you can't put me in your little box
get a grip
I'm not a contortionist
I wouldn't fit

I don't follow the guidelines
that guide you to be godless
don't give a fuck about your justice
just me being honest

repurcussions, I'm accustomed
I'm used to it now
in this soap opera world
we do what pleases the crowd

what pleases me
is seein' people actin' civil
but here the way to grow
is just to crush the little

took kunta kinte
gave him a slave name
now motherfuckers wanna do me the same way
maybe you'll see me
but I'm wonderin'
don't know my name
but you know what my number is

break me, break me
and I'm up again
break me, break me
and I run again

take me, make me
what you've given me
double oh five
seven four six
triple three

to cash your checks
they gotta check your identity
but gov'ment papers ain't my I.D.
the banks are whips
in the new plantation
database scans
are the chains on the nation

it's just a number
and numbers don't matter
it's fatter
they climbin' that ladder
to get to corporate success
but y'all are just wet behind the ears
y'all are just a bunch of years
away from your death

and I don't give a fuck what's left
you've earned it
but you didn't earn shit
get ready to die
'cuz this ain't a ride
this is life
and y'all about to fall by the wayside
right!

took kunta kinte
gave him a slave name
now motherfuckers wanna do me the same way
maybe you'll see me
but I'm wonderin'
don't know my name
but you know what my number is

break me, break me
and I'm up again
break me, break me
and I run again

take me, make me
what you've given me
double oh five
seven four six
triple three

you all sold your soul
but I won't sell mine, no
[can't take me, cannot take me]
you all sold your soul
you all sold your soul, nah!
[can't take me, cannot take me]

took kunta kinte
gave him a slave name
now motherfuckers wanna do me the same way
maybe you'll see me
but I'm wonderin'
don't know my name
but you know what my number is

break me, break me
and I'm up again
break me, break me
and I run again

take me, make me
what you've given me
double oh five
seven four six
triple three