[Talib Kweli]
I ain't out to diss nobody
But we gon' keep it real for a second
Can we keep it real for a second
Brooklyn stand up
If you doing ya grizzly I respect that
But a lot of rappers is saying things they don't mean
People see through dat
Talib Kweli

[Hook]
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna rise to the top
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna to rise to the top

[Verse 1]
This is why I'm hot, this is why I'm hot
I ain't scared to die, I ain't scared of getting' shot
I got the fear of God and from all that I been through
If you fuck with the family then I gotta put it in you
Pause, now continue, I love the competition
I ain't got no issue with the battles or dissin'
But I keep it straight with you, we shootin' from the hip
I can't stand these rappers that just shootin' off they lip
Every rapper is a clapper, your producer is a shooter
Engineer gotta nine, label boss gotta ruger
Yeah, right, we ain't stupid
We don't believe these losers
Got a Mac in the booth
Tell the truth, it's a computer
So let me guess you make it that impression
I seen you on MySpace, you just wanna be friends
So let's not pretend, I respected ya block
Until I put it all together, now let's connect the dots
[Hook]
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna rise to the top
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna rise to the top

[Verse 2]
Ok, you say you rap
You know how I can tell you whack
It's 2007 and you still sellin' crack
Back in 1986 when we was shootin' over sneakers
Crack was king but now they slangin' and it's drastically cheaper
It ain't a real demand there ain't no short supply
Just the same old crackheads getting twice as high
These n***as like to lie on how they kill on corners
They still corny, they don't know what the real New York is
Faster than a rose in crime inner city drop
It wasn't because the mayor added forty thousand cops
You on the corner like "Wow, my style is pretty hot"
But my style mile is equal to 20 city blocks
Most say New York is soft, it's softer with the beef shit
N***as can't separate the music from the street shit
Man that's some weak shit, them n***as never classic
Remember, bastards, Talib Kweli forever Blacksmith
[Hook]
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna rise to the top
N***as lie a lot, n***as lie a lot
N***as lie, n***as lie, n***as lie a lot
I know you think you nice
You just nice on ya block
With these crabs in the barrel
Tryna rise to the top

[Outro - spoken]
Say if you do what you do, do what you do
Do it the best; word is bond
Sex, drugs and murder, right? It's entertainment
It's very entertaining, you know what I'm sayin'?
But if you just listenin' - if you a fan, a spectator, a tourist
And you just takin' a tour through this world
Don't rep it like you really doin' it, because it could come back to haunt you, y'know?
N***as lie a lot, man
Do not believe a word these n***as is sayin'
They are just cariacatures in the cells
It's not really real, it's just television, it's two-dimension
Talib Kweli, Blacksmith is the revolution
We are three-motherfuckin'-D
Yeah