Pete Rock, Black Ice - Truth Is lyrics

Hey yo when you look at me and my
Brothers what's your first impression
Does the sight of us leave you guessin
Or do you understand the stressin
The aggression
The look of no hope on me and my niggas faces
Like the lord overlooked us when
He handed down his graces you see embraces
Fall short on the numb tips
Of street entrepeneur fingers
Still stuck in the walls of the project
Halls where the coke smell still lingers
External blingers is all we can
Be cause on the
Inside we been given nothin to shine on
And a record deal's harder to get than coke
So my niggas get they grind on
Cause the TV tells us, aim high nigga
Make all goals lateral
But see that takes paper that
We don't have so
Niggas put they souls up as collateral
Now, some niggas reclaim 'em, some blame 'em
Make an excuse to sell 'em
But when a nigga goes from not doin to doin
What can you tell him?
Not to be a nigga? Shit I gots to be a nigga
That's how I pay the bills
And I'mma do that whether I got to sling
This coke or exploit these rhyme skills
See America makes you an opportunist
And at the same time
They institutionalize you
So the fact that niggas get, big record deals
Big money and go to
Jail shouldn't surprise you
That's what lies do
You see most of these guys
Do have raw talent just
An infantile education
So the business feed you all
The weed and ecstasy
And a little bit of paper
To provide some pacification
From all the bullshit frustration
They serve you
Meanwhile they corrupt your perception of
What the real is
See they takin all our businessmen
And givin 'em the mindsets of drug dealers
Took all our messengers, made 'em rappers
Just flappin they jaws afraid
To admit their treason
Took all our soldiers for the cause
Made 'em killers for no reason
And bein fucked up
Well that's in this season
So, if you're negative you're positive
And if you're positive you're called a hater
But I maintain control of my soul cause
I know it gets greater later
And I told y'all the last show
Shit, a nigga no hater
I just know what the truth is
Been intertwined in this puddin
For 'bout a year
Now so I know where the proof is
See, it lines these
Midtown Manhattan skyscrapers
Where former hustlers like myself sign papers
And pull off fucked capers like
16 infamous stars of the time
They got us choppin and, baggin and
Servin that shit to niggas 16
Bars at a time now
The crime is undetectable by the feds
Cause in heads of our kids
Is where the track is
And music is potent it's straight to the soul
So it's much more addictive than crack is
Now, the high is just an
Illusion all lies and confusion
But to feel that rush just once
My young bucks'll go through it
So in essence, they still floodin
The streets with the thugs
Drugs and the killing
They just usin these record labels to do it
Takin our hearts off demos
Puttin us in limos
Tryin to fuck up divine direction
But, young black men have been
Trained to chase money and pussy
So we fall victim to our own erection
And begin to convince ourselves we're on our
Way somewhere where we're not goin
But ignorance is bliss and
Niggas love this so
Niggas take pride in not knowin
We not growin
Nigga I give a fuck how slick you flowin
If you ain't showin nuttin to these kids
Or addin nuttin positive to the earth
Black Ice been destined to touch the
World ever since I was born
To be real, fuck a record deal
God gives me what I'm worth
"Soul Survivor" nigga echoes