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Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Common
Vocals
DJ Premier
Scratches
Bilal
Background Vocals
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Chris Martin
Songwriter
Albert Johnson
Songwriter
Kejuan Muchita
Songwriter
Bilal Oliver
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
DJ Premier
Producer
Common
Co-Executive Producer
Derek Dudley
Co-Executive Producer
Dexter Thibou
Recording Engineer
Eddie Sancho
Mixing Engineer
Questlove
Executive Producer
Tom Coyne
Mastering Engineer
Lyrics
[Intro]
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution is here
Yeah, it's Common Sense with DJ Premier
We gon' help y'all see clear
It's real hip-hop music from the soul, y'all
Yeah, check it, uh, yo
[Verse 1]
The perseverance of a rebel, I drop heavier levels
It's unseen or heard, a king with words
Can't knock the hustle, but I seen street dreams deferred
Dark spots in my mind where the scene occurred
Some say I'm too deep, I'm in too deep to sleep
Through me, Muhammad will forever speak
Greet brothers with handshakes on ghetto landscapes
Where a man is determined by how much a man make
Cop cognacs and spit old raps with young cats
With cigarettes in they ear, ****, they appear
Under the Fubu is a guru that's untapped
Wanna be in the rap race but ain't ran one lap
Ran so far from the streets that you can't come back
You trippin' with nowhere to unpack, forgot that
[Chorus]
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
Hey, hey
This is rap—, this is rap for real
And you know, yes, you know
One, two
This is rap for the Black people
[Verse 2]
In front of two-inch glass and Arabs, I order fries
Inspiration when I write, I see my daughter's eyes
I'm the truth, across the table from corporate lies
Immortalized by the realness I bring to it
If revolution had a movie, I'd be theme music
My music, you either fight, fuck, or dream to it
My life is one big rhyme, I tried to scheme through it
Through my shell, never knew what that divine'd bring through it
I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't want millions
More than money saved, I wanna save children
Dealing with alcoholism and Afrocentricity
A complex man drawn off of simplicity
Reality is friskin' me
This industry'll make you lose intensity
The Common Sense in me remembers the basement
I'm Morpheus in this hip-hop Matrix, exposin' fake shit
[Chorus]
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
Yeah, one, two
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for the Black people
Yeah, how we do it
Hey, hey
This is rap—, this is rap for real (The soul music)
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real
Yeah
[Verse 3]
Some days, I take the L to gel with the real world
Got on at 87th, sat by this little girl
She recited raps, I forgot where they was from
In 'em, she was sayin' how she make brothers cum
I started thinkin' how many souls hip-hop has affected
How many dead folks this art resurrected
How many nations this culture connected
Who am I to judge one's perspective?
Though some of that shit, y'all pop to it, I ain't relatin'
If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hatin'
I just wanna innovate and stimulate minds
Travel the world and penetrate the times
Escape through rhythms in search of peace and wisdom
Raps are smoke signals lettin' the streets know I'm with 'em
For now, I appreciate this moment in time
Ball players and actors be knowin' my rhymes, it's like
[Chorus]
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
Hey, hey
This is rap—, this is rap for real
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for the Black people
[Chorus]
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap—, Common Sense
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
Hey, hey
This is rap—, this is rap for real
And you know, yes, you know
This is rap for real, somethin' you feel
[Outro]
You know
And you know, yeah (Whoa)
Yeah
Written by: Albert Johnson, Bilal Oliver, Chris Martin, Kejuan Muchita, Lonnie Lynn