Released: February 5, 2021

Featuring: Wyclef Jean Chance the Rapper

Songwriter: Prodigy of Mobb Deep Havoc Malik Yusef VIC MENSA Chance the Rapper ICEFACE Dru DeCaro Aja Monet Papi Beatz Wyclef Jean Smoko Ono ​​johan lenox Ali Shaheed Muhammad Peter CottonTale

Producer: Papi Beatz Wyclef Jean Smoko Ono ​​johan lenox Ali Shaheed Muhammad Peter CottonTale

[Intro: Wyclef Jean]
There's a war going on outside
Yeah, I

[Bridge: Wyclef Jean]
There's a war going on outside
That nobody's safe from
But here in my arms
I'll keep you from harm
There's no guarantee tonight
That we will wake up (That we will wake up)
When night takes the morning
But if no alarm rings
You can count on one thing

[Chorus: Wyclef Jean & VIC MENSA]
I'll be your shelter
Emergency
Please count on me, yeah, I
I'll be your superhero
When danger arrives (Uh)
I'll be by your side
You're my lucky dime (Uh)

[Verse 1: VIC MENSA & Wyclef Jean]
Wyclef told me, "Call 9-1-1"
But who do you call when thе ambulances don't come?
Or watch as the onеs sworn by law to protect us
Wrongfully convict us, then call it corrections
Next, they bail the banks out when we in recession
And hang us in a jail cell so they can swing the elections
I walk Chicago streets where potholes is deep
And Tahoes creep like TLC
Hospital workers in scrubs with no PPE
But they got money for riot gear, my nigga, we dying here
Yet, you tell me not to move with my gun
But we got more funeral homes than schools where I'm from
And on the news, all you view is homicides
Tell me why it ain't no trauma units when everybody traumatized? (Yeah, I)
Trying to get on your feet, playing the hand they dealt you
If your house is not a home, let this song be your shelter, shelter, shelter

[Chorus: Wyclef Jean & Chance The Rapper]
I'll be your shelter
Emergency
Please count on me, yeah, I
I'll be your superhero
When danger arrives (When danger arrives)
I'll be by your side (I'll be by your side)
You're my lucky dime

[Verse 2: Chance The Rapper]
It's a hundred bags under the underpass
Rumbling stomachs, cups jingle when Hummers pass
Brisk wind, summer's done, winter is coming fast
And then they Zoom teacher wonder why they don't come to class
The internet been out, the hot water been out
She moved to her aunt's house, then to her friend's couch
Her abuser went to jail, but that nigga been out
Producer was in-house, they closer than pen pals
Homeless in the home of the slaves, I wonder how that would feel?
The manifested destiny a bunch of land they could steal
Think about Kenneth Walker and Philando Castile
How they only wanted to protect they family
While it's niggas out here that make it worse for they folks
It's a deeper, hotter hell for the worst of these folks
It's a mystery, we never heard the murder she wrote
If we finally paid her back, the whole Earth would be broke

[Chorus: Wyclef Jean & VIC MENSA]
I'll be your shelter
Emergency
Please count on me, yeah, I
I'll be your superhero
When danger arrives
I'll be by your side (Uh)

[Verse 3: VIC MENSA]
I write for my niggas doing life with no possibility of parole
You playing Fortnite, that's how long he spent in the hole
Live from death row, free my nigga Julius Jones
I had a dream that Mumia was home
I speak freedom in song
'Cause all I see is racist faces
Where hate lives and they rape kids in cages
What kind of nation lynch Elijah McClain?
And send us to the Middle East to die for the flag?
They drive us insane to sell us medication
We demand reparations, and they tell us, "Have patience"
Instead of cash payments, we get minimum wages
They give us the Black Plague, then send us a white savior
I found faith when I lost hope
That's when Julius reminded me of a bar I wrote
Behind bars, on the yard, where they dream of the street
On death row, singing, "We Could Be Free"
We could be free, we could be free

[Outro: Peter CottonTale & Jack Red]
I know you'll be my shelter from the storm
I know you'll be my shelter from the storm
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

VIC MENSA

Vic Mensa is a rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He released his first project, the Straight Up EP at age 16 and was previously a member of the indie group Kids These Days. He also founded Chicago hip hop collective SAVEMONEY with Chance The Rapper.

Following the disbandment of Kids These Days, Mensa went solo and released INNANETAPE in 2013. The tape was met with positive reviews as critics praised Mensa’s ability to sing, rap and meld genres.

“Down On My Luck” brought Vic Mensa into the global spotlight, earning praise from established fans and new listeners alike.