The Proud

[Intro]
The proud
Stand tall or don't stand at all, come on, uh
Yeah
Break it down
What we do?

[Chorus]
We survive (Uh), it's more than pride (Word)
We stay alive (Word), ready to ride (Ride, one-two, one-two, yo)
We survive, it's more than pride (Yeah)
We stay alive, ready to ride (Put it down, yo)
We survive (June 11, 2001)
It's more than pride (Timothy McVeigh is executed)
We stay alive (And the country breathes a sigh of relief)
Ready to ride (Goodness prevails over evil, it seems)
We survive, it's more than pride (Somehow, with him gone)
We stay alive (We feel safer)
Ready to ride (Little do we know)

[Verse 1]
Today, the paper say Timothy McVeigh's in hell
So everything's okay and all must be well
I remember in Oklahoma when they put out the blaze
And put Islamic terrorist bombing on the front page
It's like saying only gays get AIDS, propaganda
Like saying the problem's over when they locked that man up
Wrong, it's just the beginning, the first inning
Battle for America's soul, the devil's winning
The president is Bush, the vice president's a Dick
So a whole lot of fucking is what we gon' get
They don't wanna raise the babies, so the election is fixed
That's why we don't be fucking with politics
They bet on that, parents fought and got wet for that
Hosed down, bit by dogs, and got Blacks into house arrest for that
It's all good except for that, we still poor
And money, power, respect is what we kill for, for real

[Chorus]
It's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride
We survive, it's more than pride (Yeah)
We stay alive, ready to ride
We survive (August 4, 2001)
It's more than pride (A drunken police officer)
We stay alive (Mows down an entire family in Brooklyn)
Ready to ride (The judge lets him go with no bail)
We survive (It reminds us)
It's more than pride (Just how worthless our lives are to the justice system)
We stay alive (I struggle)
Ready to ride (To explain the situation to my son, it's hard)

[Verse 2]
Niggas with knowledge is more dangerous than niggas with guns
They make the guns easy to get and try to keep niggas dumb
Target the gangs and graffiti with the Prop 21
I already know the deal, but what the fuck do I tell my son?
I want him living right, living good, respect the rules
He's five years old and he still thinking cops is cool
How do I break the news that when he gets some size
He'll be perceived as a threat or see the fear in they eyes?
It's in they job description to terminate the threat
So forty-one shots to the body is what he can expect
The precedent is set, don't matter you he follow the law
I know I'll give my son pride and make him swallow it all (Damn)
Fuck the pigs, I think the pigs killed Big and Pac too
If they didn't they know who did, they got to
Who they serve and protect? Nigga, not you
Cops shot off of ten G's, but they got Glocks too
Let you protect yourself or better yet, respect yourself
Straight into the hospital is where you gotta check yourself
They be getting tips from snitches and rival crews
Doing them favors, so they workin' for the drug dealers too
Just business enforcers with hate in they holsters
Shoot you in the back, won't face you like a soldier
Kurt Loder asked me what I say to a dead cop's wife
Cops kill my people every day, that's life

[Chorus]
We survive, it's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride (Yeah)
We survive, it's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride
We survive (September 11, 2001)
It's more than pride (Terrorists attack the Pentagon and the World Trade Center)
We stay alive (It kills thousands and permanently scars America's false sense of security)
Ready to ride
We survive (We see the best examples of humanity in the face of the worst)
It's more than pride (As firefighters, police officers)
We stay alive (Rescue workers and volunteers of all sorts fight to save lives)
Ready to ride (The world will never be the same again)

[Verse 3]
My heart go out to everybody at Ground Zero
Red, Black, yellow, white, and brown heroes
It's more complicated than Black and white
To give your own life is the greatest sacrifice
But it's hard for me to walk down the block
Seein' rats and roaches, crack files and forty-ounce posters
People broken down from years of oppression
Become patriots when they way of life is threatened
It's a hard conversation to have
We lost kids, moms, and dads, people ready to fight for the flag
Damn, when did shit get this bad?
America kill the innocent too, the cycle of violence is sad, damn
Welcome to the world, we here
We've been at war for years, but it's much more clear (Yeah)
We got to face what lies ahead
Fight for our truth and freedom and ride for the dead

[Chorus]
We survive (Yeah), it's more than pride (Much more)
We stay alive (Uh), ready to ride (Let's go)
We survive (That's right), it's more than pride (Much more)
We stay alive, ready to ride (Let's go)
We survive (Yeah), it's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride
We survive