The sound
This is the sound x 4
You are the sound
I am the sound
We are the sound
This is the sound

This is the sound of a drum beating
a DJ spinning
a new beginning
the third eye blinking
This is the sound of the crowds chanting
and the sound of a poet ranting
This is the sound of a heart broken
and the sound of the words that go unspoken
This is the sound of a ghetto kid dyin
and sound of his sad mamma cryin
This is the sound of revolution at all costs
and the sound of all the years lost
This is the sound of activism
and the sound of individualism
This is the sound that leads the way
and the sound of today
This is the sound of a better tomorrow
and the sound of learning to change and grow
This is the sound of how we get down
and the sound of the tree that falls when no one is around
This is the sound, yeah this is the sound

Somehow I knew the words to a song I’d never heard
The speakers ring out loud the words we inherit from our ancestors
Although we create our own dialect and slang it into the mic
We are really cyphering stories passed on through generations
We make it fresh, insert our own beats
We express our experiences
We update the past
We live for the sound, and the sound lives for us
We are the sound
This is the sound


This is the sound of the 5 star collective
and the sound of the new massive
This is the sound of the next movement
and the sound of struggling to pay rent
This is the sound of the empire when it falls
and the sound of the mic checks, the yes, yes, ya’lls
This is the sound of the war time bomb drops
and the sound of the racist cops
This is the sound of paying back student loans
and the sound blasting on your headphones
This is the sound of the revolution televised
and the sound of getting the masses organized
This is the sound of finding your roots
and the sound of defining your own truth
This is the sound of all the bad times
and the sound of all the good times
This is the sound for all my sisters and brothers
the sound for all of those who consider themselves the others
This is the sound of change
and the sound of thoughts that rearrange
This is the sound of the government laughing
This is the sound of one hand clapping


You are the sound.
I am the sound.
We are the sound.
This is the sound.