The Crown Lyrics - Singles - Gary Byrd

People of the world wherever you be 

welcome to Cosmic YOUniversity. 

Where life is the journey and love is the trip 

And the study of them will make you hip. 

I'm professor of the rap and when I speak 

I guarantee that my lines will not be weak. 

They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. 

That's why I'm here and on the case. 

Rapping up every mind with a special degree 

In socio-psycholo-G.B.E. 

The Gary Byrd Experience is my course. 

When you take my class you will feel the force. 

'Cause I know the roots that the rap is from. 

When I speak to you I am not dumb. 

Hear my rap and begin to dance 

and I promise you this: you will advance. 

You may have seen the Raiders of the Lost Ark 

But you still left the theatre in the dark. 

So clap your hands to the beat as the Wondersound 

And the G.B.E. shine on the crown. 

You wear the crown, I wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

The crown. 

I said once upon a time in Alkebu 

Lived the kings and queens who looked like you. 

It was a land of sun with a golden shine, 

A place that once was yours and mine. 

Home of a many great dynasties 

Who created science and astronomy. 

Where the Romans came to study math 

And the Greeks found out about the path. 

In case you wonder what else they did 

The Alkebulans created the pyramids. 

And before Napoleon could even blink 

In Alkebu there stood a giant sphinx. 

Some say they came from outer space 

But they are a part of the human race. 

If you know the place where they can be found 

You may be the one who can wear the crown. 

You wear the crown, I wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

The crown. 

I wear the crown, you wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

Get down! 

We wear the crown - we wear the crown. 

Not the greatest dancer with the baddest shoe, 

Not the slickest rapper that you ever knew 

Have worn the crown though they wanted to 

And they'll want to until they die. 

Not a man of science with a PHD., 

Not a lady of law master's degree 

Will wear the crown unless they can see 

A unique reality. 

You see, when you say you wear the crown 

You make sure you know it is profound. 

In case it sounds like a mystery 

I'm talking about our story. 

It can make Agamemnon nodd to you, 

It can make Neffertiti beckon you. 

With the crown you will begin to glow 

When its secret you begin to know. 

Next time you feel like you're in a rut 

Go see the mighty kingdom of King Tut. 

It will blow your mind, no doubt, it's true 

'Cause, guess what, King Tut looks just like you. 

You were Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile. 

The sun would wink when it saw your smile. 

You were the Hannibal of the history book 

And the earth would tremble at your very look. 

You were the builders of the pyramids, 

You were the face upon the sphinx. 

You rode on the Nile in grace and style. 

Look at yourself today and think. 

See the hieroglyphics upon the wall 

Like the dancers on the floor they will not fall. 

If you take one look it will astound 

And then you will see who wears the crown. 

You wear the crown, I wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

The crown. 

I wear the crown, you wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

Get down! [repeat] 

I do recall so very well, when I was just a little boy. 

I used to hurry home from school, I used to always feel so blue 

Because there was no mention in the books we read about my heritage. 

So therefore any information that I got was education. 

Bums hobos at depot stations I would listen with much patience 

Or to relatives who told the tales that they were told to pass ahead. 

But then one day from someone old I heard a story never told 

Of all the kingdoms of my people and then how we fought for freedom. 

All about the many things we have unto the world contributed. 

You wear the crown. 

We wear the crown - we wear the crown. 

It's not Star Wars, it's not Superman, 

It's not the story of the Ku-Klux-Klan. 

The crown will appear in the G.B.E. 

But it's never seen on your TV. 

It's in black and white in your gold mind, 

A picture so old it defies time. 

Alex Haley drew it in his book 

It's what Kunta kept in his other foot. 

Ghana Songhay and old Mali, 

They are the roots of your own family tree. 

Kingdom so vast and knowledge wise 

They removed cataracts from human eyes. 

And yet today some refuse to see 

and live in fear of their discovery. 

Now in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two 

Columbus sailed the ocean - true. 

But years before in Alkebu 

A ship set sail with a chocolate crew. 

2000 years before Columbo came 

The Olmecs built tributes to their fame. 

Stone heads with faces eight feet high 

that the Hulk could not lift to his thigh. 

Though the facts historians avoid 

First to arrive was the Africoid. 

It may shock the House and Shockley too 

And if you're not prepared it may shock you. 

While some had doubts that the world was round 

In America guess who wore the crown. 

You wear the crown, I wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

Get down! 

When you wear the crown you will not need 

to smoke, to coke, to dust, or speed. 

With the crown you can become the high 

And you will make it if you try. 

But don't you ever forget what it will take! 

To wear the crown you cannot fake. 

If you're gonna lead you gotta be a king 

And give the world your everything. 

Or be a man like Malcolm X 

And demand for all the very best. 

Or conduct a railroad like Harriet. 

We all owe her a lifetime debt. 

If you're gonna fight, don't do it free, 

make 'em pay to see just like Ali. 

Or sing like Ella and make them guess 

Is it you or is it Memorex? 

If you play a sport, become number one 

like Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson. 

Make Dr. J. your shining star 

Shoot with magic, dunk with Jabbar. 

Or if you can write then write some books 

like Langston Hughes or our Ms. Brooks. 

If you think you're smart, don't deceive us, 

Be an Imhotep, be a genius. 

And don't let anybody confuse the fact. 

You don't wear the crown just because you're black. 

Everybody in the world has a crown in place 

That becomes their culture and their face. 

And so it is, we will not deny 

Our history or buy the lie. 

We have no claim to be renowned 

When we were first to wear the crown. 

You wear the crown, I wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

The crown. 

I wear the crown, you wear the crown. 

So proud to say that we all wear the crown, 

Get down! [repeat to fade]