Joy And Peace lyrics - Common (feat. Bilal)

[Intro:]
For his goodness and for his wonderful works
Unto the children of men
If my people will lift my name tonight
I will come in
I will be exalted
I will be glorified
I will be lifted up
Welcome him in tonight
Can't you feel him?
Yes, yes
There is liberty
Open your heart tonight
Welcome him in, put them hands together
Fellowship
Joy and peace

[Common:]
All praise to the all-eye seeing
Supreme-being, giver of joy and peace
Love supreme freedom
Some see him in the son
Some see him in the daughters
The mountains, the waters, all divine order
The king unseen, one dream that I had
I was talking to my dad
He said, "Things ain't as bad as they seem"
Is this a God dream the way Ye sing it?
The dream seem to go on as the day lingered
The meaning of life, you can't frame or name it
True stars remain like the name of David
Niggas get foreign cars and think they made it
It ain't yours till you create it in the image of the
Beneficent, merciful, universal, versatile
My verses go till' heaven and earth become reversible
Christ particle, so anything is possible
Fuck big brother, father, mother
God is watching you

[Bilal:]
And I want the joy
And I want to know the peace of mind
I make a way, a way to see
Through it all and ohh
Living for joy and peace
Still in all in the night when it hurts
And your bed feels like snow
There's a joy in the rain
In your heart, there's a way
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on
Turn your light on

Home lyrics - Common (feat. Bilal)

[Common:]
A man who's genius and freedoms and -
Ability to communicate and -
To talk, and to touch chords -
A man who has the ability and the audacity
And the - of God to stand up, to stand up

Heard the sound of the trumpets, the voice from the throne
Seen the twenty-four elders and I knew I was home
I was told to write songs for the people
Take the original Hebrews on an Exodus of Black Excellence
Tell them to invest in us and make testaments about each other
Or how we sisters and brothers
Cover the land in corners of poems and stone
Go hard with it, let em know you God with it
Even though I authored it, let no one margin it
And make it all about paper or first weeks sales
Though this is from Heaven give 'em verses from Hell
Those that fell off the path, bring them back to the Mass
The staff can be your microphone
Your name is Common
You was born to fight the norm
Take house niggas outta darkness till they lights is on
I'm a put a hyphen on your name
Rapper-actor-activist
You the one that can reach into the black abyss
Stars this asterix, show em what a classic is
Freedom riders need passengers
And your lyrics use scriptures and passages
To make them rise like Lazarus
And resurrected again, they'll put disrespect on your name and respect it again
Every section you in, bless em and keep bussin'
If they don't like it, shake the dust and say 'fuck em'
Until you get home, I'm the one you trust in

I'm happy to be in any place
Where God's name is remembered

[Bilal:]
Soon I will be gone with the trouble of this world
Trouble of this world, trouble of this world
Soon I will be gone with the trouble of this world
Going home to live
Going home to live
Going home to live

[Common:]
Go into the wilderness like Mussa on a pilgrimage
Streets are villages, speak with diligence
And authority to fake God of pharisees and sadducees
Give them that Gardley free from the Black Odyssey
Yo pardon me, you the God bodily
Functioning on earth as a part of me
That's why I gave you artistry
Go into the hoods with the shooters and the strippers
Forget the New World Order, New Jerusalem is with us
Tell sisters they earths and goddesses
If they got bottom, don't get caught in a bottomless
Pit, there's a lot of us fit for the kingdom is near
You can tell by the wars and how the seasons appear
You'll appear in circles in Hollywood, I birthed you
And Chicago, you know how to parlay good
You'll get Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys
Give those to your family, don't get caught up in the vanity
Or the world's insanity

[Bilal:]
Soon I will be gone with the trouble of this world
Trouble of this world, trouble of this world
Soon I will be gone with the trouble of this world
Going home to live
Going home to live
With God

[Common:]
To those of you who are unfamiliar with those words
They mean, in English, 'Peace, be unto you'

Word From Moe Luv Interlude lyrics - Common

They've been using this system to will their power. So Its kind of like a slippery slope to teach their children to teach your children to respect something that shows no respect. For a lack of better terms.
You know what I mean? You hit a good thing on the head saying about how educating the youth early and often about relationships going forward

Black America Again lyrics - Common (feat. Stevie Wonder)

