.92] You say it ain't cool, my mama didn't raise no fool [03:39.98] And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped [03:42.69] And I never get to lay back [03:44.20] 'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback [03:46.33] Some buck that I roughed up way back [03:48.46] Comin' back after all these years [03:50.36] Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat, that's the way it is [03:55.19] That's just the way it is [03:59.52] Things'll never be the same [04:03.88] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [04:09.68] (You're my brother, you're my sister) [04:12.56] That's just the way it is [04:15.53] Things'll never be the same [04:21.03] That's just the way it is, oh yeah [04:25.24] Some things'll never change [04:26.16]