Lyrics

Try not to say it Try not to say it Try not to say it Try not to say it Hey Yo I be hatin' Sucka' emcees, and the sucka' word Thinking that you're soft if you don't use it at all; that's absurd Rhyme-wise, it's my life to tell tales precisely So I ask "Why's it that some Black People like the Word so much that hurts so much?" It's slutty use, and one can only flirt so much 'Til people get hip to the misery, can't forget history And thinking we can take the 'bad' out of it just means shit to me! Black People say saying it 'disarms' the bomb but White People saying it will still cause some harm What's the chance of it being harmless, when you're still feeling shocked if anybody says it, regardless of their ethnic background? That's now the point I'm trying to make Is words are weapons, we put ourselves on the stake Or bayonet, grenade, or gas, 'cause we're gassed Into thinking we can take back a word we never had S-S-Say it all of the time, but but I don't, but I don't S-S-Say it all of the time, we will never know That, that, that's how I feel That, that, that's how I feel That, that, that, that, that, that's how I feel Class in session, research showed me that Most English words come from another language The mother of this particular word is Spanish And by the time it had reached this land, it managed To take on a negative tone getting used by slave owners Better get use to abuse both physical and verbal, seems like the message given Two-hundred years prior, they illegalized the whippins But the talk's still happening today But in an episode of the Twilight Zone, coming out the face Of an image looking similar to mine in the mirror What kind of a hero wants his kind to be zeros? What I'm steering clear of is segregation, separating That from the 'Blacks' like Chris Rock suggests, obsessed Thinking "you with me or against me?" That's on some Strange Love, like Flav, I don't wanna be called 'yo ---' Black, Black's like use it as a verb, call it canon, but but I don't S-S-Say it all of the time, we will never know That, that, that's how I feel That, that, that's how I feel I be hatin' Sucka' emcees, and the sucka' word Thinking that you're hard 'cause you use that shit a lot, that's absurd Rhyme-wise, you've got lots of options, observe Twenty-seven thousand in a book named Oxford Or Merriam-Webster, playing them jester Roles 'cause your speech is limited makes me sick 'Cause when rights for you didn't exist, people risked Their lives for you to benefit, now you piss It all away like every song's a holiday Busy sleeping, and I want you all awake And I ain't even talking 'bout conscious rhymes You don't have to watch your mouth, but a watchful eye Will see in the freedom of speech, it's your speech that traps you Like "Who cares?! It's just a word," and what-have-you While racists laugh at you, I want us to find A way to solve the number on Black-on-Black Crime Suckas say it all of the time, but but I don't, but I don't S-S-Say it all of the time, we will never know That, that, that, that, that, that's how I feel It was thrown at us, and then all of a sudden Us accepting it is like somebody just catching garbage and loving it