"You know nowadays it.. seems like there's a lot of..
bad things going on and.. I guess a lot of it..
from the way I see it.. seems to still stem from..
lack of feelings on our parts it's..
and how we relate or communicate with our..
fellow brothers and sisters"

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

[CL Smooth]
South Africa, what does it mean?
To burst the scene, or conquer like a philistene
War or peace, which one do you prefer?
Pass me my M-16 for the disaster
A reason for the treason in a jet black season..
.. for peace, justice, and freedom
for the Original Man, architect of the Motherland
Kings to Queens, is the Asiatic Black plan
Pre-Adam-ite, first to see the light
Way before Adam and Eve took flight
Bless the seed of Abraham, I came to jam
Protest the teachings of another man
Uncle Tom stay loyal so they boil
I'm the alchemist with the twist from the true soil
My blood brother Adolpho on the side of me
My vision ain't blurry, so don't even lie to me
The rebirth the revival of our culture survival
to elevate, the black man is vital
You gotta realize now what we're facing
The floors I'm pacing from the anger in the nation

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

[CL Smooth]
Here's the situation from a darker view
Night and day, salt and pepper in the earthly stew
But the salt think it taste better, straight up superior
Therefore, the flavor of the pepper's inferior
Incorrect though, giving some heartburn
Level of a devil better wait your turn
And here is one recollection of imperfection
No one should be judged by complexion
Lie-braries; broken down as lies buried
to force their beliefs to pilgrims all hurried
Television; tell-a-lie-vision
A schism; negative realism
Four-hundred-and-thirty-five years til weak
mental deaf dumb and blindness put us to sleep
Out of the dark comes light so the first can't be
So Armaggedeon comes like a thief in the night
Rednecks flex to my context but in the projects
some won't survive the next confrontation
and I'm aware of segregation
Pump your black fist for the anger in the nation

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

* various other scratches by Pete Rock for a few bars *

[CL Smooth]
Some walk slow, cause the water's not shallow
Let my people go, you little Pharaoh
Listen how they word it, be observant
Then house negro; today, civil servant
I want to drop the bomb but remain calm
Strong like the power of the Fruits of Islam
Black is beautiful, hot like fire
Guess how many times they thought they killed the Messiah
Malcolm X, Dr. King, let's sing
All around the world let freedom ring
Reality is real, so how do you feel
from being kings on a throne to picking cotton in a field?
Your slavery is lack of identity
One of the things that's not making you a friend of mine
What's your cause - aim, rationale?
Cause I made up my mind, I never scrape or bow
But teach my own, the sound of black unity
Together we can rise and now's the opportunity
The Tuskegee Experiment, indeed it was big
when they used the black man as a guinea pig
Animalism, pumped on a lower level
But can only be the works of the devil
And I'm telling you now the frustration
The future's facing from the anger in the nation

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

"Let's get together!" * cut n scratch 3X *
"Let's get together.. and raise"

* Pete Rock flips "Let's get together" to the end *

Writer : PHILLIPS, PETER (PKA PETE ROCK) / PENN, CORY (PKA C.L. SMOOTH) / BUTLER, RONALD / BROWN, JAMES / CROPPER, STEVE / JONES, BOOKER T. / DUNN, DUCK / JACKSON JR., AL
Copyright : Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BUG MUSIC