Keep Ya Head Up

Some 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 welfare

Tupac cares if don't nobody else care

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 up

Forgive but don't forget keep your head up

And when he tells you you ain't nothin 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 up, I just call em how I see em

You know it makes me unhappy

When brothas make babies and leave a young mother to be a pappy

And 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 then we'll have a race of babies

That hate the ladies that make the babies

And since a man can't make one

He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one

So would the real men get up

I know your fed up ladies, but keep your head up

Chorus]

I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me

He had me feeling like black was the thing to be

And suddenly the ghetto didn't seem so tough

And though we had it rough, we always had enough

I often huffed and puffed about my curfew

And broke the rules

Ran with the local crew and had a smoke or two

I realized mama really paid the price

She nearly gave her life

To raise me right

And all I had to give was her was my life's dream

Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to the bright screen

I'm tryin' to make a dollar out of fifteen cents

It's hard to be legit and still pay the 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 family

It'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 gettin' wet up

You know it's funny when it rains it pours

They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor

Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is

it ain't no hope for the future

And then they wonder why we crazy

I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby

We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup

And even though you're fed up

Huh, ya got to keep your head up

Chorus]

And uh

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 ya 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 nothin' 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

Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless

While tears, is rollin' down your cheeks

Ya steady hopin' things don't all down 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