The Soul of Oakland is homeless The Soul of Oakland Is living in a car The Soul of Oakland Is hungry The Soul of Oakland Begging for change The Soul of Oakland sleeps under the freeway The Soul of Oakland is breaking in you car The Soul of Oakland Losing its mind The Soul of Oakland The soul soul The soul of Oakland is dying for change

Chorus Hand a tissue to my mama Tell her I’m a goner Demonize me on the 4:00 news While my mama sings the blues Face down on the concrete Pleading to cops that I can’t breathe Looked in my face but never saw me Died slow crying for my mommy Chorus Oh Crying out I’m a human being Oh Say it loud I’m a human being Verse ft. Kev Choice When you look at me What do you see? Royalty or a deity? Why do you treat my existence like a felony? And my pigment a conviction and a sentence Death penalty Was my last breath a guilty plea? Yo, I’m innocent I’m a human being Just doing things that are normal You consider me some type of animal Like I’m disposable I got family, dreams and hopes too I’m loved too and I’m vulnerable And emotional and I cry too And I’ve done wrong Done right too and I got rights I deserve life just like you I’m a human being Chorus Oh Crying out I’m a human being Oh Say it loud I’m a human being Bridge (Kev) I am a father and an author A philosopher A composer I am culture I am history and future So much to offer Look deeper We just trying to prosper My sisters and brothers See us as us Recognize the people and our power (Candice) They call me criminal The message be subliminal They treat me like an animal But you don’t really want to know Chorus Oh Crying out I’m a human being Oh Say it loud I’m a human being

Child’s perspective (1) Ages 1-2 (mmm) When we had you Life was a dream Happy family (mmm) Three through five A roller coaster ride Grandma took us in Said we’d see you again (mmm) Six through 10 When reality set in I’d never get to have that daddy daughter dance (mmhmm) Almost a teen Remember me No letters no calls Knew grandma lied to me Interspersed three part harmony (OOO) Parent Perspective (2) Lost and cold Feel so alone When will my baby be coming home I journey far to see(ee)ee My child who was taken from me My heart is where you’ll always be Unison “hmmm” Harmony “hmmm” Adult Perspective (3) Interspersed three part harmony (MMM) One day lost the next ahead Live a life like a life half dead Love my loves do I love alone Never even call on the telephone Everyone in here looks like me Debt I owe is slavery Tunnels end light Til it moves away Never knowing my judgement day Teen Perspective (4) - in total unison Dantevion seventeen Recidivism done come and killed His dreams System fail Gunshot bleed chained to Prison poplar trees can’t outrun his destiny It’s by his side All he could see He can’t set his body freeee-Losing his identity

Chorus We miss you We miss you We miss you We miss you Verse I’m hoping you actually get this letter I hoping that things may actually get better I’ve been trying baby To keep the family together Waiting for your return 10 years seem like forever Don’t they know you got mouths to feed Some people gotta steal to eat Sometimes you gotta fight for life Hard to say what’s wrong or right Desperate times lead to crime Chorus Verse Last week the baby started to crawl Your picture is hanging on his wall I’ve been trying baby To help him to remember Although you are locked up You are still his father You did it all for him Got your back until the end When you trying to pay the bills Pressure starts to feel unreal The choice is either starve or steal Bridge Dear Daddy I miss you so much. I wish you were here with me. Sometimes, I feel really sad because I can't see you or talk to you. But I know you love me and you're always thinking about me. I hope you're doing okay in there. I hope you're being good and making friends. I want you to know that I love you no matter what, and I'll always be here for you. I draw pictures for you all the time. I want to show them to you when you come home. I hope you can come home soon, so we can be together again. I love you.

Chorus You ain’t got second chances Black boy Black boy Mess up once and you’re branded Black girl Black girl Verse One strike One time Handcuffs No mind The tightrope you walk is so fine You better not step out of line No free Mistakes Poverty High stakes What they expect you to do Just starve to death don’t break the rules Pre-chorus Mother hold her head and cry Looking through the glass into her babies eyes Chorus Verse Regret No space Won’t save Your fate Judges a jury no peers Will sentence you to several years The sin Black skin Guilty Won’t win Get out after serving your time Find out life is passing you by Pre-Chorus Father hold his head and cry Cuz his daughter is locked down and she’s doing time Chorus Bridge ft. MadLines Lil man where was you at? you know I love you to the moon and back but the cards is stacked don't matter that you gifted and black we under attack this is a fact not fiction so listen, learn you gone need to discern friend from opposition It's a system designed to break your spirit have you wishing for a slap on the wrist they mad you exist no wonder you pissed wait, there go your sis... queen! Is there anything you need? you can talk to me I seen you in that whip it's clean but watch the company you keep cuz I ain't getting sleep nightmares of the police Please be careful in these streets Black boy Black girl Black child you are my whole world Black boy Black girl Black child you are my whole world

