[Chorus: repeat 2X]

I wanna talk to the mayor, the governor, the mother$#&@in president

I wanna talk to the FBI, and the CIA, and the mother$#&@in congressman

[Nas]

Step up to the White House let me in
Whats my reason for being I'm ya next to kin
And we built this mother$#&@er

You wanna kill me because my hunger?
Mr. America young black ^!$$%z want ya
I wanna talk to the man understand

Understand this mother$#&@in G-pack in my hand
Look what happened to San Fran young girl hit by policeman
Twelve shots up in her dome, damn

^!$$%z thought we slept but the architect sent
The Pentagon's from Egypt, government secret
The 99 to 2-G computer shutdown, what now

Extension on Earth, human cutdown
^!$$%z play with PlayStations, they build a spacestations
On Mars plottin civilizations

Dissin us discriminatin different racisis
Tax payers pay for more jail for black latin faces


[Chorus]

[Nas]

I'm just a black man why y'all made it so hard damn
^!$$%z gotta go create their own job
Mr. Mayor imagine if this was your backyard

Mr. Governor imagine if it was your kids that starved
Imagine your kids gotta sling crack to survive
Swing a mack to be live cart ack to get high

It's the ghetto life yea I celebrate it I live it
And all I got is what you left me with I'ma get it
Now y'all combinin all the countries we goin do the same

Combine all the cliques to make one gang
It ain't all about a black and white thing
it's to make the change, citizens of a higher plane


[Chorus]


[Nas]
What y'all waitin for the world to blow up
Before you hear this rewind this 4 minutes before we timeless

Let y'all ^!$$%s bang my %#@! before ? is
The Nastradamus tell us what time it is
They try to buy us with doe

Fake black leaders of puppets always talking bout the city budget
The news got it all confused lyin to the public
They eyes watchin stay wise move above it

Water floods predicted hurricanes twisters
Its all signs of the Armageddon three sixes
People reverse the system politics verse religion

Holy war muslim verse christians
^!$$%z in high places they don't have the balls for this
People in power sit back and watch them slaughter us

Mr. President I $$#ume it was negligence
The streets upside down, I'm here to represent this


[Chorus 2X]

[Nas]

Can I talk to you Mr. President
^!$$%z tryin to get with the computers
We ain't John Henry

Banging down machines and %#@!
Part of establishment
That's what we are steppin up for

This %#@! is real

Total Package in this ^!$$%

LES in this ^!$$%
Ill Will ^!$$%
Mr. President wanna keep us from establishment

^!$$%z are american baby
American Made