Little somethin' for my godson Elijah
And a little girl named CorinneSome say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then, the deeper the roots
I give a holler to my sisters on welfareTupac cares, if don't nobody else care
And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block, brothas clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let upForgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells you you ain't nuttin', don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him
'cause sista you don't need him
And I ain't tryin' to gas ya up, I just call em how I see 'em
You know what makes me unhappy, (what's that)
When brothas make babies
And leave a young mother to be a pappyAnd since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't, we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babiesAnd since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one!So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies,
But keep your head up
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things are gonna get easier
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things'll get brighter
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things are gonna get easier
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things'll get brighterAyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing to me
He had me feelin' like black was the thing to be
And suddenly, the ghetto didn't seem so toughAnd though we had it rough, we always had enough
I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two
And I realize momma really paid the priceShe nearly gave her life, to raise me right
And all I had to give her was my pipe dream
Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to the bright screen
I'm tryna make a dollar out of fifteen centsIt's hard to be legit and still pay your rent
And in the end it seems I'm headin' for the pen
I try and find my friends, but they're blowin' in the wind
Last night my buddy lost his whole familyIt's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
It seems the rain'll never let up
I try to keep my head up, and still keep from getting wewter
You know it's funny when it rains, it poursThey got money for wars, but can't feed the poor
Said, there ain't no hope for the youth
And the truth is, there ain't no hope for the futureAnd then they wonder why we crazy
I blame my mother, for turnin' my brother into a black baby
We ain't meant to survive, 'cause it's a setup
And even though you're fed upHuh, ya got to keep your head upOooh, child things are gonna get easier
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things'll get brighter(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things are gonna get easier
(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things'll get brighterAnd uhh, to all the ladies havin' babies on they own
I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin' all alone
Daddy's long gone and he left you by your lonesome
Thank the Lord, for my kids, even if nobody else want em
'cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
'Cause ain't nuttin' worse than when your son
Wants to know why his daddy don't love him no mo'
You can't complain you was dealt this
Hell of a hand without a man, feelin' helpless
Because there's too many things for you to deal with
Dyin' inside, but outside you're lookin' fearless
While the tears is rollin' down your cheeks
You're steady hopin' things don't all fall this week
'cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me
I was given this world I didn't make it
And now my son's gettin' older and older and cold
From havin' the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin' Benz
I'm still tryin' to hold on to my survivin' friends
And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but
Please, you got to keep your head up
