Released: June 25, 2009

Featuring: Dice Raw

Songwriter: Rick Friedrich Jeremy Grenhart Dice Raw Black Thought

Producer: Jeremy Grenhart Richard Nichols Dice Raw ?uestlove Rick Friedrich

[Intro: Black Thought]
Ugh, uh-huh
Ugh, uh-huh

[Hook: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Out on the streets (Yeah)
Where I grew up (Uh-huh, ugh)
First thing they teach you
Is not to give a fuck (Yeah, c'mon, man)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (Ugh, oh)
Someone has to care (Uh)
How I got over

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
Where the people come apart
Don't nobody care about you, only thing you got is God
Out here in these streets, if you get down on your luck
You can stand out with a hand out, but nobody give a fuck
Out here in these streets, every man is for himself
They ain't helping no one else, it's a hazard to your health
Living life in these cold streets
Hey—who's worrying 'bout you, babe?
When you wilding out? Running around in these streets?

[Hook: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Out on the streets, where I grew up
How I got over
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
How I got o
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
How I got over
Someone has to care (Yo)

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
When you on the corner, there's too much drama
Living with the police right behind you
It's always more than a slight reminder
We living in a war zone like Rwanda
Before I go back to the Heavenly Father
Pray for me, if it ain't too much bother
Whatever don't break me'll make me stronger
I feel like I can't take too much longer
It's too much lying and too much frying
I'm all cried out 'cause I grew up crying
They all got a sales pitch; I ain't buying
They trying to convince me that I ain't trying
We uninspired, we unadmired
And tired and sick of being sick and tired
Of living in the hood where the shots are fired
We dying to live; so, to live, we dying
You just like I am

[Hook: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Out on the streets (Ugh), where I grew up
How I got over
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
How I got over
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Yo, somebody, somewhere
Someone has to care
Man, somebody's gotta care

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
And I swear it isn't fair
In suspended animation, we ain't tryna go nowhere
Out here in these streets, we're so young and all alone
We ain't even old enough to realize we're on our own
Living life in these hard streets, where it's like they lost they mind
Is there anyway to find? Are we running out of time out here?
Listen...
Hey—who's worrying 'bout you, babe?
When you wilding out?
Running around in these streets?

[Hook: Dice Raw & Black Thought]
Out on the streets (Ugh), where I grew up
How I got over
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
How I got over
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Yo, somebody, somewhere, man
Someone has to—
Out on the streets, where I grew up
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to—
Out on the streets, where I grew up
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to—
Out on the streets, where I grew up
First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to care

The Roots

The world’s premiere hip-hop band, The Roots were formed in Philadelphia in 1987 by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Since those early days, the band has weathered changes in personnel and record labels while performing hundreds of shows a year and releasing a string of well-regarded (if not always top-selling) albums.

While the musicianship of Thompson and the other band members, as well as their seemingly limitless repertoire, gets most of the attention, real hip-hop fans know that the rapping skills of Black Thought (along with former group member Malik B.) are the group’s hidden weapon. Thought, one of the few MCs brave enough to go toe to toe with Big Pun, handles any groove the band throws at him with aplomb, style, and flash.

Today, The Roots are seen by millions every night as the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a move that has given the group the chance to indulge its not-insignificant comic side.