Come on come on 
I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself 
is life worth living should I blast myself? 
I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black 
my stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch 
Cops give a damn about a negro 
pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero 
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares 
one less hungry mouth on the welfare 
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers 
give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other 
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said 
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead 
I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere 
unless we share with each other 
We gotta start makin' changes 
learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers 
and that's how it's supposed to be 
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? 
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids 
but things changed, and that's the way it is 

[Bridge w/ changing ad libs] 
Come on come on 
That's just the way it is 
Things'll never be the same 
That's just the way it is 
aww yeah 
[Repeat] 

[2] 
I see no changes all I see is racist faces 
misplaced hate makes disgrace to races 
We under I wonder what it takes to make this 
one better place, let's erase the wasted 
Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right 
'cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight 
and only time we chill is when we kill each other 
it takes skill to be real, time to heal each other 
And although it seems heaven sent 
We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh 
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact 
the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks 
But some things will never change 
try to show another way but you stayin' in the dope game 
Now tell me what's a mother to do 
bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you 
You gotta operate the easy way 
"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way 
sellin' crack to the kid. " I gotta get paid," 
Well hey, well that's the way it is 

[Bridge] 

[Talking:] 
We gotta make a change... 
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes. 
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live 
and let's change the way we treat each other. 
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do 
what we gotta do, to survive. 

[3] 
And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace 
It's war on the streets & the war in the Middle East 
Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs 
so the police can bother me 
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do 
But now I'm back with the blacks givin' it back to you 
Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up, 
crack you up and pimp slap you up 
You gotta learn to hold ya own 
they get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone 
But tell the cops they can't touch this 
I don't trust this when they try to rush I bust this 
That's the sound of my tool you say it ain't cool 
my mama didn't raise no fool 
And as long as I stay black I gotta stay strapped 
& I never get to lay back 
'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs 
some buck that I roughed up way back 
comin' back after all these years 
rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is uhh 

[Bridge 'til fade]