[Common:]
Here we go, here, here we go again
Trayvon'll never get to be an older man
Black children, they childhood stole from them
Robbed of our names and our language, stole again
Who stole the soul from black folk?
Same man that stole the lamb from cheap black smoke
And made the whip crackle on our back slow
And made us go through the back door
And rap for black bodies on the slave blocks
Now we slave to the blocks, on 'em we spray shots
Leaving our own to lay in a box
Black mother's stomachs stay in a knot
We kill each other, it's part of the plot
I wish the hating will stop (war)
And the battle with us
I know that black lives matter and they matter to us
These are the things we gotta discuss
The new plantation, mass incarceration
Instead of educate, they'd rather convict the kids
As dirty as the water in Flint, the system is
Is it a felony or a misdemeanor
Maria Sharapova making more than Serena
It took Viola Davis to say this
The rose of the help and the gangsters is really all they gave us
We need Avas, Ta-Nehisis, and Cory Bookers
The salt of the Earth to get us off of sugar and greasy foods
I don't believe the news or radio, stereotypes we refuse
Brainwashed in the cycle to spin
We write our own story, black America again

[Sample - James Brown:]
You know, you know, you know. One way of solving a lot of problems we got is to let a person feel like somebody and a man can't get himself together until he knows who he is and be proud of what and who he is, and where he come from, and where he come from

[Common:]
Hot damn, black America again
Think of Sandra Bland as I'm staring in the wind
The color of my skin, they comparing it to sin
The darker it gets, the less fairer it has been
The hate the hate made, I inherited it from them
But I ain't gon' point the finger, we got annointed singers
Like Nina, Marvin, Billy, Stevie
Need to hear them songs sometimes to believe me
Who freed me? Lincoln or Cadillac
Drinking or battle raps so is it Godspeed that we travel at?
In danger denied on habitat
The guns and dope man y'all can have it back
As a matter of fact, we them lab rats
You build the projects for us now you want your hood back
I guess if you could rap you would express it to
That PTSD, we need professionals
You know what pressure do, it make the pipes bust
From schools to prison y'all, they tryna pipe us
Tell your political parties invite us
Instead of making broke laws to spite us
You know, you know we from a family of fight trust
Fought in your wars and our wars
You put a nigga in Star Wars, maybe you need two
And then, maybe then we'll believe you
See black people in the future
We wasn't shipped here to rob and shoot ya
We hold this truth to be self evident
All men and women are created equal, including black Americans

[Sample - James Brown:]
You know, you know, you know. One way of solving a lot of problems we got is to let a person feel like somebody and a man can't get himself together until he knows who he is and be proud of what and who he is, and where he come from, and where he come from

[Stevie Wonder:]
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story
We are rewriting the black American story

Love Star lyrics - Common (feat. Marsha Ambrosius & PJ)

[PJ:]
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?

[Common:]
I'm on what? What you on to?
I'm the sun God, let me warm you
Out of my sides the Lord formed you
Pull your dress up, ain't nothin' formal
Our fragrance is patience
We can major in communication
Relatin' like cousins, though we kissin' though
Love can be sick or medicinal
A doctor of it, you gots to love it
God body language I be spittin' while we fuckin'
In your ear with somethin' it ain't clear
On your inside it appear, so somehow you're here
I'm sayin' I wanna stay inside
They say I'm a deep nigga, I'm a go way inside
Of everything you are
Cause everything you are is my lovestar

[PJ:]
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?

[Common:]
I ain't the type to be all up on your social
I'm in your face vocal the way a man supposed to
A choosy lover, I chose you
God's most beautiful creation, let me mold you
You already in shape, that's more love to make
Feel free when I'm with you, it's hard to escape
When we need a break
We take it
When two souls connect you can't fake it
TV shows and cakes, I know your favorite
Cut from the same cloth, let's wear it
This ain't about labels, this about fit
Since God designed, we can start our own line
Our offspring will be you, me, and He combined
We walk the runway like blaow
Bein' in love is never out of style

[PJ:]
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?

[Marsha Ambrosius:]
Heaven agrees you are all that I need down here
Cause you make it all worth it
We do this on purpose
The love we make is certain
I'm so caught in your arm
If you're lost in your thoughts
I want to be your everything forever

[PJ:]
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?
You're my lovestar
What we gonna do, baby?

