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 motif 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 (7x)
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 (7x)
Young Black...
