De La Soul, CeeLo Green - Held Down lyrics

Allow me to break it down ah
Yea yea yea yea yeahh life humming

This is dedicated to all my folks
Diagnosed with a bad case
Of that proper upbringin
And never took the time to
Fall in line or follow
Or swallow the thoughts
Of the recognized committees who
Lurk throughout ya cities
Ya hood, ya town, no matter which type
You from the same type of people
Try to hold you down
Just because you tailor made for
Bigger and better things
Never missed a chance to move ahead of things
And what does it bring? I tell you for me
It brought jealousy and back wounds
From all the stabbin
Cats posin as my fan just
To get grabbin what's mine
I'm livin in times where my
Daughters are found around
Kids who can't afford thinkin caps
But always found drinkin raps
And eatin off beats
Claimin laws of the streets -
But who made the laws?
Everybody playin rebel with no
Sign of a cause
Well I, feel the world around me
I've found, that others, will bring you down
Just to be down
You've got to make up your mind
Where you wanna be
Where you wanna go with your life
With your life

Yo, I'm never singin the blues but
Findin the clues to maintain
And I been blessed to reign
Supreme over nearly every dream
I had, and I made it come true
I'm an imperfect man and I'm holdin the clue
To perfection, it doesn't seem to matter
What direction I look
I find people settin traps
Tryin to find the goal -
Without havin any maps
Even friends of mine, jumped on line
Just to become my adversary
They felt they were entitled to
The dairy I made
They don't come to chill or behave
And they got, toast ready to burn
Not learnin to live
But they yearnin to take what you earn

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found, that others, will bring you down
Just to be down
You see - you've got to make up your mind
Where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with your life
With your life

So quick to place blame and deny
The shame we bring upon ourselves
So many names held accountable
For my own account
When a large amount was weight -
That I made and shaped
When I climbed I found
It was hard to find others around
To point my fingers at
Which made me realize the truth
The biggest supressor could be your own
Ego lookin for an excuse
To plant roots, in a field of self-sorrow
To sprout and follow the first thing you feel
Nourishes your hunger to be respected
It gets hectic
And when I'm watchin the news
And my daughter walks in and choose to ask
"Why were all those people on the floor
Sleepin, covered in red?" I told her
That they were lookin for God
But found religion instead

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found, that others
Will bring you down just to be down
You see, you've got to make up yo' mind
Where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with yo' life
With your life, with your life

Cee-Lo harmonizes and ad libs with choir

I need my SPAAAACE, to live
Well I, feel the world around me
I've found, that others
Will bring you down just to be down
You see, you've got to make up yo' mind
Where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with yo' life
With your life, with your life