The Remedy

Lyrics

[Intro: Q-Tip] Yo... we all got different things that we gotta deal with, you nam'sayin? Sometimes... I think people always want to put the blame on something else rather than sometimes looking at ourselves Recognizing that a lot of the stuff that happens... Sometimes has to do with other things But if we look within ourselves... We could prevent a lot of this nonsense sometimes, you know? It's about relating back to the essence, you nam'sayin'? Where it all stems from So I'ma do my thing over the drum Like a Native Tongue, you know? Yeah, buss it [Verse 1: Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, "female voice"] Do what you will, if you feel that your steeze is real Complicated with the skills over reel-to-reel Brown skin is what I feel, my mind and body's appeal Is to the no-frill mills, who hear the beast and chill Constantly, I'm hearing Black Americans just sneering Looking for a leader who can fill us up with ether (True that) Heating us up with great emotional chat About the fact that the Blacks' constantly held back Like 50 tracks back in a relay race And the white team's ahead, so let's keep up the pace And I be needing something that could feed my logical taste At the end of the race – is there a paradise place? Yo, we can't get involved in what the next man is doing (True that) Material gains, we put too much in pursuing Yo duke, I need this dough so we can step to this party, man... word... But we can all Mardi Gras-di minus that shit in our body Yo, what that got to do with that, man?! 'Cause, kid, that's the essence Your physical presence embodies every lesson You can't run a Rolls Royce if the engine is busted Can't even lift the knife to cut the mustard What we need to do first – now listen to this verse: Let's concentrate on our spiritual plate Recognize your existence in this vast blue space From a tiny cloud of blood to the human beings with taste, (Right, right...) Sight, touch, smell, and sound Let's deem it profound And prioritize this 'cause it was Allah's wish (Allah? Yo, I'm God) ("I don't believe that. That's a mystery") (If God is so good, yo, why this shit be happening to me?") There's divinity within, because we come from the divine (Right) A force that's not seen but, yo, we feel it every time When the wind blows, and the Earth turns And the rain drops, and the babies cry And the birds fly, and the grounds quake And the stars gleam Yo – so many things are evidence of this existence (Ah, ah... true that) What we need to do is link it with persistence Hear me out Yo, once we recognize, then we can move ahead Native Tongues, Common Sense, yo, he's Hip-Hop bred... [Verse 2: Common, (Q-Tip & Ali Shaheed Muhammad adlibs)] From the spiritual world, my film of life has developed (Right...) First person I lost close to me was Stella Some of my mellows lost their mothers and their brothers For them I feel empathy But I ain't pouring out no fuckin' Hennessy I pour my heart out when I see Dot out on the deck (Right...) Knowing two weeks ago he slap-boxed with death I hear of niggas dying in the wind and on the news When it's somebody you know, it hits you And emotions get bruised I ain't been in your shoes (Right, right, right, right) I won't judge or knock you The spirit of the ghetto say you got to (Ah) That scratch you gettin' from rock flippin' It back into the neighborhood, you better start kickin' Stickin' stores on the strip I'm tired of Arabs giving me my change back Devil borrowed my yesterday, my tomorrow he never gave back I lay back, looking at the ceiling, wondering, what could I do So my homies won't have to be dealing Not 'cause you serving and I'm rapping, I'm better Just different pieces to the puzzle of Black life That we gotta to put together to better ourselves 'Cause families, we gotta raise No matter how long the money, shorter become the days Men become like wind, ain't no difference in the seasons If you got popped five times, you breathing for a reason (For a reason...) Let's put this five-, ten-year come-up plan in progression Before we count our papers, count our blessings [Outro: Q-Tip] And there you have it You know you got to grab it It's all good, nah'mean? Let's make it clear – the Native Tongues is in here The JB's De La Soul A Tribe Called Quest Common Sense Busta Rhymes Flipmode – nah'mean? You got The Ummah You got Beatnuts Rah Digga Consequence Mos Def, nah'mean? Black Sheep Beatnuts Queen La' Mo' Love, nah'mean? Native Tongues up in here – don't forget it Raphael Saadiq! Yo, we out – peace