De La Soul | Lyrics | Held Down

Allow me, to break it down, ah
Yea, yea, yea, yea, yeah
Life

This is dedicated to all my folks
Diagnosed with a bad case of that proper upbringin'
And never took the time to fall in line or follow
Or swallow the thoughts

Of the recognized committees who lurk throughout ya cities
Ya hood, ya town, no matter which type
You from the same type of people try to hold you down
Just because you tailor made for bigger and better things

Never missed a chance to move ahead of things
And what does it bring? I tell you for me
It brought jealousy in back wounds from all the stabbin'
Cats posin' as my fan just to get grabbin' what's mine

I'm livin' in times where my daughters are found around
Kids who can't afford thinkin' caps
But always found drinkin' raps and eatin' off beats
Claimin' laws of the streets, but who made the laws?
Everybody playin' 'rebel' with no sign of a 'cause'

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found that others will bring you down just to be down
You've got to make up your mind where you wanna be
Where you wanna go with your life, with your life

Yo, I'm never singin' the blues but findin' the clues to maintain
And I been blessed to reign supreme over nearly every dream I had
And I made it come true, I'm an imperfect man
And I'm holdin' the clue to perfection

It doesn't seem to matter what direction I look
I find people settin' traps, tryin' to find the goal
Without havin' any maps, even friends of mine
Jumped on line just to become my adversary

They felt they were entitled to the dairy I made
They don't come to chill or behave
And they got, toast ready to burn
Not learnin' to live, but they yearnin' to take what you earn

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found that others will bring you down just to be down
You see, you've got to make up your mind, where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with your life, with your life

So quick to place blame and deny the shame
We bring upon ourselves so many names held
Accountable for my own account
When a large amount was weight that I made and shaped

When I climbed I found
It was hard to find others around to point my fingers at
Which made me realize the truth
The biggest suppressor could be your own ego
Lookin' for an excuse to plant roots, in a field of self sorrow

To sprout and follow the first thing you feel
Nourishes your hunger to be respected, it gets hectic
And when I'm watchin' the news and my daughter walks in
And choose to ask

"Why were all those people on the floor sleepin', covered in red?"
I told her that they were lookin' for God
But found religion instead

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found that others will bring you down just to be down
You see, you've got to make up yo' mind, where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with yo' life, with your life, with your life

[Unverified]

I need my space to live

Well I, feel the world around me
I've found that others will bring you down just to be down
You see, you've got to make up yo' mind, where you wanna be
And where you wanna go with yo' life, with your life, with your life