[Intro: Talib Kweli] Yeah, this is a ghetto prayer Prayin' for all of those who ain't got it We gotta get it there, we gotta get it, yeah Yeah, the people starvin' for somethin' new, we starvin' for it (My tummy hurts, I couldn't eat) Mmmm, mmm, mmm (Did you have fun at school today, Trey?)
[Verse 1: Talib Kweli] My little man go to bed so hungry Get up, go to school with his nose runny, come home with his nose bloody His sister laughin', he like "What's so funny?" 'Til she drowned out by the sounds of hunger pains in his tummy Nothin' in the freezer, nothin' in the fridge Couple of 40 ounces but nothin' for the kids Little man know to eat to live but he don't wanna leave the crib The kid who punched him in his face house right down the street from his He went anyway, more scared to face his moms She'll beat him soon as she flip out, seein' his face scarred Walkin' past the dopefiends with they smoke to the place of God Hopes and dreams pourin' out the holes in they face and arms Little man in the face of harm if he don't eat He need energy so when he go to school he can compete And keep up, all he got is bodegas But hey, he only got enough for a quarter water and a Now Or Later Anyway, grandma say Jesus'll be here any day Good, cause with nothin' to eat it's gettin' hard to pray, pray Pray, pray, pray
[Hook: Talib Kweli & Sylvia James] In order to receive, then we need to give ('Bout the hungry babies?) We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give ('Bout the hungry babies?) We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live
[Post-Chorus: Talib Kweli] Listen
[Verse 2: Talib Kweli & Sylvia James] My rhymes got nutritional value I get it how I live, it's critical when the conditions allow you Do you don't trust the critics who doubt you Try to write shit about you but they can't make a living without you Go hungry, you gotta watch what the media feed ya And don't be a poisoned animal eater neither It's harder than it sound 'cause nowadays, put that swine in everything The white sugar so addictive it's pure 'caine They got pork in the toothpaste, soda in the Sunny D Jello brand gelatin is laced with the leci-tin In Africa, they starvin', over here the food hurt you Cows goin' mad and the chickens crunk with bird flu It's too ill how the food kill it's like blue steel Lies never set you free, but the truth will The truth still matter the proof is in the batter or the pudding You can tell we eatin' good, we gettin' fatter
[Hook: Talib Kweli & Sylvia James] In order to receive, then we need to give ('Bout the hungry babies?) We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give ('Bout the hungry babies?) We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live In order to receive, then we need to give We gotta feed the kids, they gotta eat to live
[Outro: Talib Kweli] Listen
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Genius Annotation2 contributors
In “Eat to Live”, Kweli raps how youth in the ghetto need food and nutrition to be healthy, and about how they usually don’t get good nutrition.
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