Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Talib Kweli
Performer
James Poyser
Piano
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Talib Kweli
Composer
Vinia Mojica
Composer
James Dewitt Yancey
Composer
Alonzo Stevenson
Composer
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Dilla
Producer
Dave "SupaStar" Dar
Recording Engineer
Joe Nardone
Recording Engineer
Neal Pogue
Recording Engineer
Axel Niehaus
Mixing Engineer
G Man
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Lyrics
[Intro]
What the fuck is that?
Go right to left, left, right (Oh)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Middle passage connection (Uh)
Yeah (Oh-oh), about to build (Come on, yeah-yeah-yeah)
C-come on (Yeah), tell you which way to go
We go right to left, what's left to right
If you fight to the death, what's left to fight? (We go)
We go right to left, what's left to right
If you fight to the death, what's left to fight? (Oh-oh)
We go right to left, what's left to right
If you fight to the death, what's left to fight? (We go)
We go right to left, what's left to right
If you fight to the death, yo, here we go (Oh, yeah)
[Refrain]
We go bada-bada-bada-ba (Da-da-da)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Yeah, one more time, here we go)
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
[Verse 1]
I wanna write away, I wanna write here
I wanna write brave words to fight fear
I write dreams and nightmares
Might scare the folks stuck in the day with nothin' to say
While I'm way ahead by light years, yeah (Yeah)
So beware, I'ma keep the lights on
I wanna write the songs that right the wrong, right on
Ridin' the light so you can see in the dark
So deep, you gotta be still like your beatin' heart
My words apply the pressure to make the bleedin' stop
I see the art of livin' right, eatin' smart
I wanna write to life or write to death
Police read your rights from right to left
But I never write to remain silent, I fight through police line
Cops walk the beat that I write to, I teach minds
Write rhymes with the right sound
Right now, journalists write up, I write down
[Chorus]
Party people, put a hand in the sky
Grab a cloud and squeeze 'til no man is dry
We wet it up while askin' the people if they plannin' to die
They can't stay to live, consumers is plannin' to buy
Slow death, operators is standin' by
They take you order for the slaughter of the family, why
Do they make it so hard for a man to provide?
Yo, you better get with it or stand to the side, stand to side
[Refrain]
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (You better get with it or stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (You better get with it or stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Yeah)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
[Verse 2]
And the storyline goes on, right to left, who's right, who's wrong
Fuck the politics and pride, I just to try to stay alive
To witness where the battle lines are drawn
Speak my mind and I sing my song (Sing)
I'm passin' on the moral y'all
'Cause this is ain't play, true God
Know the weight is hard now (Yeah, Vinia Mo, yeah)
Open eyes, see for hopeful lives, sing it now (Now, keep it alive, see it y'all, yeah, come on)
[Refrain]
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Da-da-da)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba (bada-baba-ba, yeah)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Right in, right in)
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Yeah, yeah)
[Verse 3]
Makin' my way through life, talkin' to elders and takin' advice
Ignorin' their words and payin' the price
Livin' in the world where false preachers got us prayin' to Christ
Get with the young girls in the choir and be layin' the pipe
No control of our soul we all wait at the light
So comfortable, that we hatin' to fight to make it right
Late at night I'm controlled by the DJ on the mic
I love hip-hop and every joint he playin' is tight
A day in the life is a brick in the foundation, I'm like
A mason in Egypt, amazin' when I'm creatin' a site
For the world to behold and the story to last
So one day ghetto children can visit their glorious past (Uh)
After Pac and Notorious passed, what do we have?
**** worth more when they dead, it's so sad
Started with the slavery, we finished the plan
But I broke the cycle and became a man
[Chorus]
Party people, put a hand in the sky
Grab a cloud and squeeze 'til no man is dry
We wet it up while askin' the people if they plannin' to die
They can't stay to live, consumers is plannin' to buy
Slow death, operators is standin' by
They take you order for the slaughter of the family, why
Do they make it so hard for a man to provide?
Yo, you better get with it or stand to the side, stand to side (Yo, just stand to the side)
[Refrain]
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (You better get with it or stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (You better get with it or stand to the side, come on)
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Yeah)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Come on)
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Yeah)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Come on)
Bada-bada-bada-ba, bada-bada-bada-dadada (Oh, yeah, sing this time, fantasize, yeah)
Bada-bada-bada-ba (Come on)
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (Yo, I got my man Savion in the house)
Bada-bada-bada-ba
Bada-bada-bada-dadada (He 'bout to put it down, here we go, come on)
[Outro]
Yeah
[Instrumental]
Novel, where you at?
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Yeah)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Right, right here, you know I didn't want to stand to the side)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Come on)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Yeah)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Uh)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Uh)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Yeah)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Woo)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Yeah)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Come on)
Da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Da-da-da-da-da-da (Stand to the side, stand to the side)
Da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
In order to expand, I'm just thinking
I don't wanna ever drop, I don't wanna lose the moniker
The Talib Kweli moniker, but I'm thinking over headlights, it doesn't fly
I wanna just put it in your head, you don't have to answer me now
We don't have to come with anything now
I wanna maybe talk about, you know, like, P. Diddy, he changed it
Talib Kweli, AKA "T-Kwilly" (Oof)
"T-Biggity," something, you figure it out, you're the artist, see
That's why you get paid the big bucks
Written by: Alonzo Stevenson, James Dewitt Yancey, Talib Kweli, Vinia Mojica