Against the canvas of the night
Appears a curious celestial phenomena
Called the Black Star but what is it?

What is the Black Star?
Is it the cat with the black shades, the black car?
Is it shinin' from very far to where you are?
It [bad word] place an' different, intimate an' distant
Fresher than an infant

Black, my family thick like they're striped molasses
Star on the rise in the eyes of the masses
Black is the color of my [bad word] love's hair
Star's are bright, shinin', hot balls of air

Black like my baby girl's stare
Black like the veil that the muslimina wear
Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared?
Black like the slave ship that later brought us here

Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears
That leave black faces well traveled with years
Black like assassin' cross hairs
Blacker than my granddaddy armchair
He never really got no time to chill there
'Cause this life is warfare, warfare

Deep on the front lines to black is all there
Black like the perception of who on welfare
Black like faces at the bottom of the well
I've been there before
To bring the light and heat it up like 'La Cocina'

Make without imagine happen but maybe I'm just a dreamer
I love rockin' tracks like John Coltrane love Naema
Like the student love the teacher
Like the Prophet love Khadeja
Like I love my baby features
Like the Creator love all creatures

Who acknowledge [bad word] an' peace seekers
We on point like heat seekers
Targettin' the black marketin' [bad word] up on 'em with the heaters
Everybody followin' with no leaders
Feelin' like we killin' ourselves
Because I know they can't defeat us

It don't stop 'til [bad word] this, keep this fly
There's so much to life when you just stay Black an' God
Blacker than the night time sky of Bedstuy in July
Blacker than the seed in the blackberry pie

Blacker than the middle of my eye
Black like fellah man cry
Some man wan' ask who am I
I simply reply, "The U N I V R S L Magnetic"

Work to respect the angelic, climb the mountaintop
An' tell it 'til the valley's enveloped
You're full of big chat but you now know me
I'm dark like the side of the moon you don't see
When the moon shine newly

You know who else is a Black Star? Who? Me
You know who else is a Black Star? Who? Me
You know who else is a Black Star? Who? We
An' we be shinin' an' shinin', when we rhymin' an' rhymin'
We be shinin' an' shinin', when we rhymin' an' rhymin'

Now, everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th light is gonna shine bright tonight
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension

You know the light go from the dark
The other way is [bad word] backwards
It's absurd, make you wanna crow like a blackbird
That's right, you livin' from your first day to your last night
Sometimes you show your [bad word] like lint on your clothes

When you froze in the black light
Dead that before you get your head wrapped
Like Badu, we see through your voodoo
Just like Eve's Bayou, you dealin' with that black magic

Try to civilize you, not walk on by you
Like civil lies do get you black listed
It'll be unlucky for you like a black cat, a panther
Revolution is the answer, that's what we need
Greed plague my people like the cancer, [bad word] indeed

Now, black people unite, let's all get down
Now, everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th light is gonna shine bright tonight

Everybody hop on the one, the sounds of