The Roots

Released: April 28, 2008

Featuring: Talib Kweli Malik B

Songwriter: Khari Mateen Dice Raw Black Thought Talib Kweli Malik B

Producer: The Roots Khari Mateen

[Hook: Questlove]
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie

[Verse 1: Malik B]
Okay, uh-huh, okay, yo
I'm exhausted, but I never ever forfeit
Y'all just bullshit while I knock a nigga off quick
Y'all start speaking in tongues and start reaching for guns
A militant will put this heat in your lungs
The street and the slums, the weekend is done
The local class always show you what the heat is become
The seasons are done, and reasons are none
People dyin', bullets flyin' cause they squeezin' for fun
It's all of a nightmare that's right there
They hopin' that somebody in the hood just might care
With all this protestin' and rallyin', death toll tallyin'
Foul smells around them, pails in the alley and
Corner filled with teddy bears cause they killed a child again
They sing about murder, so it ain't a song it's hollerin'
Get off the choir with your soft attire
Niggas out here don't give a fuck cause they lost desire

[Hook: Questlove]
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
Yeah, my city's full of, heartbreakers and stargazers
Who puff garsh Vegas so they gone with the wind like Clark Gable
Breathin' like Darth Vader, believin' in dark angel
Yeah we got flags but they not star-spangled
We not patriotic, the heroes are not them
Ghetto grills like rims, you stop, they still spin
Tall tales at the bar, witnessed after dark
And we still stomp in in chicken and brown Timbs
And listen to Rakim with the way that y'all been
For realla, I hadn't been schemin' or plottin'
You fear us? But fear itself personified
Payin' homage to homicide, prayin' to the dollar sign
It's idle worship, the rebel forces
Bodies lie at the foundation of the fortress
This is war, we expect some losses
And we comin' for the heads of the bosses

[Hook: Questlove]
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
Yo, we on some casualties of war shit, what you stand for, kid?
We in the city where they definitely lost it
You open your eyelids and get capped in the ribs
Your funeral they have your 12th grade portrait
Pretty corpse in casket, bell-shaped orchids
Said he 19 and left a self-made fortune
And left tres orphans, now he in a box
With the same chain and watch that never came off him
It's a shame what it cost him, where he come from it ain't nothin'
It's a everyday thing, that's a problem
It's chambers revolvin', bustin' like Russian roulette
With a full set, they change what the odds is
Flames in the mosque and, people held hostage
Everyday I struggle, try to get up out the mosh-pit
Homicide for profit, tell me how we not sick?
This shit is out of control, they can't stop it

[Hook: Questlove]
It's the love, in your heart
Or the pain, in your mind
No one cares, what the truth is
Cause them fortunes, they don't lie
It's the love

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.

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