[verse 1]

Its been a long and whining road

Even though time keeps a changin
Ima bring it all back home
I been told i spit lyrics wit politics

Why wouldnt i?
Says negro on my birth certificate


Born in 1960 in a nation
Throughout / ive been a spokesperson
For a generation

Within the same ol fear of a black planet
20 years of blood sweat and no tears for fanatics


So damn it
If times is hard
Time is god

Understand it
Never took time for granted
Its all right ma

As child of the sixties
All along the watchtower
I cant bet they gonna miss me


Im only bleeding
Every grain in me

Fans if not for you
There be no pe
From the nashville skyline

Girls in south country
In this world gone wrong
So heres another love song


[verse 2]


We came a long way baby
You know whats amazin
The surprise we told these new guys

Flav has always been crazy
Hit london 87 like it was an invasion
Toured the world for 3 years

Hell with vacation
Vocation of vocalization
Especially with the impact of it takes a nation

Of millions to hold us back
You bet theres blood on them bomb squad tracks
Black steel , baseheads, party for your right to fight

Prophets of rage , bring the noise
Dont believe the hype
Cant do nuttin for you man

911 is a joke
20 years we got here by actin like common folk
Touring the world like a rolling stone

Then the nineties came
Welcomed yall to the terrordome
Some threw it away , instead of something to say

Cause the streets still ended up havin no names
Since rebel without a pause beats were never the same
And by 1998 we still had game.


[verse 3]


Only a pawn in the game
Chastised for namin names
What was said and who said it

Anti nothing so forget it
Tears of rage left a friend
Blowin in the wind

But time is god
Been back for 10 years and black again
Some of them same cats

Help usher in gangster rap
Damn our interviews were better than a lotta them acts.
Praised the gangsta

Just because it sold
While consciousness
Went from platinum to gold
Seen a nation reduce fight the power to gin and juice
Some people gave it up and turned it loose.


[verse 4]

Beethoven, bach brahms
I want some james brown

Even bruce, brian, bono, beck, yeah chuck berry
Prince stevie sly smokey johnny cash in my chevy
Heard some call me an uncle tom
Now thats petty
I'm a songwriter fool

I condense sense from right and wrong
Livin in the key of protest songs
From ba!@&(t tapes
Beyond them dollars and cents
Changin of the guards spent

Where the--went
Most of their time out of mind
Hatin my mess age rhymes
Cant truss it, shut em down call it whatcha wanna
But they made a day fit for a king
By the time we got to arizona


Tommorrows a long time
We got god on our side
Over bass and drum beats hear the good rhymes ride
A poison goin on
Shelter from the storm
Hard rain gonna fall

Still the people rock on.