[Common:]
Forever, I wanna be forever
Forever, star
Lovestar, lovestar

Red Wine lyrics - Common (feat. Elena Pinderhughes & Syd Tha Kyd)

[Syd:]
Red wine time on the couch
Happy you agreed to hang out
Keep my head in the clouds
Keep them old names out your mouth
I can make you laugh out loud
We the only ones in the house
I can help you body wind down
Make this bottle disappear right now
Get comfortable, comfortable
Get comfortable, comfortable
Get comfortable, comfortable
Let's stay in for the night
Maybe take a walk outside
Let's distance your pride
Me fall in love with your mind
If I look deep in your eyes
I can guess your zodiac sign
We ain't got nothing but time
We can just chill and unwind
Get comfortable, comfortable
Get comfortable, comfortable
Get comfortable, comfortable

[Common:]
Freedom is the road less traveled by the multitude
The mood, it's the mode, it's the culture
Where there's food there's vultures
More Tony now, back then I was Sosa
I was sent like a penny in a loafer
The 2Pac Deepak Chopra
On a plane drinking wine with Oprah
When I missed the dap I ain't mean to insult her
Black Caesar, ey o amo roma
Tuto biene vino rosa
My dominican girl she loves soca
Take her to Minetta take her to the MOCA
Most of my friends at home that I'm close to
When they talk, put it on stone like a sculpture
Used to be a hooper, now I'm a hoper
Thoughts I bring to life like an ultra sound
I'm bound to the underground
Breaking walls down for the black and brown
A activist is active now
How far will you go for exposure?
Little homie in the paint tryna post up
Don't make me have to put you on a poster
Posterized by what I vocalize
Weathered the storm like I know the skies
Yea we wear the mask but I know no disguise
These signs of the times are notarized
Written by the lord of the skies mortalized
In us, I got cold through cruel winters
Grandmas, defenders, Fred Hamptons agenda
Never been good with pretenders
They lying on the king like Simba
Dinner, branzino and red wine
Quality shared time
Fucking and laughing 'til its bed time

[Elena:]
Red like my lips
Blue like past thoughts
Brown like your eyes
Just enough time
I can't think now
You're too close and I…
Might be too nice
These New York nights
Got me taking chances
I think your hands
Might look just right
If they held mine
Get comfortable, get comfortable
Get comfortable, get comfortable
Get comfortable, get comfortable
Get comfortable, get comfortable
Get two glasses
Now I'm swimming
Off the deep end
Heightened senses
No pretending
Make my head spin
I like dancing
In my bedroom
It's just me and you
Put that tape on
Tell me what you want
Let's just make time feel, long
Get comfortable, get comfortable
You could just stay for the night
Here, let me turn down the lights
Get comfortable, get comfortable
You can let go
Passion comes from down below
We go together like so
Get comfortable, get comfortable
Let's make a toast
That we both can make the most of this time
Red wine

Pyramids lyrics - Common (feat. Bilal)

[Common:]
A nigga told me he only rhyme for 19-year-olds
Nigga, you should rhyme wherever the spirit goes
Here it goes, lyrical miracles
These are pyramids from the imperial
In theory, though, low end scenario
It's sound boy burial drove me to classic material
Aerial nights blew my mind out of stereotypes
For ethereal heights, I write like Pritchard
Invisible man, pictured below with the hieroglyphicable
Prolifical flow, on the walls where the mystics of Kemet would go
Supreme wisdom in my system is the kick in the door
I don't rhyme for the sake of riddlin' though
This is a ritual for those depicted as low
Now I passed life like I've been here before
The reincarnation of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold
Us Back, coldest raps
For me the globe is like a culdesac
Around the world in a day, find forever and I stay
I'm from the weather where they spray
There's gotta be a better way, people dying everyday
Wonder what would heaven say? Devils need to get away
From Chevrolet to Escalade, from evergreen to the everglades
I kneel where the rebels pray
Seen fifty gray, but they need better shades
Niggas rhymin' like their whole style in retrograde
The escapade I'm on is like when the sun, moon and stars was born
It's hard to explain how these pyramids formed

[Sample - Ol' Dirty Bastard:]
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll burn, I'll burn, and I will burn, burn, burn

