Chrisette Michele

Featuring: Talib Kweli Black Thought

[Intro: Chrisette Michele]
Oh American citizen
Come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
Oh American citizen
Come collect your freedom
No matter what you're living in
It's time to win

[Verse 1: Chrisette Michele]
Keep us in the four walls of our churches
We'll be quiet
Most of us ain't even Democratic or Republican
And by coincidence, we love the elected
Until they're detected
Of being human
America falls
Minorities lose war
But if we united, we would've won the war
On poverty, war on drugs
War on Medicaid, war on love

Freedom isn't given; it is taken
Freedom isn't free; it's earned
I know it's learned
Been hung and burned
Yet rest in peace
Resurrect it please

This ain't black or white; it's gray
This is not about my faith
Most of us don't know what to say
Right from wrong or free from slaves

[Hook: Chrisette Michele]
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free
Or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free
Or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
America the beautiful
Suspect as usual
Liberty and death
Give me freedom or my funeral
I walk across the planet with the steps of a giant
My rhymes bridge the gap between religion and science
Cause my evidence is spiritual
I know my sheer presence is a miracle
I wasn't supposed to be here to share with you
But here I am
Standing with my chest out
I take my place in history
I never get left out
You stressed out
And scared so it's causing you to act hard
Freedom ain't free, gotta put it on my black card
My passport claim I'm an American citizen
The constitution said I'm three-fifths
I'm not a semi and gorilla
Pack my song stronger than the Horn of Gideon
Truth is the Norse gave the native people syphilis
Consider this: Christopher Columbus ain't know where he was going
So let's stop calling our native brothers Indians

[Hook: Chrisette Michele]
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
We were carried here in shackles from the homeland
Broom-chopped, chain-locked, brainwashed, programmed
Time's changed, freedom reigns, I'm a grown man
Holding the future in the palms of my own hands
In this world the coonery and tomfoolery
All I'm trying to do is stay true to my community
The daily news ain't the only thing that's schooling me
Watching these haters operating with impunity
It's dirty dollar signs
Black and white collar crimes
Running out of time
Out of sight, out of mind
It gets realer in Israel, in Palestine
Troubles of the world start to seem intertwined
War criminals, conflict minerals
Pillagers are coming home
Five-star generals
Telling lies in press conferences and interviews
I'm trying to take back the power
Cause it's been abused

[Hook: Chrisette Michele]
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free
Let freedom reign
Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead?
I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free

[Outro: Chrisette Michele]
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than what we've been, what we've been
I'm just black in America
I'm not Afro-American
Just a passive American
Making believe I'm better than what we've been, what we've been

While most recognized for her featured artist contributions, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Chrisette Michele has produced a #1 album and numerous Billboard-charting records to her own credit. Born Chrisette Michele Payne on December 8, 1982 in Central Islip, New York, she grew up in a church-heavy household in Patchogue, New York, and her life as a performer began early as she sang with the choir of her parents' church congregation. After a high school teacher gave her a CD to Astrud Gilberto’s “The Girl From Ipanema”, her first exposure to secular music, she enrolled vocal performance programs at Five Towns College, where she would study Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, and Frank Sinatra as models for her career prior to her graduation.

At the same time, Chrisette began showcasing within small-scale New York City venues, including at the Village Underground club in 2006, where she was discovered separately by India.Arie, who offered her an opening act role on the Testimony Tour, Vol. 1, and by representatives of Island Def Jam Records, where she would eventually sign under the direction of L.A. Reid. By the next year she had scored featured artists credits on records alongside Jay-Z, Nas, and Kanye West and her debut album, I Am, was released with strong success. Most of her first effort consisted of music Chrisette had begun recording or writing prior to signing to Def Jam; with assistance from John Legend, Salaam Remi, and Babyface, the album earned a Gold certification, topped at #5 in the R&B/Hip Hop chart, and a Top 30 spot in the Billboard 200. Her Grammy came from the song “Be Ok”, featuring Will.I.Am, for ‘Best Urban/Alternative Performance’ in 2009.

After opening up for Kem and Angie Stone on their tours, Chrisette co-headlined The Art of Love Tour with Raheem DeVaughn and opening artist Solange Knowles in 2008. She took on more features and songwriting gigs with The Roots, Ghostface Killah, The Game, and Wale, solidifying her growing hip hop fan base in time for her second album, Epiphany on May 5, 2009, which is still her best-selling album to date. It debuted at #1 with 83,000 first-week sales, knocking over Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life from the top of the Billboard chart. With major production or assistance from Ne-Yo and Darkchild, the singles “Epiphany” and “Blame It On Me” took over urban radio and made her one of Def Jam’s top artists. In 2010, as she completed her first solo headlining tour, The Epiphany Tour, she was featured on the Rick Ross hit “Aston Martin Music” with fellow singer-songwriter Drake, another Top 30 release and her best-selling feature to date. Her next album, Let Freedom Reign came out on November 30 of that same year and was Chrisette’s third consecutive Top 30 Overall/Top 10 R&B/Hip Hop Billboard album.

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