How I Got Over by The Roots feat. Dice Raw Lyrics Meaning – Dissecting a Testament to Resilience
Lyrics
Uh, uh-huh
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere
Someone has to care
How I got over where the people come apart
Don’t nobody care about you; only thing you got is God
Out here in these streets if you get down on your luck
You can stand out with a hand out, but nobody give a fuck
Out here in these streets every man is for himself
They ain’t helpin’ no one else; it’s a hazard to your health
Livin’ life in these cold streets
Hey, who’s worryin’ ’bout you, babe
When you whylin’ out, runnin’ ’round in these streets?
Out in the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere (how I got over)
Someone has to care
Yo, when you on the corner, it’s too much drama
Livin’ with the police right behind ya
It’s always more than a slight reminder
We livin’ in a war zone like Rwanda
Before I go back to the Heavenly Father
Pray for me if it ain’t too much bother
Whatever don’t break me or make me stronger
I feel like I can’t take too much longer
It’s too much lyin’ and too much flyin’
I’m all cried out ’cause I grew up cryin’
They all got a sales pitch I ain’t buyin’
They tryin’ to convince me that I ain’t tryin’
We uninspired, we un-admired
And tired and sick of being sick and tired
Of livin’ in the hood where the shots are fired
We dyin’ to live, so to live we dyin’
You just like I am
Out on the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere (somebody, somewhere)
Someone has to care
Somebody’s gotta care
And I swear it isn’t fair
In suspended animation, we ain’t tryin’ to go nowhere
Out here in these streets
We’re so young and all alone
We ain’t even old enough to realize we’re on our own
Livin’ life in these hard streets
Where it’s like they lost they mind
Is there anyway to find
Are we runnin’ out of time out here?
Listen
Hey, who’s worryin’ ’bout you, babe
When you whylin’ out, runnin’ ’round in these streets?
Out on the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere (somebody, somewhere)
Someone has to care
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere
Someone has to care
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere
Someone has to care
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can’t get you nowhere
Someone has to care
The Roots, a tour de force in the landscape of hip-hop, dial up their social commentary in the profound track ‘How I Got Over,’ featuring Dice Raw. As much a chronicling of strife as it is an anthem of perseverance, the song weaves a tale of urban survival amid a backdrop of systemic indifference.
The track is not merely a narrative but an exploration of the human condition – a reflection on the resilience that is born from adversity. Let’s embark on a lyrical journey to decode the potent messages and profound lyricism that make ‘How I Got Over’ a modern-day psalm of the streets.
The Unforgiving Streets: A Canvas for Urban Survival
The Roots and Dice Raw paint a vivid picture of the streets as a turbulent educator, instilling a hardened philosophy from a young age: not to care. This apathy, however, is depicted as a survival mechanism – a shield from the onslaught of life’s brutal lessons in an environment where vulnerability equates to defeat.
Against the canvas of the unforgiving streets, the song suggests that survival comes at the cost of emotional desensitization – a theme that reverberates through every stanza, questioning the sustainability of such existence.
Divine Intervention in Human Desolation
Amidst metaphors of desolation and defeat, the song hints at a transcendent hope – a reliance on the divine. The Roots evoke the idea that in the heart of abandonment, there still lies a spiritual buoyancy that carries the weary through trials and tribulations.
This intimate connection with a higher power is portrayed as the ultimate safety net and the solace that spurs the downtrodden to ‘get over’ the crushing weight of their earthly woes.
A Chorus of Defiance: Echoes of an Unyielding Spirit
The eponymous chorus, ‘How I Got Over,’ resounds as a meditative refrain, encapsulating the spirit of defiance against odds designed to oppress. This repetition serves as a mantra for empowerment, a declarative statement that despite the darkness, the human spirit can rise.
What makes this chorus compelling is its universality. It’s an acknowledgement of struggle that transcends the personal anecdote – allowing listeners to graft their own narratives onto the framework that The Roots have masterfully constructed.
The Hidden Meaning: A Manifesto of Empathy
While ‘How I Got Over’ is shrouded in themes of individualism and self-reliance, it subtly unveils itself as a rallying cry for empathy. The continual plea, ‘Someone has to care,’ is more than a whisper in the dark; it’s a demand for communal solidarity, insinuating that overcoming is not a solitary journey but one that requires a collective will to lift each other.
The song therefore does not only emphasize survival but stands as an implicit manifesto that calls for a societal shift towards empathy – a testament to the potential power of human connection amid widespread nihilism.
Memorable Lines: A Cry in the Wilderness
Among the myriad of poignant verses, Dice Raw delivers lines that resonate with the sting of reality: ‘We uninspired, we un-admired / And tired and sick of being sick and tired.’ This reflection of disenchantment is a striking nod to the exhaustion of living within a cycle of systemic stagnation.
Another hauntingly memorable line ‘We dyin’ to live, so to live we dyin” captures the paradox of existence in strife-ridden landscapes. These lines are a profound commentary on the cost of endurance and bring to light the peculiar irony of fighting to live in a reality that inches so close to metaphorical and literal death.