[Common:]
I arrived on the planet, never took the Southside for granted
Smoke a little, keep a high standard
The Roots are my niggas so I gotta fly bandwith
Son of the sit-ins, you know who I stand with
Dude said I was a hero, I ain't nothing but a sandwich
A gluten-free one at that, close my eyes see my raps
My bio is feedback from what we need rap
On some Marshawn Lynch, let me run it back
And come with that new black spiritual
Every rap's a miracle, condition now critical
Game lack lyrical, we need black generals
Holy war, tap into you like Savion
But I'm a orator, the corduroy boy
Came the door-to-door name down the corridor of fame
I walk like an Egyptian on a mission to listen to conditions
Envision a vision of what we wishing
I've been commissioned to deprison the prism of your mind
Spit the wisdom of the one devine
Close encounter of the wonder kind, front a line
Shift the paradigm with a pair of rhymes
Style Bonnie Caylor, in the sweep with Caroline
Getting dressed up under pressure, Alabama shakes on Incense rising from the dresser, child of a fresher god
Influenced by the life of the former, Joanne Chesimard
Assata Shakur, I gotta do more
The light-skinned spook who got in the door
I gotta hit four, same thing Cassius Clay uses pottery for
I'm on a world tour with Muhammad the prophet, my man
And where we land the pyramids stand

[Sample - Ol' Dirty Bastard:]
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll be burning, burning hot
Talent that I got will riz-ock the spot
MCs I'll burn, I'll burn, and I will burn, burn, burn

A Moment In The Sun Interlude lyrics - Common

He was a big guy from Tyler, Texas... and... uh I think we walked in the class one day and we passed each other... and he was country, country so he was like... "Heyyy lil mama"... and I giggled... I was like, "Heyyyyy"

Unfamiliar lyrics - Common (feat. PJ)

[PJ:]
What you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
I try to keep it out my head, it's not that simple to me
And what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..
Why don't I take the time and then [?] my baby doll?
Why don't I take the time to get you anything you want?
'Cause what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..

Love never gave a limit, wait a minute, stay up in it
Every day we give it, play to win it, way we live it
My heart, you came to visit
Stay extended
The lap of love we lay up in it
Days is vivid same incentive
The way we hit it's like Will and Jada did it
A house is not a home unless we staying in it
Stay committed
I used to get around now I'm staying centered
Angels ascended, grounded, stay cemented
The mentality, we all casualties
I can't do this casually actually you challenge me
To balance me
Paid dues and salaries
Been through truths and fallacies
The unfamiliarity made me loose calories
In a house with wine playing Amy's "Valerie"
Then I realized the past ain't my reality
On love's balcony, you standing out for me
This is alchemy, unashamed and undoubtedly
Now I see

[PJ:]
What you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
I try to keep it out my head, it's not that simple to me
And what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..
Why don't I take the time and then [?] my baby doll?
Why don't I take the time to get you anything you want?
'Cause what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..

This love's alive, it clicks the way that T.D. Jakes described it
Vivrant thing the way that Tip from Tribe would sing
So many things that you provide the king
You too fly, never should you hide your wings
The awakening, let's keep breaking things
Breaking rules, breaking laws, breaking through
Breaking walls, sacred thoughts
Are the oceans that we make it cross
The truth is a naked cloth
No need to take it off, the wait is off
Love we make and do is unbreakable, relatable
State in you relating to the faith in you
Awaken to what faith can do
Fate is inescapable, super friends, we capable
To take it to a greater view they say is unattainable
I paint for you a picture I'm forever in it with ya
Love it when we hang, in my life, you're a fixture
A mixture of love, laughter, scripture
The right elixir, my spirit I pour to enrich ya
I'm with ya

[PJ:]
What you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
I try to keep it out my head, it's not that simple to me
And what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..
Why don't I take the time and then [?] my baby doll?
Why don't I take the time to get you anything you want?
'Cause what you doing to my heart is unfamiliar
But I could get used to it
I could get used to it, I could get..

A Bigger Picture Called Free lyrics - Common (feat. Syd & Bilal)

[Common:]
Living in a glass bubble, the fast hustle
The masked struggle that I'm in
The same one that you in
I knew inside when I was outside on the south side
Had to take it a step further
The way that Ralph tried
Oh that's my stepfather
He stressed harder to make that bed and lock them doors
For the perfect picture, I forgot to pose
Used to rock Jabos and go out with bros
Tryna get lots of hoes till I got exposed
To a bigger picture called free
In the picture, it was me
Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, Muhammad, and Noble Drew Ali
A side of Erykah Badu and Andre 3000
Telling me what I can't be
But you can't paint me
Black is the color of my true love spirit
And I do love lyrics
And I used to love Harold's Chicken
And I dance pretty good
And I feel at home in the hood
And I get lit in the club
Still I love

