Reason

Lyrics

[Chorus: Emily] I see people hating other people Tell me what's the reason That your kid is hungry, you ain't got no money What's the reason? [Verse 1: Nas] By the time of age nine I'm already decidin' If I can protect mommy from the hood by fightin' Or usin' a knife, or a gun when I'm twenty-one By then them hoods woulda pushed their way in our apartment And we'd die then, so I been a young nervous wreck in the projects Watchin' them older niggas pass pot and get high, man I'm just a young boy, snot nose, hair nappy Cops ride by, squeezin' their trigger fingers at me So I would go to school and try to get good grades Teacher wrote mommy and kicked me outta school for havin' braids So she cussed them, said "My son ain't no motherfuckin' hoodlum" They judged us, thinking that we dumb 'cause where we come from Got a little older and now I see Young niggas wanted by the powers that be (powers that be) [Hook: Emily] I see people hating other people Tell me what's the reason That your kid is hungry, you ain't got no money What's the reason? For these wars we're fighting with each other Season after season When you're workin' hard, but there ain't nothing comin' What's the reason? [Verse 2: Nas] Uh, picture a Black nanny and a baby in a basket, pushin' down 5th Ave She never had it, it's not her's to begin with She gives it breakfast, baths, and dinners Treats it so tender, while her own kids live alone, at home, with no phone on Ain't had a good meal in so long, but so long as mommy's a maid Cookin' and cleanin', she wanna feed her kids and her kids are dreamin' "Where's my daddy? Who's my daddy? Have you seen him?" I could imagine them asking – "What type of human being Could leave his family, go back to the Carribean? Was he locked up, shot up, does he have freedom?" Mom said wipe your tears, keep readin' But Daddy's somewhere, spirit broken, feelin' defeated A man feels he has to conquer all The world is his oyster, his pearl, so y'all know [Hook: Emily] I can't find no reason why we can't all live in peace 'Cause this world keeps spinning Tet still I wonder, what's the reason? I see people hating other people Tell me, what's the reason? When you're workin' hard but there ain't nothin' comin' What's the reason? Oooh-whoa-ooh-whoa [Verse 3: Nas] I know a girl, her boyfriend was a fugitive She's intuitive, be on some stupid shit She called the cops 'cause she hated his mother Now he away doin' numbers, now she gay with her lover How many niggas gon' die this summer? I pump life in my music, but still life is a wonder There's a officer in a squad car, he's a prostitute serial killer It's odd, huh? 'Cause he's the same cop in church with his wife He's molesting his son and she ignores it at night Little bad ass bastard Lights a match and kills Betty Shabazz In her pad while she slept They said Prescott Bush funded Hitler, while the world's in a twister Nigga, what you expect? Imagine what's next [Hook: Emily] I see people hating other people Tell me, what's the reason? That your kid is hungry, you ain't got no money What's the reason? For these wars we're fighting with each other Season after season When you're workin' hard, but there ain't nothing comin' What's the reason? [Outro: Nas, talking over Emily King harmonizing] Uh, uh, man–man'll search the whole planet, looking for what? Try to conquer all. So what? To all my niggas with they kids, that love they kids, man All the daddies out there To all the niggas that died try'na figure out what's what Try'na be the biggest of the big, you know Yeah, yeah... ladies forgive us. Gotta forgive us For we know not what we do Breakin' hearts, leavin' the crib, buggin' out and shit Just... man... man