She's My Hero - Talib Kweli

We do it for the babies

They say falling in love the definition of going crazy

The knowledge that makes us just cherish innocence makes it impossible

He heading for the graves, drivin' right past the hospital

There be glass in the hallway, bloodstained floors

(Yeah) Woo!

Move, motherfucker

I like that one (go in!)

They say karma is a bitch and when you take a life, you pay the price

But if your way of life ain’t been threatened and you safe at night

How you out here judgin' thinkin' you givin' people great advice

When those who should protect you disrespect you?

You can’t take it light

Bresha Meadows, resemble my baby girl

14 years old taking a place in this crazy world

Her and her brothers lived in fear of their father’s rage

He beat their mother so often, she prayed for the day she could be far away

Father’s Day, an awkward occasion would daddy fall from grace

Embrace the alcohol, call mommy a whore, put her back in her place

With black eyes, broken ribs, slashin' her weight

No speculation, just the facts of the case

Stated, allegedly wavin' a gun in her face

After all that he came back, and was great, right, right?

Tired of hearin' mommy scream «Put the gun away»

She knew that when she got the courage she would run away

But what about her brothers?

She couldn’t leave her mother

They told the cops but all that did was make him treat 'em rougher

So what was she to do?

She did what she was told to do

Exposure to violence increased the amount of violence that you open to

Why bother when the system support her father?

Gradually her thoughts got darker

Do you kill yourself or kill the monster that’s making you suicidal?

Decision’s too heavy for the mind of a child

There’ll be glass in the hallway, bloodstained floors

(Yeah) Woo!

Move, motherfucker

Yeah, I like that one (go in!)

Let’s go

They say karma is a bitch and when you take a life, you pay the price

We shootin' in these moments to confuse your violence with a way of life

The funnel us from schools to the prisons, it’s like they made a pipe

The conclusion that we reach is that the solution is that we take the fight

To you, Bresha Meadows, took matters in her own hands

14 years old with more courage than a grown man

Grabbed the gun that he threatened to whip

Crept in the bedroom, put the bullet in his brain while he slept

It left his daughter with post-traumatic stress disorder

She the phoenix out the flames, it’s metamorphosis

Survivin' in the Meadows house was kinda like a war

He threatened to kill her mother and her brothers many times before

The justice system is profit, they shuffle us to prison

But shit is just as toxic for women to get a judge to listen

At first the family freaked out but deep down they felt relief

«Wipe the tears from your cheek, mama, you free now»

Family wearin' purple in the court room

Prosecution lookin' at the feds like make your move

Chance of beatin' this murder feel like zero

Her mama doin' interviews like «She's my hero»

She shed no tears for her husband

Years to succumbin' to her fears have made her numb

From video games to war as we solve our problems with violence

It’s how we speak, they either want your death or your silence