[Syd Tha Kyd:]
If you look in my eyes, you'll see love deep inside
When I look in the sky, I see freedom
If you look in my eyes, you'll see love deep inside
When I look in the sky, I see freedom

[Common:]
If you hear this rhyme, it's coming from division 9
The toughest in Cook County
They count me out cause I did a crime
They say it's violent time in human beings
But being they ain't seeing me as human
In this big business called prison, I'm the one that's consuming
Illuminati illuminate me, fume and hate me
Mutilate me from my family, society, and loved ones
I wasn't raised to love guns, well maybe toy ones
My pops, y'all built and destroyed him
With prescriptions of poverty, dope, and unemployment
When will we see enjoyment?
I smile when my little boy get to visit for about 30 minutes
But we ain't never spent Christmas together
Tryna get it together
What I'ma do when I get out?
I don't know what it is to live out
Just reminiscing of the big house
I'm the one justice chose to spit out
My life story is written in a prison sentence
Wonder if this cell got room for forgiveness?
Still I love

[Syd Tha Kyd:]
If you look in my eyes, you'll see love deep inside
When I look in the sky, I see freedom
If you look in my eyes, you'll see love deep inside
When I look in the sky, I see freedom

[Bilal:]
It's gonna be you and me
When you're feeling free
Make you feel alive
What you got inside make you go outside
The change in I
Is the realest high
It's the realest high
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, oh-yeah
It's gonna be you and me
When you're feeling free
Make you feel alive
What you got inside make you go outside
The change in I
Is the realest high
It's the realest high
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, oh-yeah

[Bilal:]
It's gonna be you and me
When you're feeling free
Make you feel alive
What you got inside make you go outside
The change in I
Is the realest high
It's the realest high
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, oh-yeah
It's gonna be you and me
When you're feeling free
Make you feel alive
What you got inside make you go outside
The change in I
Is the realest high
It's the realest high
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, oh-yeah

The Day Women Took Over lyrics - Common (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid)

[Common:]
There's something 'bout this day that seem good to me
When people I ain't like is showin' love to me
Good food and the mood and the hood is free
Peace and free is the frequency
This is the day women took over
No longer over your shoulder do you have to look over
Imagine, war is now over
Mothers get medals for being courageous soldiers
On dollars, it's Michelle Obama, Oprah and Rosa
The mayor, the shah is Liz Dozier
Hoods feel safer, families feel closer
We all drunk in love with no need to be sober
Ladies get their hair done, and men, we notice
You get high grade Indian weaves, at the lowest
Prices, chivalry is no longer lifeless
We openin' doors and pullin' out chairs again
Things are merry, there's more marryin'
Monthly free doses of Motrin and Valerian
For your menstrual, it's no more minstral shows
Depictin' women as ignorant simple hoes
It's more love songs from the radio
Respect for the ladies, you can hear it in the flow
Egos aside, for each other we rise
Since they done give us a life, the whole world feel alive

[Bilal:]
Oh, when women take over the world
Oh, every woman, boy and girl
Oh, maybe one day, we will see
Peace and unity the way it's meant to be

[Common:]
The day women took over, let it continue
Now women get paid as much as men do
Dr. Angelou's lookin' from Heaven's window
Tellin' young girls phenomenal woman is in you
Body is a temple, men don't pray
Mother earth's arms around you sayin' it's okay
Toilet seats down, that's a no-brainer
Monuments in Washington of Fanny Lou Hamer
Harriet, a soldier of truth is marchin' on
Women preachers and world leaders, it now the norm
Healthcare, payin' for nails, jails and fill-ins
Intellectual buildin', intersexual healin'
No stickin' movers, and no quick shooters
After 15 minutes, callin' you a Uber
The New World Order is fathers lovin' their daughters
And baby's mamas supported and ladies gettin' courted
In court, kids can't be tried as adults
And women, they called B's because they a boss
In all shapes and sizes, beauty is recognized
Goddess and queens is what we use to describe
Now Michelle Alexander wrote the new constitution
Beyoncé made the music for the revolution
Imagine it, a world more compassionate
The malice of the feminine and masculine, I'm askin' if

[Bilal:]
Oh, what if women took over the world
Oh, every woman, boy and girl
Oh, maybe one day, we will see
Peace and unity the way it's meant to be

Rain lyrics - Common (feat. John Legend)

The wind against my face, tells me that I must go
Can't stay around too long before my tracks gonna catch me
When they do, I've got to be somewhere in LA
So I can look at the sun and get my thinking done
And if it's gonna rain tomorrow, let it rain

