Young Black Intelligent

Young black intelligent, this is not a first
 But it feels like it's curse and it weighs like a elephant
 Heavy on my mind cause I feel so irrelevant
 Heavy on my heart it's like I'm smart for the hell of it
 Heavy on my soul, it's our stroll through the Ville again
 Strangers on this island, feel like I'm Gilligan
 Friends got jailed and then they got bailed
 Stress that I'm under, I just wonder when they kill again
 Please understand that I'm living in the concrete
 Jungle where I stumble is the crumble under my feet
 In the building lobby, see my man Bobby
 Puffing on a joint that's the point where our eyes meet
 Asked what's the way on the books on my knapsack
 He's so amused, I'm confused why he asked that
 Then I understand the motive and the plan
 He's trying to be the man while I stand getting laughed at
 Dudes got jokes but very little hopes
 That's why they trying to bring me down like a halfback
 But I got balanced, my mind's made of promise
 If I get the grades, I'll be praised like Thomas
 Clarence; but I don't know of laws in my future
 Cops in the war and they'll sure try to shoot ya
 All I wanna do is get a B in geometry
 Lose my virginity and live my life drama free; sing
 As I sit and count these clouds
 I so hope my ma is proud of me
 Why be I? - why be I?
 Why be me? - why be me?
 If I fly - if I fly
 They gon' see - they gon' see
 I might die - I might die
 But I'll be free - but I'll be free
 So why be I? why be I?
 Why be me? - why be me?
 Young Black Intelligent
 Young Black...
 Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for your dreams
 A dime for your goals and a quarter in your jeans
 Trying to make a dollar outta forty-one cents
 Caught up in the barbed wire, shorty on the fence
 I can be a knife-packing, gun-toting hooligan
 But I can't decide so I'm on my way to school again
 On my way to duel again, me against the world
 But all I can think about is me against a girl
 Youth full of exuberance, busting out the scenes
 Look at all the other kids cussing at the deans
 Looking at all the other kids cutting 8th period
 But I'm on a team and my coach won't hear of it
 This wall aware of it, I ain't getting pinched
 Y'all dummies go ahead I ain't getting benched
 Whole lot of right and a little bit of wrong
 And everything you work for? Gone
 As I sit and count these clouds
 I so hope my ma is proud of me
 Why be I? - why be I?
 Why be me? - why be me?
 If I fly - if I fly
 They gon' see - they gon' see
 I might die - I might die
 But I'll be free - but I'll be free
 So why be I? why be I?
 Why be me? - why be me?
 Young Black Intelligent
 Young Black...
 In this state of emergency and sense of urgency
 Just how young is young?
 Cause the youth be not youth for long
 Young society might be afraid of you
 But you continue to be you
 We are you, so we feel you
 For that those that see you
 We salute you
 Continue to find like minds, brah
 Design your inside, concentration, desire
 Dedication, inspiration, perspiration
 Is the hard work
 Doesn't guarantee anything
 But without it, you don't stand a chance
 Intelligence will save you
 And us too
 Peace