(Intro) Look…... The palm trees keep swaying, but the pavement is cold. We’re burying babies before they get old. Too many colors worn just to bleed on the street, Too many brothers staring down at defeat. Yeah. Turn the headphones up. Let’s talk about the ghosts we left on the block. (Verse 1) I still see the chalk lines washed in the rain, Still feel the phantom weight of old-school pain. Remember bumping that tape back in ‘96, Swwearin’ up and down we’d fix these politics. Instead, we carved up the map like a butcher’s knife, Traded futures away for a code of life That left mamas crying into empty sheets, While politicians ignored the sound of the east. I’m bitter, dog. I ain't gonna lie to your face. I watched 'em bulldoze hope and put a fence 'round the place. They gave us liquor stores, corners, and broken glass, And told us our blood is all we were ever worth as a class. And I held that grudge. Man, I gripped it tight, Ready to ride on a shadow in the middle of the night. (Chorus) How do you build a future out of broken bricks? How do you heal a city that's used to the fix? We screaming westside, eastside, falling apart, While the same old wounds stay fresh in our heart. It’s time to drop the flags, it’s time to change the tune, Before we turn our whole neighborhood into a tomb. Yeah, we bitter as hell... but we gotta forgive, If we ever expect our babies to live. (Verse 2) I remember your cousin, man, that summer on 5th. We let the whispers turn a misunderstanding into a myth. A spark in the dark, and a life was gone, Just another casualty before the break of dawn. And my chest still tightens when I walk past that spot, Replaying the vengeance that we thought we bought. They want us at war, man, it keeps 'em secure, They love when the poverty-stricken kill off the poor. Divide and conquer, script written in ink, Pushing us right to the absolute brink. Every funeral home got a permanent tab, Every block got a shrine wrapped in ribbon and scab. And I’m sick of the mourning, I’m sick of the grief, Sick of looking for bullets to bring relief. I look you in your eyes, and I see the exact same scars— We were locking ourselves behind invisible bars. (Chorus) How do you build a future out of broken bricks? How do you heal a city that's used to the fix? We screaming westside, eastside, falling apart, While the same old wounds stay fresh in our heart. It’s time to drop the flags, it’s time to change the tune, Before we turn our whole neighborhood into a tomb. Yeah, we bitter as hell... but we gotta forgive, If we ever expect our babies to live. (Bridge) Forgiveness? That shit don't come easy. It sticks in your throat, makes you feel uneasy. How do you forgive the man who took your kin? How do you stop the cycle once it’s locked in? You do it because the alternative is death. You do it for the kids taking their very first breath. We built this coast with our sweat and our hands, Now let's take back control of our own damn lands. No more markers on the curb. No more sirens at dusk. The power isn't out there, dog... the power is us. (Verse 3) So I’m extending my hand, and yeah, it’s shaking a bit. There’s history there, man, we can't just edit and quit. Let the resentment burn out into ash on the floor, We ain't locking our brothers out of the door no more. We gonna build co-ops where the liquor stores stood, Turn the trap houses into spaces to heal the neighborhood. Teach the youngsters a craft, put the heat away, Show 'em how to survive to see another Friday. From Long Beach out to Watts, from Compton to the Bay, We rewriting the rules of the game today. It ain't about the colors hanging out of the rag, It’s about the soil beneath the West Coast flag. (Outro) Yeah. To everyone we lost. We see you. We remember you. And to everyone still standing... It's time to put the weapons down and pick the future up. We ain't gotta like each other's past. We just gotta love our tomorrow. West side. All of us. Peace.
