[Intro: Dave Chappelle]
So I got a little riddle for you:
What happens when you take two of Brooklyn's finest MC's
And put 'em together in a group?
Well, then you have my next guests, make some noise
Mos Def, Talib Kweli — Black Star
[Mos Def, Talib Kweli & Both]
This is a real nigga PSA
From the Black Star Embassy (Yes, yes) of Brooklyn
Entitled: What Is Beef?
[Verse 1: Talib Kweli, Mos Def & Both]
Yo! I was sold to a sick European by a rich African, battlin'!
Middle Passages, I can't go back again
Battlin' years of denyin' history, lies and mysteries
Wives with misty eyes watchin' their niggas be beaten viciously (Brooklyn!)
Battle in the wilderness of North America
Ran by the river, only stoppin' to pray, chased by predators
Terrorists with etiquette who vote and kill their president
Their capacity for evil so evident and prevalent
Ain't no hesitation involved, a nation dissolved
While we sit back waitin' to evolve
Those who would trade in their freedom
For their protection deserve neither
Fuck a name, fuck tradition, religion — you learn Jesus
Turn the other cheek, inherit the Earth, just stay meek
Fuck the way you speak
Try to walk? We chop off your feet
Fast forward to 2003, niggas beef
The psychology of children are slaves to run deep, yo
[Hook: Mos Def, Talib Kweli & Both]
Hell yeah (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, yo)
What's beef? (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, yo)
That's beef (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah)
It's always your own peoples
Sometimes, it's your own peoples yo
Yeah, yeah, (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, yo)
What's beef? (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, yo)
That's beef (Hell yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah, yo)
It's always your own peoples
Sometimes, it's your own peoples, yo
[Verse 2: Mos Def, Talib Kweli & Both]
Beef is not what Jay said to Nas (C'mon)
Beef is when workin' niggas can't find jobs
So they tryna find niggas to rob
Tryna find bigger guns so they can finish the job (Yeah)
Beef is when the crack kids can't find moms
'Cause they in a pine box, or locked behind bars (Yeah)
Beef ain't the Summer Jam for Hot 97
Beef is the cocaine and AIDS epidemic
Beef don't come with a radio edit (Nope)
Beef is when the judge is callin' you 'defendant'
Beef, it come with a long jail sentence
Handed down to you in a few short minutes (Yeah)
Beef is when your girl come through for a visit
Talkin' 'bout "I'm pregnant by some other nigga" (C'mon)
Beef is high blood pressure and bad credit
Need a loan for your home, and you're too broke to get it
And all your little kids is doin' is gettin' bigger
You tryin' not to raise 'em around these wild niggas
Beef is when a gold digger got your seed in her
A manicured hand out like, "Pay me, nigga
Or I'm tellin' your wife"
Or startin' up some foul rumor that'll ruin your life
Beef is when a gangster ain't doin' it right
And other gangsters done decided what to do with his life
Beef is not what these famous niggas do on the mic (Uh)
Beef is what George Bush would do in a fight (That's right)
Beef is not what Ja said to 50 (Uh)
Beef is Weldon Irv not bein' here with me
When a soldier ends his life with his own gun
Beef is tryin' to figure out what to tell his son (Uh)
Beef is oil prices and geopolitics
Beef is Iraq, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Some beef is big, and some beef is small
But what y'all call beef is not beef at all
Beef is real life happenin' everyday
And it's realer than them songs that you gave to Kay Slay
This has been a Black Star PSA (C'mon)
From Mos Def, Pretty Flaco, black Dante
And the Black Star embassy (Black Star) B to the K!
