[Verse 1] Life's deep, I promise, regardless of what you're going through Every one goes through something, you just gotta rise above it August '97, my mom lost her husband, there started our problems My father had second degree burns from an accident Then had an allergic reaction due to medical malpractice, hospitalized for two weeks and scheduled to be released, recovering, and alive, and then he f**in' died I wonder what kind of pain he felt in his final minutes As blood filled his lungs and his sister watched as a witness, code blue, the doctors came to save his existence Was it worth it - tried to revive him, but it wasn't working It's sad, he didn't plan to miss the life of his children So the hospital signs a settlement check and the world keeps spinning If you're all about money, how much more fake can you get, and if that's the case, I don't respect anything you represent [Chorus] Back then I used to hate it when I didn't get my way, but nowadays, I feel so ashamed when I complain, I watched my mother sacrifice her life and struggle to raise us, she showed me what she's made of, so I show the world the same love, the struggle is universal, and there's billions of people that have it worse than you do, until everyone is equal, and everything is right, then we'll continue to fight, we'll continue to fight, we'll continue to fight.. [Verse 2] At 18 my mom's friend was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, started losing cognitive functions, first you couldn't notice, thirty years down the line and she's broken, could barely walk or talk Stuck in a wheel chair and paralyzed from the ankles up Never had the chance to finish school, get a job or fall in love, never had the chance to enjoy the sh** we take advantage of
It's sad as f**, just imagine the things we take for granted, we're in the same country, but on a different f**in' planet You have an advantage on the northern shores of the Atlantic, roof over your head, running water, most of us have two parents No oppression, no starving kids, no collateral damage No civil war, no foreign occupation, and no famines No dictators or administrative detentions, just distractions, stop being selfish, appreciate all the good that happens If you waste your chances in the West, you're as fake as it gets, and if that's the case, I don't respect anything you represent [Chorus] [Verse 3] I do this for the refugees from Burma to Haiti For the kids dying in Palestine, all the innocent babies For the ladies in Congo getting raped constantly For the kids in Somalia that are starving to d**h, as we speak I do this for David Benamou, Ota Benga and Angie For those atomized in Hiroshima and Nagasaki For Martin Luther King, Malcom X and Mahatma Gandhi For the Jews that were k**ed by the Nazis - and their allies For all the fools that get victimized by those ignorant black guys For those that lost their battles against Cancer and AIDS For political prisoners from the United States to Bahrain For the millions of Aboriginals murdered by Europeans For all people haunted by their inner f**in' demons For the Prophet Muhammad, Siddharta, Krishna and Jesus I do this for my mother, my father, my friends and my family I do this for you, for all of your people, and for humanity [Chorus]