Immortal Technique Civil War (feat. Brother Ali, Killer Mike & Chuck D)
[Intro]
Like anybody, I would like to live — a long life; longevity has its place
But I'm not concerned about that now
I just want to do God's will
And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain
And I've looked over
And I've seen the Promised Land
I may not get there with you
But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land
So, I'm happy, tonight
I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
[Verse 1: Immortal Technique]
The ghetto is like a prison with invisible bars
No matter where you at, it always follows you where you are
And it's hard out there for a pimp to get out of
But it's harder for the hooker that he beat the shit out of
I got niggas underground in the Confederate states
Ironically runnin' from slavery that prison creates
So, I never hate on the South: I respect they vision
I just hate on niggas that promote Samboism
And white execs that love to see us in that position
They reflect the stereotypes of America's vision
They want us dancin', coonin' and hollerin'
Only respect us for playin' sports and modelin'
More than racism: it's stay in your place-ism
More people are trapped in practical blackface-ism
So f..ck a Civil War between the North and the South
It's between field niggas and slaves that are stuck in the house
[Chorus: Chuck D]
Civil war for the soul of a nation
This is a struggle to save civilization
Demonstrations overthrowin' the occupation
The annihilation of mental colonization
Civil war for the soul of a nation
We fight for the future of our civilization
Destroy the corrupt government organizations
Tryin' to survive cultural assassination
[Verse 2: Killer Mike]
Crip niggas, Blood niggas, eses, Asians
Why the f..ck we warrin' with each other's population?
The devil wanna dead all our population
People and Folk Nation, why the separation?
Why we got Jamaicans hatin' on Hatians
When the British and French raped both nations?
Mexicans and Blacks kill each other, straight hatin'
While the government profits from prison population
If you on the bottom, be you Anglo or Asian
You gotta recognize the realness inwhat I'm sayin'
You gotta recognize another G ain't the enemy
When the police ride and kill us frequently
We gotta make the youth see where the truth be
If you a G, then grow and develop GD
50 years of gangs and our people still poor
If we really run the streets, we should really end war
[Chorus: Chuck D]
Civil war for the soul of a nation
This is a struggle to save civilization
Demonstrations overthrowin' the occupation
The annihilation of mental colonization
Civil war for the soul of a nation
We fight for the future of our civilization
Destroy the corrupt government organizations
Tryin' to survive cultural assassination
[Verse 3: Brother Ali]
Our hearts were torn apart just like y'all was
Watching towers full of souls fall to sawdust
Every time we called your office you ignored us
Now you holdin' hearings on us all inside of Congress
Microscopes on us, ask if we're jihadists
My answer was in line with all of the Founding Fathers
I think Patrick said it best: Give me liberty or death
I shall never accept anything less
You claim innocence, you play victimless
But you gave the kiss of death in the name of self-defense
Slavery and theft have brought our nations to the end
Of pacifying your citizenry with excess
We believe in freedom, justice, security
But they're only pure when they're applied universally
So certainly if I rage against the machine
My aim was only to clean the germs out of the circuitry
Urgently puttin' fear inside your heart
Make you burn Qu'rans and tell me not to build a mosque
Me, my wife, and babies we ain't never made jihad
We just want to touch our heads to the floor and talk to god
Ask him to remove every blemish from our heart
The greatest threat of harm doesn't come from any bomb
The moment you refuse the human rights for just a few
What happens when that few includes you? Civil war