You tried keeping it real, but you should try keeping it right.

Posdnuos, “The Bizness,” from De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, 1996. More from De La…

I’m livin’ in times where my daughters are found around
Kids who can’t afford thinking caps…
But always found drinkin’ raps and eatin’ off beats,
Claimin’ laws of the streets. But who made the laws?
Everybody playin’ rebel with no sign of a cause.

Posdnuos, “Held Down,” from De La Soul’s AOI: Bionix, 2001. More from De La Soul…

Though the meek shall inherit the earth, but don’t forget:
The poor are the ones who inherit the debt.

Posdnuos, “The Grind Date,” from De La Soul’s The Grind Date, 2004

Friends: how many have ‘em?
How long before they split like atoms?
Don’t ask me, but what I do stand behind
Is someone havin’ your back seems hard to find.

Posdnous, “The Book of Life,” from De La Soul’s Plug 1 and Plug 2, First Serve, 2012

Y’all really think Ms. Shakur, or Ms. Wallace,
Or Ms. Mizell from out in Hollis
Wouldn’t exchange the love and fame
Attached to their loved ones’ names
Just to have ‘em still alive in their arms?

Posdnuos, “Rewind DJ, ” from Eslam Jawaad’s The Mammoth Tusk, 2009