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Beautiful is Black (ft. Marcel P. Black & Dolla Black)

from Which Way Is Up? by 5th Child

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about

Produced by 5th Child. Background vocals by Candace Harris.

lyrics

(5th Child)
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black,
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black,
Beautiful is black

Promised I'd write my way up out my mama house/
Now i'm dropping these cassettes until i'm out of debt/
Trina told me "5th, they gotta set them commas out."/
Feel like I've let her down cause I ain't got it poppin' yet/
Now I pray over ever dollar that I collect/
Pennies in my hands transform into some bands/
When the series of events ain't according to my plans/
I feel like calling it quits but the Lord he understands so I push through/
I can run through a troop and leap over the walls/
Now please hold your applause/
You ain't seen nada, street fiends feen for green gwolla/
Pray that you Spotify cause all of my streams hotter (uh)/
Pay homage, acknowledge, I got the scholars stumped/
Higher level, ducking the devil rockin' some Prada pumps/
Donatello straight from the gutter, pockets on Papa Klump/
Watch Gepetto tug on they sockets making imposters jump/
You ain't real boy, I'm here to fill a void/
Leave the fakers by the gate, tell them to kill the noise/
In my circle of kings, 2 things: build and destroy/
When I put that hammer down, feel the tremors underground, Now/
Peace, Queen. That melanin hella elegant/
Ultraviolet beams and creams couldn't embellish it/
Smoothness of your hues proof you in tune with the elements/
Truly we're enthused at being blessed with your fellowship/
Understand, you winning wasn't the plan/
When they loaded up them boats and put them shackles on your hands/
Any evidence of growth or signs that you're getting close/
Is supposed to be perceived as "n*ggas getting out of hand" Now/
History's never made by the well behaved/
And the memories tell the story, we don't let them fade/
I threw Marcel on this track to set the record straight/
Took a break from selling records, now it's time to celebrate/

Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Yea/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Whoa/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Yea/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black/

(Marcel P. Black)

Back in elementary school I remember remembering/
The feeling of self doubt all due to my pigment/
Little black boy hella dark just like my father/
In an all white school, wished i was light just like my mama/
Cause my mama's mama's kin went and blended with Indians/
High cheeks, red skin, hair blowing in the wind/
Out in indian territory, now you're listening to the story/
Of how colorism killed the self-esteem within, plus/
I was chubby and had thick glasses/
Talked with a slight stammer when I spoke in classes/
Ashamed when slavery came up in the history books/
Cause I know that all the white kids gonna give me "the look"/
That's psychological warfare, Why our history start there?/
Miseducation of the negro/ Why they can't show us as heroes/
Y'all ancestors were savages, back when they was trafficking/
Africans across the water during Middle Passages/
Came to the knowledge when I was 14/
My cousin Bop was up in college studying to be god-body/
He gave me books, conscious hip hop I could play/
To unlearn the white lies, I was learning every day/
Meanwhile in high school, all my partners gang-banged/
And I ain't wanna be no lame so I had to maintain/
If my mama ain't pray, and I ain't read Malcolm/
Or hear that Let's Get Free I'd probably still be in the game/
Nowadays, BLACK is the only thing I bang/
And I love it so much that I made it my last name/
My melanin's divine and I'm made in God's image/
Don't want my kids to feel my pain so I always tell my chirren/
That beautiful is black, don't ever let them tell you different/
Always keep your head high with some pride up in your chest/
Cause your heart pumps royalty, we're warriors at best/
Your blackness ain't not crutch, it's living proof that you're blessed/

Cause Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Huh?/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Huh?/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Huh?/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black/

(Dolla Black)

I'm the closest with everybody that say they nothing, til they made them something/
Built the perfect mansion out of crumblings/
And if the stomach sow the harvest, been a long time coming,
And the blessings and favor over-running/
Pardon me if I'm stunting in my brand new glory from dope n*gga to KING/
Should be proud of me. Took a lot of stress to get it out of me, but I'm here now/
If only I could teach my brothers that need more to reach for more things/
Than settling to speak these bars or be seen/
And give them means that means they can own they own/
Instead of flexing after taking a loan, sh*t/
Focused on a long list of black-ish barriers/
Transporting this energy, I'm the carrier/
Be careful, people will watch it and say they carried you... My bad/
Beautiful is BLK, notice the homophone, I promise we gon be okay/
Even if we have to build and we never see the building and our kids kids flourish/
Then we win the race, but it starts today/
Praise our people when it's due, gotta realign, not giving routine/
Tell them they can have they stars, that's cool/
But man, stop actin' like Lupita ain't a QUEEN/
Black is beautiful, hard to digest, there is nothing better/
Surface level a coal mine, trying to hide our treasure/
Too many years of failing just to provide y'all pleasure, abide by y'all schedule/
No longer are we frail and weak and y'all see it now it's lessons to learn/
"Grind" tired and outdated now we're starting to CHURN/
Not clinging to memories, now we're letting it burn/
Cremating sh*t and y'all brought the urn/ Beautiful is BLACK/

Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Yea/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, (Beautiful is black)
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black, Uh/
Beautiful is black, Beautiful is black/

credits

from Which Way Is Up?, released June 19, 2018
S. Brown; B. Williams; B. Howard

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all rights reserved

tags

about

5th Child Jackson, Mississippi

From recording karaoke machine mixtapes with his older brother, to independently releasing nine solo albums of original material, 5th Child has evolved into one of the South’s most groundbreaking hip-hop artists. Hailing from Jackson, MS, 5th Child blends southern bravado with thought-provoking and soulful lyrics, & gives listeners mesmerizing rhythms to rock to and grow from at the same time. ... more

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