Lyrics:

I'm a manchild born in the promised land
Captain of my destiny, guidin my faith through the turbulence of life
See, in order to be who you are, you've got to know who you are
In order to get to where you want to go
You've got to know from whence you came
See, it was Malcolm X who said
'A man who doesn't have nothing to stand up for
Will fall for any goddamn thing!'
(Damn, woke up again)

Down my face drop tears, it's like nobody cares
I swear, life ain't fair, sometimes I wanna disappear
Only Blahzay Blah', I got mad gray hair
I'm a young old man, what part of Shit Iz Real don't you understand?
Twin got murdered, caught one to the temple
You ain't been what I been through, Can It Be All So Simple?
I got bad nerves, it's absurd, I'm disturbed
So, I suggest you watch the words that you blurb
Out your mouth, or it'll be a shoot out
I'll leave you stretched out, I'm thugged, inside and out
And it ain't by choice (uhuj)
I'm screaming out loud for love (AHHHH!), do anybody hear my voice?
Pardon the noise, I'm just a black ghetto boy
Went through the rain and pain, where's the sunshine and joy?
I can't seem to find it, trapped in the black cloud
Watching my life go down, to hide the suffering, I smile

Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land
Who of you will understand?
Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land, hey-ay...

My aunt died from AIDS, I watched her deteriorate
She told me fucking with drugs was her biggest mistake
Put my moms on to it, sticking needles in her veins
Being sons of addicts drove me and Cane insane
We packed bags at Pathmark, we both humped Tamika
We used to go to the pool, just to steal kids' sneakers
Rocked cut-off beepers, wore old clothes for Easter
Shit was so real, we had to split a slice of pizza
I was born at six months, (damn) premature
My moms birthed a thug like Afeni Shakur
I'm surprised I ain't crazy, from the bugged shit I saw
I caught my mother buying crack on the first floor, before
I never thought I'd be in a cell, smoking a Newport
With all sorts of thoughts, running through my mind
Know I ain't leaving, caught, D.A. talking jail time
I glanced at my mom's eyes, she looking like she wanna cry

Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land
Who of you will understand?
Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land, hey-ay

They say I'm an accident waiting to happen, G
Miss Ann from the first floor said she gon' pray for me
She had a bad dream, that they murdered me
I said, 'Miss, truthfully, I don't believe in dreams'
Hope lives miles away, from where I stay
Who knows the way? Pssshhh... shit, I'd pay
For the directions, my whole family's in corrections
Fake friends half-stepping, I'm stressing, answer question
Can I trust you? (Uh-huh), then I love you (Yeah)
If not? straight up and down, fuck you!

Bottom line, real people do real things
Play your position... (running these streets can be so...)

Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land
Who of you will understand?
Running these streets can be so
Trying these trying times
Manchild in the promised land, hey-ay...

You see, its like this
You've got to plan your work and work your plan
Cause he who fails to plan, plans to fail
Execute your strategy and seize your goal
Cause see, persistence overcomes resistance
Peace