Back to Basics
Kanye West Lyrics

Let's take it back to basics
Let's simplify things and return to a more fundamental approach

When shit gets worse, we converse
When things start going wrong, we talk to each other to come up with a solution

How we need a new balance
We require a fresh start or change in order to move forward

Before the lines get crossed like Asics
Let's avoid misunderstandings before they become irreparable

Just look at what we got, if we don't shoot the Reeboks
We have more than enough going for ourselves, let's not ruin it

This is a beat that no flow can detox
The music is so powerful that no one can resist it

So the respect is due like my Louie back
Respect must be given just as much as it is taken

I don't wanna have to check you
I don't want to have to correct or discipline you

I'm Chi as buck-fifty's and Pelle Pelle leathers
I am from Chicago and wear expensive clothing brands

Some say my beats made the Bulls play better
Some people believe that my music improved the Chicago Bulls' performance

I say, black on black is the hate that hate made
Discrimination against one's own race is a product of historical oppression

Sara Lee with the dough, I'm talkin' 'bout the cake maid
I am successful and have plenty of money

McDonald's with the flow, served over over a billion
My music appeals to and is consumed by a massive audience

You've seen the video, words over the building
My message is clear and powerful, it's on display for everyone to see

Uh, I wish I could give you this feeling
I wish I could share my success and happiness with you

And when the Workout Plan ain't work out, man
When things don't go according to plan

Me and Common is back on the corners again
My friend Common and I are back to where we started

I open my eyes, the corner is like African tribes
I observe my surroundings and see a community that shares a similar culture and identity

The black is subsidized, the black enterprise, the passion arise
The African American community is supported, successful, and energetic

The youth fantasize, who got some cash in they eyes
The young people dream of making money and becoming successful

If youth dies, mamas askin' rationalize
If the youth perish, the mothers will demand an explanation

Tryna build a spot where ghetto bastards could rise
We are trying to create opportunities for disadvantaged people to succeed

The ghetto has been bastardized by those that capitalize
Urban areas have been degraded by those who profit from their poverty

Wonder if it's a plan that the master devised
We are questioning whether this problem was intentionally created by those in power

To bring his people to a land where the blacks are despised?
Was it part of a scheme to move people to a place where they would face discrimination?

On the corner
We are back to where we started, facing the same problems and challenges