Yo ice you been down with the struggle for a long time man...
why donand't you drop some knowledge for these brothers who
want to get involved in this war...
Take notes: real gangstas wear trench coats
grey suits black ties and they seek votes
and youand're not to be misled
theyand'll kill you in your fuckinand' bed
they donand't sell dope yo excuse me yes they do
but they donand't look that much like me or you
but if you pull up the sheets and expose them
theyand'll crawl up like snakes and show fangs of venom
now iand've been soldier for years
representinand' the tattooed tears
other brothas locked up with no choice
left in the bowels of devil with no voice
my phones are tapped, my crib is bugged
my car is tailed from club to club
and this ainand't no fuckinand' joke
they want to see a nigga broke
you canand't slip, if you slip youand're out
you gotta know what youand're talkinand' about
drop science every chance you get
hit direct and indirect, speak in code
cause youand're never alone
thatand's why i use this low tone
follow this and you might grow older
this is a message to the soldiers...
Now they killed king and they shot x
now they want me, you could be next
all you gotta do is speak too loud
all you gotta be is be too proud
cause once you letand'em know
who you are and where youand're at
you better watch your back
cause you might think youand're just dope
while youand're livinand' in a sniperand's scope
iand'm not tryinand' to scare you
but thereand's a danger if you get too deep
some nights i donand't sleep
all you wanna do is tell the truth
all you wanna do is save the youth
ice cube knows, souljah knows, p.e. knows
they throw death blows
and if you got kids or a girl thatand's true
theyand'll move on them too
but when iand'm gone i need you to carry on
you gotta be strong and fight for our salvation
but there will be retaliation, soldier...
To think that rap could be attacked
is ignorinand' the simple fact
that they never ment us to speak
they had planned to keep the black man weak
but rap hit the streets
black rage amplified over dope beats
now they want to shut us down
and they donand't fuck around
check the history books, son
black leaders die young
they tell us that your words are scary
theyand're revolutionary
because we speak the truth
about crime and drugs
and expose the real thugs
this info is not beneficial
to the groups that go by three initals
so they try to discredit
theyand'll dog you with an edit
print the words the way you never said it
but we gotta makeand'em regret it, soldiers...
Word! i know a lot of brothas out there want to get in this war...
you know what iand'm sayinand'? a lot of sistas got a lot of knowledge
to drop on our people but right now theyand're movinand' to shut down
all hip-hop! the first amendment had absolutely nothinand' to do
with black people at the time constitution was written, we were
considered nothinand' but property...the expectation of havinand' black
people speak on records never came to mind, so we gotta move!
but belive me all the black leaders have been silenced and most
of the time itand's been violent so if you choose to get in this war,
realize what youand're in for but we gotta move on...
and we gotta stay strong...
Message to the soldiers, welcome to the struggle...
message to the soldiers, be careful, soldiers...
