Yeah... (the audacity) Let's talk about it... (check yourself) Nah, for real though... Barbeque Becky on the phone for two hours (two hours!) Charcoal grill got you shakin' in your power (your power!) Permit Patty callin' cops on a child (a child!) Eight years old sellin' water - that's wild (that's wild!) Pool Patrol Paula put her hands on a teen (on a teen!) Told him he don't belong - what you mean? (what you mean?!) Cornerstore Caroline - this the one that's sick (so sick!) Nine-year-old boy and his backpack brushed your hip (that's it?!) Called 9-1-1 on a child who was cryin' (cryin'!) Camera showed the truth and exposed all your lyin' (lyin'!) Central Park Karen - Amy Cooper on the call (the call!) "African American man" - you said it to get him hauled (hauled off!) Voice went up an octave when you dialed (you dialed!) Knew exactly what you're doin' - actin' wild (so wild!) You ain't scared, you just mad you can't control it (control it!) The audacity to think that we won't hold it - against you 9-1-1 ain't your customer service line (nope!) Crocodile tears don't work every time (not now!) Camera's rolling, Karen, now you're runnin' out of time The audacity - the audacity You weaponize the badge, that's a federal crime (facts!) "I feel threatened" but you're doin' all the crime (always!) History repeats but now we hit rewind The audacity - the audacity Let me break down the playbook, page by page (page by page!) First you spot us livin' life and it fills you with rage (with rage!) Then you walk up with a question like you runnin' the show (the show!) "Do you live here? Where's your permit? Let me see your key fob" (key fob!) When we don't comply and we ask why you're askin' (askin'!) That's when Karen reaches deep for the dramatic (dramatic!) Voice starts shakin', tears start fakin' (fakin'!) Not a single drop but your whole body's quakin' (quakin'!) Dial them numbers - 9 - 1 - 1 (FAKE!) "There's a Black man here, I think he's got a gun!" (a gun?!) He was birdwatchin', she was dog-walkin' (walkin'!) But the way you told it, he was dead man stalkin' (stalkin'!) See the badge to you is just a weapon to borrow (to borrow!) Send the cops today, deal with guilt tomorrow (tomorrow!) But you miscalculated - see, the times have shifted Now your whole career and reputation get lifted - from you 9-1-1 ain't your customer service line (nope!) Crocodile tears don't work every time (not now!) Camera's rolling, Karen, now you're runnin' out of time The audacity - the audacity You weaponize the badge, that's a federal crime (facts!) "I feel threatened" but you're doin' all the crime (always!) History repeats but now we hit rewind The audacity - the audacity Now let me take it back, Nineteen-Fifty-Five ('55!) Emmett Till was fourteen, barely alive (alive!) Carolyn Bryant said he whistled at her style(her style!) Two white men came through and ended that boy's life (his life!) Sixty years later and the playbook's the same (the same!) Only difference now is the phone that remains (remains!) As a witness to the sickness that you tryna inflict On a people that you still think you need to restrict (restrict!) From the barbecue to the pool to the park (the park!) From the store to the car to the walk after dark (after dark!) You don't own these spaces though you act like you do (like you do!) We belong here too - nah, we belong here MORE than you (more than you!) 'Cause we built this whole thing while you sat and you watched Now you're mad 'cause the power structure's startin' to drop From your grip - and you're slippin' - so you're trippin' - and dippin' Into tactics that your grandmama was equipping - Miss Ann To every Karen with your finger on that dial (that dial!) To every Ken who thinks that badge will make you smile We got receipts now - we got cameras in the sky You can run but you can't hide what's in your eye The fear ain't fear at all - it's rage (rage!) That you can't write us out of every page The world is watching - yeah, the world is changed The audacity won't ever be the same 9-1-1 ain't your customer service line (nope!) Crocodile tears don't work every time (not now!) Camera's rolling, Karen, now you're runnin' out of time The audacity - the audacity Fired from your job, now you're standin' in the line (karma!) Lost your reputation, lost your peace of mind (that's right!) Messed around, found out - that's the bottom line The audacity - the audacity! From Becky to Patty to Paula to Caroline From Cooper to Ponsetto - we remember every time You thought the badge would save you? Nah, the camera don't lie The audacity... the audacity... the audacity...
