Truth Is

Are we at War if I feel it's unsafe
For me to step outside my car
For a traffic ticket
And by the way that I'm dressed
Did I immediately become your number one suspect
Now your tech is at my neck
And your knees are lodged into my rib cage
The nerve of these fashion police these days
They police us to the grave
Handcuff and kill our brave
And allow the cowards to walk away

So much going on in this world it's a damn shame
But all through history it's always been the same man
Dealing with different circumstances trying to maintain
Police come harassing and you get mad
Then your whole life could change
Sometimes I wish that they could take a walk in our shoes
See how it feels when you get messed with just for being you
Ain't broke no rules but if you move
Then they'll put two in you
And hopefully somebody records it
So they'll expose the truth

I ain't gone speak hypocritically I know I was thuggin'
And every time I saw the police I know I was mugging
But nowadays a brother grown
And I ain't on nothing
I'm just out here trying to get it on
So I can own something
But every time I'm out here riding I get pulled over
Doing the speed limit, tags good
And your gun out your holster
Of course I got an attitude my kids in the back
And I know that you only pulled me over
Cuz you see I'm black
Braids to the back
Arm full of tats
But don't you also see these steel toes, vest and this hard hat
Am I being detained
Why I gotta step out of my vehicle
Officer please explain
But you won't tell a brother nothing
I don't need this man
Hell naw I don't consent to you searching my car
Even though I told you not to do it
Still I know that you are
But I ain't tripping boss man
I'm just trying to make it home with my kids
Cuz I don't wanna do a bid or die from something I ain't did

So much going on in this world it's a damn shame
But all through history it's always been the same man
Dealing with different circumstances trying to maintain
Police come harassing and you get mad
Then your whole life could change
Sometimes I wish that they could take a walk in our shoes
See how it feels when you get messed with just for being you
Ain't broke no rules but if you move
Then they'll put two in you
And hopefully somebody records it
So they'll expose the truth

They say we don't respond the same to black on black crime
Well that's because when we get caught homey we do the time
We don't get to go on vacation
And chill with the fam
Feet in the sand on Instagram
Like we ain't killed a man
We sit in jail with no bond
Until the verdict end
Arrested from a description
Treated like we murdered 10
But officer Charlie on tape committing a homicide
And we can clearly see that the stories they tell be dramatized
Talking about he feared for his life over an argument
Our tax money must be getting spent on some heartless wimps
Shout out to all the police that's really holding it down
Ain't out here harassing a man because he black or brown
Out here just to serve and protect despite our imperfections
Cuz you know a few of us have traveled that wrong direction
But that don't mean that we deserve death at the cops discretion
Stretched out with no weapons
Just because we mirror at the same aggression

So much going on in this world it's a damn shame
But all through history it's always been the same man
Dealing with different circumstances trying to maintain
Police come harassing and you get mad
Then your whole life could change
Sometimes I wish that they could take a walk in our shoes
See how it feels when you get messed with just for being you
Ain't broke no rules but if you move
Then they'll put two in you
And hopefully somebody records it
So they'll expose the truth

The truth is
The number of justifiable homicides is like 400 lives lost each year
And the shrinks think that this number will increase by December 2015
It's August already
And it's funny how we can overcome Ebola but
385 American citizens have already lost their lives to law enforcement
Is this not an epidemic
I mean every day I'm turning on the television
I'm seeing another epic picture
Of law enforcement gunning down one of my people
An unarmed man is subject to slavery at any given moment
I quote Huey P. Newton
Hands up no reason for you to be shooting
The itch on his trigger finger allows him to lose it