[Intro]
Stand up Detroit;
This for you.
Look

[Verse 1]
They couldn't fade my pedigree
So let it be just me, myself, and I in your memory
Remember Me
I want the key for free of entering the city
I ain't put it on the map but I kept the rep with me
Step with me
I started when running when my white socks stepped in the sand box
To all my A1's that ain't blood, know we close like a tampon
Been the people's voice and vision; I got'em, it's hands on
Drew a path for them to walk, I did it in crayon
I'm not tryna resemble a supernatural figure
I'm just taking some pictures and zooming in on the pixels
I'm directing my life; there's no dirt on my lenses
I know a genie with wishes who see the riches and Benz-es
And I hope he see a future in my city
If they ain't with me, then get with me
Or get lost and go fishing
I'm done playing
The rounds up, the games ending
I just see my life in a flash, guess I'm done spending

[Spoken Word]
yeah, but here goes nothin'

[Verse 2]
I use to walk in the valley of death
Chip on my shoulder
Shadow holdin' my breath
I wanted more - could only settle for less
I watched my people at rest
Getting they best foot ahead before they settled in bed
(Yeah)
Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
You couldn't earn an ounce of any respect
They faulted your rep
Your still a hypocrit just for killing your kind
One of a kind killed another and they thought it was fine
When the white seen the black man was b'coming supreme
They edit all of your scenes, trashed your vision and deleted your dreams
Now I wonder why these walls talk
They tell stories of blood, bruised or broken,
Some buried in mud
And you ask why it's the people I love
They weren't made perfect Angels but they came from above
And I ain't talkin' the stork
I'm talkin' birds and the bees
Respect your mother - she the one who had to carry your seed
Cause most people won't protect the blood that came from they home
If it didn't bleed on the flag, it ain't one of their own
If it ain't doing cell division, it's not one of their clones
They left the beef to a beast, for a pick of the bone

[Spoken Word]
At least you tried, nigga

[Verse 3]
I'm waging war with the devil
On seven different levels
To make a bond with the heavens
That we all go somewhere separate
When separating my soul from the spirit
I hope you hear it
I'm clearing a path for guidance
Now tell me who angel flying above me
I guess we all get lucky
If you weigh your prayers and sins, I guess we all get wealthy
We were promised change but change didn't change me a bit
See, I paid the price for living and now I'm paying for rent
But forgive me if I'm out of control
The blacker it burns, I worry just to put a lil smoke in my lungs
And probably put a hole in nose; praise my family
My ancestor's casualty
The royalty it flatters me
With diamonds and pearls, the rubies and emeralds
The sand of the Kenyan desert, the water of from holy Shepard's
And someone write an end to this script before it bothers me
Put matter in my own hands; I'm taken out the batteries

[Spoken Word]
Life ain't to long

[Outro]
**Ray Lewis "Respect" Speech**