Hashtag

[Intro: police radio chatter]

[Verse 1]
I got approached by a man who didn’t care I was Black
Didn’t care where I’m from, didn’t care how I act
Didn’t care that I cared about my family and friends
Didn’t care that I prayed that God forgive all my sins
Didn’t care that my life was much harder than his
Didn’t care I had plans for a couple of kids
He didn’t care that I’m tryna walk the right path
Didn’t care until the trigger made the light flash
Didn’t care to hide the fear I couldn’t quite mask
Didn’t care that death was coming, couldn’t fight back
I could tell you didn’t care when you backed up
Didn’t call for ambulance, you called for backup
But you scared and I ain’t even have a gun on me
‘Fore you checked my pulse, you checked if I had drugs on me
Real shit, I don’t even feel shit
I wish somebody helped but ‘stead they sat back and filmed it

[Interlude: police radio chatter]

[Verse 2]
Sometimes I look at my skin like it’s a gift and a curse
Courtesy of Curtis Mayfield, the people darker than blue
Before I’m a human, a man, I’m barely even a you
Barely believe the things and the scenes we see in the news
They shoot you ‘stead of putting your head inside of the noose
They play it on repeat so your eyes get desensitized to the crime they commit
Looking for Prince, a sign of the times
In the back of my mind, asking you blind, deaf, or you dumb
You don’t know the difference between wallets, skittles, and guns
You can kill us on the camera and they won’t believe us
Why you calling them the officers, they overseers
What’s the price of your life if they getting cash back
All they do is turn your name into a hashtag
Fuck yo thinkpiece, yo march, and yo feelings nigga
They kill yo brothers and yo sisters and yo children nigga
My cousin wanted me to teach him to drive
I told him nah because I’m tryna keep him alive
When you Black, they don’t cry until the day that you die
When you Black, you don’t live, you just learn to survive
I started questioning my religion, knowing God forgive him
Know we all knowing there's no seeing the killers
I look in a Black child inside they eyes and tell ‘em fear none
The most important Black man is a dead one

But fear none!
The most important Black man is a dead one
The most important Black man is…
Shit…

[Outro]
Leave my brothers alone
(Hold yo head)
Leave my sisters alone
Leave my brothers alone
(Leave my brothers alone)
Please leave my sisters alone
(Leave my brothers alone)
(Leave my sisters alone)
(Leave my brothers alone)
(Leave my sisters alone)
(Leave my brothers alone)