Common ft. Lenny Kravitz, Chuck D - A Riot In My Mind Lyrics

What da-da, what da-da-da-da
Cassius Clay and the potter
Shape my mind, the shape of things, the trap, the grind
Escape through dreams, shootin' star, I aim supreme
Pops said, "If you gon' aim for kings, claim it king"
My brainstorm reigns supreme
Black super hero with the cape and wings
Still I'm a G like a Mason ring
Build with Gods and gangsters whose scars and faces
Traces of racists snakes that debased us
Tried to free base us, mark of the beast, erase us
But we raised up from East Asia
Children of Mother Nature
The minority report say that we major
And we made ya
I seek greater 'til the fire next time
It's burning down, there's a riot in my mind

It's a war outside
When it's quiet, it's a riot in my mind
It's a war outside
Won't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
Gotta get ready, saddle up
If you're really 'bout it we gonna see, oh yeah
Gotta get ready, time is up
If you're really 'bout it we gonna see, oh yeah
It's a war outside
Can't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind

Paraphernalia I wear like songs by Mahalia
Soldier, Buffalo, Griselda
Held the scroll that told of seven bowls and seven plagues
Babylon, dread the days where the dead are raised
Escapades of the everlasting
Where the ghetto praise for compassion
No longer masking
What black men and black women have been
Art, culture, fashion, the science and math blend
Kemetic attraction, we live for action
Moral arc back bend, our spirits attacking
To the, to the tick-tick-tick-tock
You can lick shots, strange fruit, get crops
Get land, get stores, kick doors, ensure
Your fam is good, plus the people next door
Some are tired by the times
Some inspired by the times
It's where power is refined
There's a riot in my mind

It's a war outside
When it's quiet, it's a riot in my mind
It's a war outside
Won't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
Gotta get ready, saddle up
If you're really 'bout it we gonna see, oh yeah
Gotta get ready, time is up
If you're really 'bout it we gonna see, oh yeah
It's a war outside
Can't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind

Nation against nation
Stimulation, indication (it's a war)
Yo (it's a war)
Nation against nation
Stimulation, innovation (it's a war)
Generation, vindication, vindication, vindication, ah