Teacher says take this referral I storm out the classroom 10 minutes later the office clerk on the phone with my mama Telling her she gotta come pick me up My mama tell her you gotta wait til I get off work The office clerk said: the school has a zero tolerance policy for repeat offenders So I sit in frustration Holding back tears with balled up fists Waiting My mama tells me I’m just like my uncle But when I dressed my face with a smile Tell her this violence runs through my veins She don’t laugh She dresses her face with concern Reminds me that her sacrifices are far bigger than my temper My mama says: baby boy these are not the sandy streets of Sudan I know that East AFrican sun is still boiling your blood But these hallways still belong to Oakland public schools This system don’t care who you are If you don’t gather your common sense now You’ll end up fighting for your freedom She tells me fighting is not worth your freedom Baby boy So I laugh instead of punching And the teacher sends me home for laughing too loud Apparently the price of smiling kids is too high for a classroom setting It seems as if everything I do puts me in the wrong And I can’t let this confusion out at the house It’s just me and moms She already gotta balance 3 jobs on her back While juggling my mischief And as she leaves for her night job She tells me no one opens this door but her Her hands molded by years of providing for us have blessed this doorknob I promise you nothing gets passed it What she don’t know if my teachers already taught me the arts of seclusion She isn’t aware of how solitude has now become my best friend She don’t know that sometimes I feel like tearing out of my own skin She don’t know that I got conversations with myself as if I was talking to my teachers that usually go like this: I swear to god these laughs is fake Deep down I’m hurting but my body been deep conditioned to push down my hurt So I can’t even cry I’m supposed to thug it out Through any obstacle I encounter Which is why you see the problem before you see the child Which is why you see my list of suspensions before you get a chance to hear me out I am more problem than I am child From the age of 7 I learned how to comfort my mama when no one else could I held her in my arms, held back the urge to break down and watch tears trickle down her face A never ending river of pain I’m trying to process the absence of a parent That started off in my life but withered away like he was a blunt nearing the end of its rotation Only thing left of him that I can grasp is the ashes of a roach turned to dust I’m a child trying to do what I can to stay out the streets Cuz where I’m from we ain’t got money like that And these crack rows offer access to everything the voting polls won’t let us have Like clean water and maybe some therapy Instead we got needles on playgrounds And kids learning to hide their feelings until they become ticking time bombs I say teacher Do you know what it feels like to have your life on the line from birth? If your answer is no, I sentence you to 5 years in the corner Think about what you’ve done

Verse Walking into class, heaviness on my chest (heaviness… on my chest..) Why would I come back, when all I see is what I lack (all I see… is what I lack…) Just another number on the board I’m just another number to be ignored Tried to speak my name, but all I feel is shame (shame) and pain (pain)!! CHORUS (mezzo forte) - Hear me See me Be my safety I am here Hear me See me Be my safety I am here Reflect me clear Show me the greatness in me VERSE 2 (connection in classroom) - What an education, to have for free So much intellectual reciprocity Representation is a major key To change the life of a brown kid like me First period neglected But in your eyes I’m excellent Soon it will be homeroom, that’s where I’m reflective My education has purpose Because of you I know I’m worth it CHORUS (forte) (harmony) - Hear me See me Be my safety I am here (Fortissimo) Hear me See me Be my safety I am here Reflect me clear and show me the greatness in me (X3)

School to poison pipeline Poison in the groundwater Cancer and asthma highlight Environmental racism The people getting restless We’re praying for a change to come We’re dying in these streets Dying in our school system Verse Woke up with a stomachache It’s been bothering me all day And I can’t eat I can’t sleep Pray the lord my soul to keep My soul to keep It’s hard to pay attention in class you see Every time I lean down to read My nose bleeds And I’m So tired So tired Too tired Much to tired to be 17 Pre-Chorus Something in the water Chorus Verse 2 Woke up With aching bones No energy for nothing just wanna go home Now the slightest touch Bruises me so much Pray the lord my soul to keep My soul to keep My teacher don’t know what’s at stake Every time I try to write My hand just shakes And I’m So tired So tired Too tired Much to tired to be 17 Pre Chorus Something in the water Bridge Lead in water Lead in water Children Whole lotta trouble in the water

Chorus (2x) Why, why, why, why, why Why you wanna see me broken broken broken broken broken broken Verse See me on the street with no shoes Talking to myself singing the blues Maybe even an outburst Or two You don’t know my life Don’t know what it’s like I lost it all Lost my house Lost my job Lost myself Don’t know what it’s like Just to live’s a fight Chorus (2x) How many times I’m supposed to get knocked down before I stay down?

Verse Inside Outside I hide Cuz I’m being hunted These streets Police Hate me They that in common Predators come in all shades Like a slave I’m a runaway Keeping me head on a swivel From Unofficial murderers and certified killers Chorus bullseye Aim Shoot Blackness is a bullseye (1) Target on your back if you’re black (2) Verse Blame me Shame me Don’t see That I’m being hunted Jobless Hopeless Distress These are root causes Predators come in all shades Like a slave I’m a runaway Keeping me head on a swivel From Unofficial murderers and certified killers Chorus bullseye Aim Shoot Blackness is a bullseye (1) Target on your back if you’re black (2) Bridge ft. Karega Bailey of SOL DVLPMT I know this Black skin glow I know my black soul shine I know poverty is a crime And it’s all by design I know life is made for the living And it’s all borrowed time And while they want to snuff my light I’m trying to see sunshine They want our sons and daughters lined up for slaughter Life as a martyr But we working harder Pushing the gospel to every corner I pray his favor shine upon my black skin And when those weapons formed against me keep me tapped in Word as bond Chorus bullseye Aim Shoot Blackness is a bullseye (1)

Chorus I can’t make you care Souls gotta take you there Verse I like gourmet coffee (6) Vegan donuts too (5) And I like martinis (6) fancy bars with views (5) And I love Malonga Altars above ground You can’t stand my drumming Culture watered down Rode a rented scooter Drank artesian beer Before uptown was downtown I was already here This was grandmas house Where she raised 3 Can’t afford new condos Painted over Malonga Pre-chorus Heartbeat (vamp) Drumbeat (vamp) Chorus I can’t make you care Souls gotta take you there Verse Sitting in this traffic Commute much longer now It used to be so easy Getting round the town Used to see so many Red black yellow brown A sea of melanin The beauty of the town Now we can’t even gather Celebrating culture now Policing of our bodies a favorite past time now Bittersweet the memory Of old Oakland now They fell in love with the culture And pushed the artist out