I see people hating other people

Tell me what s the reason

That your kid is hungryyou ain t got no money

What s the reason?

[Verse 1: Nas

By the time of age nine I m already decidin

If I can protect mommy from the hood by fightin

Or usin a knife or a gun when I m twenty-one

By by then them hoods woulda pushed their way in our apartment

And we die thenso I been a young nervous wreck in the projects

Watchin them older niggaz pass pot and they high man

I m just a young boysnot nosehair nappy

Cops ride by squeezin their trigger fingers at me

So I would go to school and try to get good grades

Teacher wrote mommy and kicked me outta school for havin braids

So she cussed themsaid "My son ain t no motherfuckin hoodlum"

They judged usthinking that we dumb cause where we come from

Got a little older and now I see

Young niggaz wanted by the powers that be powers that be

[Chorus: Woman singing

I see people hating other people

Tell me what s the reason

That your kid is hungryyou ain t got no money

What s the reason?

For these wars we re fighting with each other

Season after season

When you re workin hardbut there ain t nothing comin

What s the reason?

[Verse 2: Nas

Uhpicture a Black nanny and a baby in a basket pushin down 5th Ave

She never had itit s not hers to begin with

She gives it breakfastbaths and dinners

Treats it so tender while her own kids live alone at home with no phone on

Ain t had a good meal in so longbut so long as mommy s a maid

Cookin and cleanin she wanna feed her kids and her kids are dreamin

Where s my daddywho s my daddyhave you seen him?

I could imagine them askin what type of human be-ing

Could leave his familygo back to the Carribean?

Was he locked upshot updoes he have freedom?

Mom said wipe your tearskeep readin

But daddy s somewherespirit brokenfeelin defeated

A man feels he has to conquer all

The world is his oysterhis pearl so y all know

[Chorus: Woman singing

I can t find no reason why we can t all live in peace

Cause this world keeps spinningyet still I wonder what s the reason

I see people hating other people

Tell me what s the reason

When you re workin hard but there ain t nothin comin

What s the reason?

Oooh-whoa-ooh-whoa

[Verse 3: Nas

I know a girlher boyfriend was a fugitive

She s intuitivebe on some stupid shit

She called the cops cause she hated his mother

Now he away doin numbersnow she gay with her lover

How many niggaz gon die this summer?

I pump life in my musicbut still life is a wonder

There s a officer in a squad carhe s a prostitute serial killer

It s oddhuh? Cause he s the same cop in church with his wife

He s molestin his son and she ignores it at night

Little bad ass bastardlights a match and kills Betty Shabazz

in her pad while she slept

They said Prescott Bush funded Hitler while the world s in a twister

Niggawhat you expect? Imagine what s next

[Chorus: Woman singing

I see people hating other people

Tell me what s the reason

That your kid is hungryyou ain t got no money

What s the reason?

For these wars we re fighting with each other

Season after season

When you re workin hardbut there ain t nothing comin

What s the reason?

[Woman harmonizes as Nas talks:

"Uhuhmanman ll search the whole planetlooking for what

Try to conquer all. So what? To all my niggaz with they

kids that love they kidsman. All the daddies out there

To all the niggaz that died tryin a figure out what s what

Tryin a be the biggest of the bigyou know. Yeahyeah

Ladies forgive us. Gotta forgive us. For we know not what

we do. Breakin heartsleavin the cribbuggin out and

shit. Just man... man."

- Back to the Songs of the Album Street S Disciple

- Back to the Nas's Albums