Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem
[Chorus: Brother Ali]
I said the good Lord made me what I am and I play this game for keeps
Got to use what I have to get what I want, all the dreamer got is his dream
And the good Lord made me what I am and I play the hand I'm dealt
Said sometimes the hardest thing to be in this world is just yourself
[Verse 1: Brother Ali]
Best believe the Qur'an influenced all of my songs
My fans run and tattoo 'em all on they arms
Wanna travel, be there every time I perform
Now look me in my eye and tell me, how am I wrong?
And who would of thought
Just givin 'em the truth from my heart, both the ugly and the beautiful part
Would give 'em food from thought, let 'em chew it apart
And they'd all crowd around me and my movement would start
And how you gonna hate me for being what God made me?
It's not a game, I ain't sayin it playfully
They relate to the joy and the pain in me
And seein me make it be watchin a slave get free
Holler like Bilal in the tower
Hiya ala al fallah, Allah is the power
Givin voice to the dream and let it be seen
I admit it's obscene but deen recognize deen
So it isn't pristine when I spit a sixteen
Clean words don't describe the (shit) that I've seen
But layin in the alley, I whispered to Shahada
Bullets fly by from the drive by
So Imam Mohammed might pound on the podium
Popmaster Fabel work it out on the linoleum
Chappelle bust funnies, Mos Def bust rhymes
Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time
[Chorus]
[Verse 2: Brother Ali]
Something spiritual happen when them hands get to clappin
Can you tell me, what language do you laugh in?
The human reaction of smiles and cries
What language are the tears when they're fallin from your eyes?
You've probably seen the sunrise hundreds of times
But let a painter paint it or a poet describe
The very moment where heaven and Earth might collide
And God let the breath of life come outside
Uh, Satan doubted it, angels bowed to it
I'm so beautifully human and I'm proud of it
Soul of a soldier, heart of a scholar
I wrote this poem with the blood of a martyr
Imam Mohammed might pound on the podium
Popmaster Fabel work it out on the linoleum
Chappelle bust funnies, Mos Def bust rhymes
Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time
[Chorus x2]
[Outro: Man - talking]
A lot of cats
Get up in an age around
In their early 30's
And they start to think of like lifetime companionship
And that's when they start to meet ladies who
Are not too prone to trust anybody
And they got plenty of history to prove to you
Why they shouldn't trust nobody
I didn't know you then, when all that stuff was goin down
Put them other cats away man
And let me try to make somethin in your life