Chorus:
I'm hopin’ to open a closed mind
To open the eyes of those blind
Going through life you find
Without trying on the shoes of who you despisin’
Whose views do you choose and who’s lyin’?
Who stands behind hidin’ in the dark?
Who is strikin’ the spark, trying to shine some light to warm a cold heart?
It always seems too hard, but you're never too old to start
So do your part and just. be. smart.
Verse 1:
The only thing I hate is a hater
Not of the player, but of the white rhyme sayer
Or any hate based on factors like race
I got no control over my genetic traits
But they hate me all the same, ignorance is to blame
But I won't let that manifest, I’m unaffected, I have no shame
Know what I'm saying?, It's all love, you have no reason to hate me
So give it up and just admit you can't fade me
If you got a problem with a suburban white kid spittin’ raps
Keepin’ it real, then chill, ‘cause that's the haps
That's happening right now, and if you’re askin’ yourself how
Slap yourself in the mouth and realize what rap is all about
The skill, the talent, you have it or you have not
Can’t you see I was blessed, so the rest of this nonsense needs to stop.
The rest of this nonsense needs to stop.
Chorus:
Hiphop is hopin’ to open a closed mind
To open the eyes of those blind
Going through life you find
Without trying on the shoes of who you despisin’
Whose views do you choose and who’s lyin’?
Who stands behind hidin’ in the dark?
Who is strikin’ the spark, trying to shine some light to warm a cold heart?
It always seems too hard, but you're never too old to start
So do your part and just. be. smart.
Verse:
They call me white devil, whip cracker
Even though I’m not evil, after four hundred years, you see doesn't matter
They hate me anyway, regardless
Even though I give ‘em respect, they blame me for their hardships
I'm only eighteen years old
Understand I'm not responsible for dealing the cards that I hold
And I got feelings, too
If I alone could stop all the abuse, I would, and that's true
I see you don't know your history, your past, your culture
I can't trace my Polish relatives past Hitler
Yet I’m German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Italian also
If you're simply African, your ancestors are lost, so
On your own maybe you could change that
Start with your name, switch it back, of course you won't be exact
But, what it is a name anyway?
The important fact is that you're black and that you’re here to stay, not as a slave
Oh yeah, we’re still slaves psychologically with mental chains
But give me time and you will see, even that will change
Life isn't fair, but we've all felt pain
Read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, you'll see what I'm saying
You don't have to be black to be poor and oppressed
Just like there are rich black people profiting off of the rest
Selling drugs, violence and sex, the music industry
Feeding their own people track-by-track misery
This isn't the first time they've done it before
How do you think we got Africans off of their own shores?
We might have caught them all individually
But we bought them from tribal wars in captivity
Prisoners to their own people indigenously
Traditionally, I suppose, they were set free eventually
It doesn't matter now, I couldn’t prevent it, see
But we can end it now, if we could together be
Forever in peace, at least not separated by color
If you could trace it back, father, you'd see we are brothers
Whether you like it or not
Black or white, we both bleed, this red-on-red bloodshed needs to stop
I think we've reached the top, of all cultures in society
With hiphop, united, undivided, in harmony.
United, undivided, in harmony. Hiphop.
Chorus:
My goal is to open a closed mind
To open the eyes of those blind
Going through life you find
Without trying on the shoes of who you despisin’
Whose views do you choose and who’s lyin’?
Who stands behind hidin’ in the dark?
Who is strikin’ the spark, trying to shine some light to warm a cold heart?
It always seems too hard, but you're never too old to start
So do your part and just. be. smart.
Verse 3:
See, you can hate me and even kill me
But your fear will never instill in me
I overstand my people abused yours
But I'm not evil and I didn't write these laws
I'm not racist and stereotypes are unfair
Division creates conflict, so now you know to beware
If it were up to me, it wouldn't be like this
But some of y’all still hate me despite all this
Fighting fire with fire only burns more
You fulfill your enemy’s desire and show concern for
That same hate and become it
So call all white folk devils and you’re not far from it
To that you got no lame comebacks or wisecracks
For me to combat and you better realize that
Cause you may get sidetracked from the real meaning of this hiphop
Which is not for the money, rather for the hungry to get fed
And for the empty to fill they head, and not to be misled
Which is why this must be said
To clarify the fact that all souls are equal
God lives in all, not only black, that belief is feeble
Spiritually, we all have the same chance in this world
You could be rich or poor, boy or girl
Everyone's different and it's time for us to get ready
For redemption’s remedy.
I'm hoping to open a closed mind
To open the eyes of those blind
Open your eye and see what you find
Don’t be blind.
