Give The People - EPMD

Chorus: *sung hook from an R&B record* 
Got to give the people 
Give the people what they want 
Ladies and Gentlemen 
(repeat 2X) 
Verse One: Erick Sermon 
When I came out with my first rap jam 
I had no idea that the record would slam 
It did real good without radio play 
Maybe at night but no airplay in the day 
I couldn't understand why to be exact 
Our music was good and I was far from wack 
Then came the answer, commercial was the key 
To get airplay and a spot on TV 
Like Ed Lover and Doctor Dre from Yo! MTV Raps 
A show, mainly for the black 
And still we can't ill, cause to them that's wrong 
Cause like P.E. said, we're too black and too strong 
But hey, what can I say 
(Brothers and sisters) that's a price a rapper must pay 
Chorus 
Verse Two: PMD 
As airwaves collapse rap shows at a standstill 
Some racial circuits the frequencies can't handle 
The funk tracks produced by EPMD 
But it's a fat jam, that will never win a grammy 
Unless we sellout and kill the black movement dead 
Which means swallow our pride and become flunkies instead 
And stop the rap about freedom, thoughts of a black president 
And rap about a black crack, the mayor in our residence 
Give me a break brothers, it's time to take a stand 
And kill that no sir, yes sir, and thank you ma'am 
Cuz the word is a luxury a black man can't afford 
That's why poverty's on the rise and we still ignored 
And it's a setback and yet the clock still ticks 
And if we let it, rap would be run by politics 
I read it somewhere that every man's created equal 
But not in this day and age, maybe in the sequel 
Which means next time, so observe these rhymes 
And take a stand and go for yours cause I'm going for mine 
That's why I 
Chorus 
Verse Three: Erick Sermon, PMD 
Why is that when wrong is done by the black 
It's blown out of proportion and immediately attacked 
By the press and yes, conflict is caused 
By the kids at concerts who bumrush the doors 
One child gets hurt, the press gets pesty 
But what about the Beatles, G, and Elvis Presley 
Same stuff was rough, rap does not cause violence 
So (Fight the Power) and make them understand 
But too much power and you might get banned 
So if you want airplay 
You can't be too black and hey, watch what you say, but ayo 
Chorus: to fade