[Hook]
Didn't want no black consciousness
If you can't kill his soul
Put 'em in the box where darkness is
Biko, Steven was a martyr
Fighting for the people
Africa, to U.S.A they say we not equal
The price that we paid them Devils know
When will the heavens take control
Trapped in the ghetto
Martyrs, martyrs
[Verse 1]
Rest in peace to the heavenly deceased
Gone forever 'til we meet
Keep memories of thee in my speech
These beasts know the price we paid, in chains whips
Slave ships ages 'pon ages racist
All the '-isms kept us in the graveyards and prisons
Thus raising our children with a lack of broader vision
Applaud the killings, police brutality's a given
The blacker the nigga the smaller the cells to fit in
Forbidden my people been forgotten, from picking cotton
To sit and robbing til you get to plottin'
Sticking of robbing cause 9 to 5 is not can option
When you a felon it's sentences they sellin'
And niggas buyin', momma cryin'
Her son dyin' lyin' in pool of ruby red
Truly fed dreams deferred one third lead
To slaughter, Malcolm, Martin, Medgar Evers martyrs
Imprison the father, suffering baby mamas
Didn't want our consciousness
[Hook]
Didn't want no black consciousness
If you can't kill his soul
Put 'em in the box where darkness is
Biko, Steven was a martyr
Fighting for the people
Africa, to U.S.A they say we not equal
The price that we paid them Devils know
When will the heavens take control
Trapped in the ghetto
Martyrs, martyrs
[Verse 2]
Come alive son of Lies
For every newborn another dies
Word to wise uncover the veiled eyes
We are martyrs from the incubator
The slave of slave cause we are mentally entrapped, it's fact
When will your savior come save us
Take us to the promised land
Mama's hands got the callouses, arthritis
Damn we are not fighters
Why cry cause rebels are no longer rebels
The black leadership failing in the ghettos
We are not equal, why Biko died for the people
Why Emmett Till killed for a whistle
I see you but your eyes don't see us
In your minds don't need us
So in infested slums leave us, we just
Minus justice, just is what it is
Should I lie to my kids or tell 'em
Life is a bitch
Word to Nasir and Asiatic
Being black is not a sickness
But thinking backwards as if we lack promised consciousness
[Hook]
Didn't want no black consciousness
If you can't kill his soul
Put 'em in the box where darkness is
Biko, Steven was a martyr
Fighting for the people
Africa, to U.S.A they say we not equal
The price that we paid them Devils know
When will the heavens take control
Trapped in the ghetto
Martyrs, martyrs
[Bridge]
For freedom cried Steven died
He and I, bonded in love
See the lies, read the eyes, realize
Surrounded by love
Hate can not, shall not, will not
Ever prevail, Africa, hailed
Slained soldier over again
Steven, the martyr, Biko
[Hook]
Didn't want no black consciousness
If you can't kill his soul
Put 'em in the box where darkness is
Biko, Steven was a martyr
Fighting for the people
Africa, to U.S.A they say we not equal
The price that we paid them Devils know
When will the heavens take control
Trapped in the ghetto
Martyrs, martyrs