Keep Ya Head Up

Little something for my godson Elijah
 And a little girl named Corin
 ♪
 Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
 I say the darker the flesh, then the deeper the roots
 I give a holla to my sisters on welfare
 2Pac cares if don't nobody else care
 And I, I know they like to beat you down a lot
 When you come around the block, brothers clown a lot
 But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
 Forgive, but don't forget, girl, keep ya head up
 And when he tells you you ain't nothin', don't believe him
 And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him
 'Cause, sister, you don't need him
 And I ain't tryin' to gas you up, I just call 'em how I see 'em
 You know what makes me unhappy?
 When brothers make babies
 And leave a young mother to be a pappy
 And since we all came from a woman
 Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
 I wonder why we take from our women
 Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
 I think it's time to kill for our women
 Time to heal our women, be real to our women
 And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
 That will hate the ladies that make the babies
 And since a man can't make one
 He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
 So will the real men get up?
 I know you're fed up, ladies, but keep ya head up
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things are gonna get easier
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things'll get brighter (Oh-oh)
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things are gonna get easier
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things'll get brighter
 Ayo, I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me
 He had me feelin' like black was the thing to be
 And suddenly the ghetto didn't seem so tough
 And though we had it rough, we always had enough
 I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
 Ran with a local crew and had a smoke or two
 And I realise Mama really paid the price
 She nearly gave her life to raise me right
 And all I had to give her was my pipe dream
 Of how I'd rock the mic and make it to the bright screen
 I'm tryin' to make a dollar out of 15 cents
 It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent
 And in the end it seems I'm headin' for the pen
 I try to find my friends, but they're blowin' in the wind
 Last night my buddy lost his whole family
 It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
 It seems the rain'll never let up
 I try to keep my head up and still keep from gettin' wet up
 You know, it's funny, when it rains it pours
 They got money for wars but can't feed the poor
 Say there ain't no hope for the youth
 And the truth is it ain't no hope for the future
 And then they wonder why we crazy
 I blame my mother for turnin' my brother into a crack baby
 We ain't meant to survive, 'cause it's a set-up
 And even though you're fed up, huh
 You got to keep ya head up
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things are gonna get easier
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things'll get brighter (Oh-oh)
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things are gonna get easier
 Keep ya head up, ooh, child
 Things'll get brighter
 And uh, to all the ladies havin' babies on they own
 I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin' all alone
 Daddy's long gone and he left you by your lonesome
 Thank the Lord for my kids even if nobody else want 'em
 'Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
 And if you fall, stand tall and come back for more
 'Cause ain't nothin' worse than when your son
 Wants to know why his daddy don't love him no more
 You can't complain you was dealt this
 Hell of a hand without a man, feelin' helpless
 Because there's too many things for you to deal with
 Dyin' inside, but outside you're lookin' fearless
 While tears is rollin' down your cheeks
 You steady hopin' things don't fall down this week
 'Cause if it did, you couldn't take it
 And don't blame me, I was given this world, I didn't make it
 And now my son's gettin' older and older
 And cold from havin' the world on his shoulders
 While the rich kids is drivin' Benz
 I'm still tryin' to hold on to survivin' friends
 And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up
 But, huh, please, you got to keep ya head up