What's a good time for a black man in America?
What's a free life, when you gotta hide 'cause they scared of ya?
Tell me
R.I.P Trayvon rest in peace Botham (R.I.P)
I know that both ya
Ain't go out as you were 'posed to (nay-nay)
You send condolences through short sentences
Huh? (What?) What? (What?)
Tell me, who we consoling?
I know my life could change at any moment
And it won't be due to something I did
Might be my look or 'cause of my appearance
Maybe the clothing that covers my skin
Might be the fear I project onto man
My phone may look like a gun in my pants
Your wrong assumption may lead to my end
Could be due to your own ignorance
Why talk about it, 'cause it hits home (home)
Picture my mom on the phone
Coming to terms with the fact that I'm gone
Could be the devil in a uniform (yeah)
Lurking in my rearview (ah!)
Eyes blood shot red
Lights on my face blue
What's a good time for a black man in America?
(Atatiana Jefferson, Jamarion Robinson)
What's a free life when you gotta hide (Philando Castile, EJ Bradford)
'Cause they scared of ya
Tell me (Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice)
What's a good time for a black man in America
(Michael Brown, Charles Kinsley, De'von Bailey, Stephon Clark)
What's a free life when you gotta hide (Walter Scott, Freddie Grey)
'Cause they scared of ya (Botham Jean)
Tell me
Mama told me as a lil' black boy
Growing up would be different (so different)
To add to that, she's an immigrant
The scapegoat of the system (ya)
She used to dress me in uniforms
Used to think it brought the wrong attention (ha-ha)
Now I understand she was doing that
Solely for my protection
To be black is to be stared at
To be black is to be feared
To be black is to be glared at
I'm black and super rare (super rare)
To be black is not a curse (nay)
My black is a blessing
To be black is to be fed up
Beat the block until they hear us
Y'all don't get it, they're still lynching us
Police are still allowed to kill us
A black man was murdered by police again
The blacker the berry
The blacker the berry (yo!)
The blacker the berry (yo!) (y'all don't get it)
The blacker the berry (ay, ay, ay, ay)
How many lives do we have to lose
To make the point clear, nothing left to prove
How many times for us to realize
The ones at top don't care for our lives
Who has to die for them to see why
A change must be made our lives are not safe
(The blacker the berry)
If I came up in your house and hit your family where it hurts
If I treated you and your people like y'all ain't have no worth
If I took your son or daughter and still got to walk free
What would you do if I were you and you were me? (What would you do?)
If you can't see the issue, I suggest you feel the cries
Staying silent shows your loyalty to the other side
When we gon' be less hostile and more human
Soon as we make progress, they always get to-