o.G.

[Intro: Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey] This one is real hot Let's go, ugh Bismillah Welcome to the Black Star [Verse 1: Yasiin Bey with Talib Kweli] Joy and pain, coin of the realm, both sides, racks Such powerful current could make tears touch the eyes, facts Grace for every morning, God opened up mine and thine, Alhamdulillah We all on notice that any next moment could be the last time You stand on this side, slow down, son, you're killing 'em But only the phony because the real don't die, on God All good for all hoods and palaces, poised throughout triumphs or challenges Top rank, duppy conqueror skank And the balance don't break for any large or small bank balances The parable of the talented, each generation The wonders and the wealth of all nations Is really chump change once you take into consideration The living revelation that no soul could escape from So go on, let a sucker say something 'Cause even when they're saying something, they ain't saying much I refrain from retorts and just pray for him Stay away from him, roll through or rise raise on 'em Bang, shine the Gamma, Bey on 'em Shilalah live from Bedford Stuyvesant, the livest one The king said, ''uh'' And even when we die, we will not stay dead And I said what I said, so there it is The light is not afraid of the dark at all That part, Black Star (Black Star) [Chorus: Yasiin Bey] I want to thank you for helping me reach the understanding That time is relative and the truth is everlasting I want to thank you for helping me reach the understanding That time is relative 'cause the truth is everlasting [Verse 2: Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey] This one is real hot That's on God Black star embassy, no fear of time Getting paid independent like Cinema Nouveau Logging travels in my journal like Robinson Crusoe Nom de plume, no Daniel Defoe Encyclopedia Britannica flow The gravity to pull a planet, straight insanity that bust open your cantaloupe flow We the lions where the antelope roam Brooklyn botanical gardens and stick-up artists with they hands in they coat Give up the goods or they hands on your throat That's all she wrote but now we woke, right? I'm making it plain, I talk to 'em Dissecting all the doors of perception, I walk through 'em They think I'm arguing, I'm not talking to 'em, I talk through 'em Way too many garbage humans, they raw sewage Ashes to ashes and dust to dust We gon' bash us some fascists and **** them up This the parable of the talented, powerful is the caliber My birthday is a holiday, mark it down on your calendars YouTube, they feeding us through a catheter 'Bout to holler at Yasiin and move to Africa Spectacular, bars assassinate your character Brooklyn got the best rappers per capita (Uh) Yeah, no lies detected You pull it out, you better fire that weapon Measure influence by the lives affected, writing records, getting high for breakfast I crash by lunch but I'll survive the wreckage By dinner time, I was aligned 'cause I received the message Heeded a lesson 'cause I needed a blessing Gave up the glory, the liars and thieves made up a story I stood up for the people, I ain't wait 'til they came for me (Came for me) Solidarity, and that's on God [Chorus: Yasiin Bey] I want to thank you for helping me reach the understanding That time is relative and the truth is everlasting I want to thank you for helping me reach the understanding That time is relative 'cause the truth is everlasting