Take notes: real gangstas wear trench coats, grey suits, black ties and they seek votes. And you're not to be misled. They'll kill you in your fuckin' bed. They don't sell dope, yo, excuse me, yes they do, but they don't look that much like me or you. But if you pull up the sheets and expose them, they'll crawl up like snakes and show fangs of venom.

Now I've been soldier for years. Representin' the tattooed tears. Other brothas locked up with no choice. Left in the bowels of devil with no voice.
My phones are tapped, my crib is bugged. My car is tailed from club to club.
And this ain't no fuckin' joke. They want to see a nigga broke. You can't slip, if you slip you're out. You gotta know what you're talkin' about. Drop science every chance you get. Hit direct and indirect, speak in code, cause you're never alone. That's why I use this low tone. Follow this and you might grow older. This is a message to the soldiers...

Now they killed King and they shot X, now they want me, you could be next. All you gotta do is speak too loud. All you gotta be is be too proud. Cause once you let'em know, who you are and where you're at, you better watch your back.

All you wanna do is tell the truth. All you wanna do is save the youth.

But when I'm gone I need you to carry on, you gotta be strong and fight for our salvation. But there will be retaliation, soldier...

To think that rap could be attacked is ignorin' the simple fact: That they never ment us to speak. They had planned to keep the black man weak. But rap hit the streets. Black rage amplified over dope beats. Now they want to shut us down, and they don't fuck around.

Check the history books, son. Black leaders die young. They tell us that your words are scary: they're revolutionary. Because we speak the truth about crime and drugs and expose the real thugs. This info is not beneficial to the groups that go by three initals. So they try to discredit, they'll dog you with an edit, print the words the way you never said it. But we gotta make'em regret it, soldiers...

Word! I know a lot of brothas out there want to get in this war... You know what I'm sayin'? a lot of sistas got a lot of knowledge to drop on our people but right now they're movin' to shut down all hip-hop! The first amendment had absolutely nothin' to do with black people. At the time constitution was written, we were considered nothin' but property... The expectation of havin' black people speak on records never came to mind, so we gotta move!

But belive me all the black leaders have been silenced and most of the time it's been violent. So if you choose to get in this war, realize what you're in for but we gotta move on... And we gotta stay strong...

Message to the soldiers, be careful, soldiers...
Ice T  ¶ domingo, noviembre 30, 2003