People Everyday Lyrics

[Verse 1: Speech]
See I was restin' at the park mindin' my own
Business as I kick up the treble tone
On my radio tape player box, right
Just loud enough so folks could hear it's hype, see?
Outta nowhere comes the woman I'm datin'
Investigation maybe she was demonstratin'
But nevertheless I was pleased
My day was goin' great and my soul was at ease
Until a group of brothers started buggin' out
Drinkin' the 40 oz, goin' the nigga route
Disrespectin' my black queen
Holdin' their crotches and bein' obscene
At first I ignored them 'cause see I know their type
They got drunk and got guns and they wanna fight
And they see a young couple having a time that's good
And their egos wanna test a brother's manhood
So they came to test Speech 'cause of my hair-do
And the loud bright colors that I wear (Boom!)
I was a target 'cause I'm a fashion misfit
And the outfit that I'm wearin' brothers dissin' it

Well I stay calm and pray the niggas leave me be
But they're squeezin' parts of my date's anatomy
Why, Lord, do brothers have to drill me?
'Cause if I start to hit this man he'll have to kill me, see

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About

Genius Annotation

“People Everyday” was Arrested Development’s second single, following their debut international smash hit “Tennessee.” It is based heavily on the music and lyrics of “Everyday People” – a chart-topping 1969 song by Sly & The Family Stone.

A remix of it reached the top 10 in six countries including a #2 peak in the UK and #8 in the US. It was nominated for a Grammy in 1992 and won Best Rap Video at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards.

Todd “Speech” Thomas was inspired to write the song based on his experiences of having different views on black culture than those in his neighborhood:

…they understood they were black, but for them black was jheri-curls, it was pimping … I’d come to understand that black culture had a lot more to do with Africa, and it was different hairstyles that we could express ourselves with, like dreadlocks and braids. So I would dress like that, and a lot of the people around me in Milwaukee would sort of mock it.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Arrested Development say about "People Everyday"?
Genius Answer

Todd “Speech” Thomas was inspired to write the song based on his experiences of having different views on black culture than those in his neighborhood:

…they understood they were black, but for them black was jheri-curls, it was pimping, and that’s what they thought black culture was mainly about. For me having experienced more in Atlanta and having traveled a little bit more, I’d come to understand that black culture had a lot more to do with Africa, and it was different hairstyles that we could express ourselves with, like dreadlocks and braids. So I would dress like that, and a lot of the people around me in Milwaukee would sort of mock it. And so the song was really just talking about this tension between one concept of culture and another concept of culture.

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