The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows, they propel it,
Let these words be your earth and moon,
You consume every message.
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression,
And with that bein' said, my nigga, let me ask this question,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, one-two, one-two…
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows, they propel it,
Let these words be your earth and moon,
You consume every message.
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression,
And with that bein' said, my nigga, let me ask this question,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
Do you believe in me? Are you deceivin' me?
Could I let you down easily? Is your heart where it need to be?
Is your smile on permanent? Is your vow on lifetime?
Would you know where the sermon is if I died in this next line?
If I'm tried in a court of law, if the industry cut me off,
If the government want me dead, plant cocaine in my car,
Would you judge me a drughead or see me as K. Lamar?
Or question my character and degrade me on every blog?
Want you to love me like Nelson, want you to hug me like Nelson,
I freed you from bein' a slave in your mind, you very welcome.
You tell me my song is more than a song, it's surely a blessing,
But a prophet ain't a prophet ‘til they ask you this question
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows, they propel it,
Let my words be your earth and moon,
You consume every message.
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression,
And with that…
Do you believe in me? How much you believe in her?
You think she gon' stick around if them twenty-five years occur?
You think he can hold you down when you down behind bars hurt?
You think y'all on common ground if you promise to be the first?
Can you be immortalized without your life bein' expired?
Even though ya share the same blood, is it worth the time?
Like who got your best interest?
Like how much are you dependent?
How clutch are the people that say they love you and who pretendin'?
How tough is your skin when they turn you in?
Do you show forgiveness?
What brush do you bend when dustin' your shoulders from bein' offended?
What kind of den did they put you in when the lions start hissin'?
What kind of bridge did they burn?
Revenge or your mind when it's mentioned?
You wanna love like Nelson, you wanna be like Nelson,
You wanna walk in his shoes but you peacemaking seldom.
You wanna be remembered that delivered the message
That considered the blessing of everyone,
This your lesson for everyone, say,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends,
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
The voice of Mandela, hope this flow stay propellin',
Let my word be your earth and moon,
You consume every message.
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression,
And if you ridin' with me, nigga…
I been wrote off before, I got abandonment issues,
I hold grudges like bad judges, don't let me resent you.
That's not Nelson-like, want you to love me like Nelson,
I went to Robben Island analysin', that's where his cell is,
So I could find clarity, like how much you cherish me?
Is this relationship a fake or real as the heavens be?
See I got to question it all, family, friends, fans, cats, dogs,
Trees, plants, grass, how the wind blow,
Murphy's Law, generation X, will I ever be your ex?
Floss off a baby step, mauled by the mouth of
Pit bulls, put me under stress,
Crawled under rocks, duckin' y'all, it's respect,
But then tomorrow put my back against the wall.
How many leaders you said you needed, then left ‘em for dead?
Is it Moses? Is it Huey Newton or Detroit Red?
Is it Martin Luther, JFK? Shoot or you assassin?
Is it Jackie, is it Jesse? Oh, I know, it's Michael Jackson, oh!
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
That nigga gave us Billie Jean, you say he touched those kids?
When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?
The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows, they propel it,
Let my word be your earth and moon,
You consume every message.
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression,
And if you ridin' with me, nigga, let me ask this question, nigga!
I remember you was conflicted
I remembered you was conflicted,
Misusing your influence, sometimes I did the same.
Abusing my power full of resentment,
Resentment that turned into a deep depression.
Found myself screamin' in the hotel room,
I didn't wanna self destruct.
The evils of Lucy was all around me,
So I went runnin' for answers
Until I came home,
But that didn't stop survivor's guilt.
Goin' back and forth tryna convince myself the stripes I earned,
Or maybe how A1 my foundation was.
But while my loved ones was fightin' the continuous war back in the city, I was enterin' a new one.
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination,
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned.
The word was respect.
Just because you wore a different gang color than mine's
Doesn't mean I can't respect you as a black man.
Forgettin' all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets,
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killin' us,
But I don't know, I'm no mortal man, maybe I'm just another nigga…