The last note I sang was indeed a false behave
At some old and shabby bar, I never knew the name
But I knew I could and work that all on my dreams
They tell me find that place, find that place

And if it's gonna rain tomorrow, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain

Deep in my destination, trying to find my destination
With LA so far away and I'm soaking cold today
Constantly it's on my mind
I'm only halfway there, I'm not caring how much frustration
Oh, I've got to cross this nation

And if it's gonna rain tomorrow, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain

[Common:]
As the rain falls down from the heavens
Think of how far I came since '87
Took my hustle and made it a weapon
I was always told "in the pain there's a blessing"
Mistakes that I made, they mirrored the lessons
Talking with God, I asked clearer questions
Dear Lord, is this what I'm destined for?
If so? Then what am I stressing for?
We tight, then why can't I let it go?
Everything gon' be alright, it's more than a metaphor
Let it rain cause it's ancestral
Cleanse my heart so they can see the best in you
Let it rain and come down visceral
For those no longer here in the physical
Let it rain cause it's like tears from you
Just like the rain, I'll do what I'm here to do
Let it rain, I know that it's purposeful
So that it can service you and return to you
Let it rain, let the rain surround me
And never drown me, I was lost when it found me
Now in a dream is where I'll be
Imperial reign came down to crown me
Now in a dream is where I'll be
Imperial reign came down to crown me
Imperial reign came down to crown me
Now in a dream, a dream is where I'll be

And if it's gonna rain tomorrow, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain
Let it rain, let it rain

Little Chicago Boy lyrics - Common (feat. Tasha Cobbs)

How should I begin?
This is the story of a boy named Lonnie Lynn
As I said it, the spirits enwhip me
He was raised in the belly of the city
Chicago
Discovered by du Sable
A Black Frenchman
That I had to mention
Extensions of a young man livin' on a low end
47th and Michigan, lackin' a little discipline
Grandma Mable did the best she could
You know how young brothers want a testy hood
There he stood, taller than most Black boys
One of the best ballers out of Illinois
Collagen, Ohio, this is like his bio
Talks that we had, man, they was never idle
He talked about readin' the Quran and the Bible
He talked how he smoked dope and sold it for survival
He talked about the ancestors, in our lives; they're vital
He said y'all boys love the bang 'cause you tribal
Spiral of life, Chicago to Denver
Anywhere he went, of attention, he's the center
6'9", big heart, big mind
He he spent his whole life tryin' to be big time
He did in a way, he made to the ABA
And the things he say on my record
When I was a shawty, he bought me "The Message"
It was his messages in life I would step with
Didn't see him much, spirits are connected
Father creates it, the son can reflect it
His perspective: sometimes seemed crazy
His perspective: sometimes seemed brilliant
His perspective: somehow it shaped me
His perspective: undoubted I feel it
He'd walk around in them Air Jordans I gave him
I said, "Pops, them from Mike, man, you better save 'em"
The fight that he had with cancer was a brave one
Took Dr. Sebi's herbs instead of medication
Breathing heavy, he talked reparations
He said, "Son, we live through our generations"
Offspring, coughing, Gene Ammons was playing
In the background, he was talking, I was praying
Our Father, take care of my father
As far as he went, may I go farther
May our dreams and legacies live through our children
Though I can't touch him, I can still feel him

As Pops would always say, "Keep the peace"

Letter To The Free lyrics - Common (feat. Bilal)

 [Common:]
Southern leaves, southern trees we hung from
Barren souls, heroic songs unsung
Forgive them Father they know this knot is undone
Tied with the rope that my grandmother died
Pride of the pilgrims affect lives of millions
Since slave days separating, fathers from children
Institution ain't just a building
But a method, of having black and brown bodies fill them
We ain't seen as human beings with feelings
Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!
For now we know, the new Jim Crow
They stop, search and arrest our souls
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control
A cruel hand taking hold
We let go to free them so we can free us
America's moment to come to Jesus

[Bilal:]
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)

[Common:]
The caged birds sings for freedom to bring
Black bodies being lost in the American dream
Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal
Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal'
Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country
Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me
Prison is a business, America's the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering
We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it's a matter of Black Lives
And we gonna free them, so we can free us
America's moment to come to Jesus

[Bilal:]
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won't be long (Won't be long)

"Nobody's Smiling" (2014)

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