It ain't nothin' but an us thang And it's time for us to step it up and respect That level of sisterhood That's been holding up our neighborhood And if it wasn't for our mothers, there would be no brothers And if it wasn't for our sisters, there would be no misters So it ain't nothin' but a us thang She's strong and that's a fact Now it's time for us to take up the slack Step it up, step it up, time to go to work History hidden from me To hide my identity So I'd never feel I am somebody You've gouged my eyes I see more clearly You've tried to rob My humanity My spirit you tried to break My soul you tried to take There's no need to be afraid 'Cause I won't do unto you now Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen It's time to know the truth Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Time to step it up, step it up, better check yourself I get vexed to protect what we got left (No, no) because of my gender (No) I've heard no too many times Because of my race I've heard no too many times (No, no) But with every no I grow in strength, that is why African-American woman I stand tall with pride You want to know what it takes To rid yourself of me now There's nothing you can do Accept me for who I am now Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Check it out, check it out, gotta check it out It's a new thang, check it out, come on with it now Time to step it up, come on (hey), step it up Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen It's time to know the truth Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Step it up, step it up, it's time to step it up Step it up, check it out, come on Time to step it up, step it up, better check yourself I get vexed to protect what we got left Alone, lookin' for your own, here it is I know what they're sayin', but the plan ain't playin' at the rank Gotta step with us, us to discuss, a must It ain't nothin' but an us thang Rewind back to the time Where the color of a mother had 'em call it a crime, brother What in the world and the world says where is The Black man's support of the woman and children? Time to step it up, step it up, it's playoff time And the rhyme go to check, so check yourself Amen (time to step it up, step it up) A new agenda's due (here we go) Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen It's time to know the truth Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen It's time to know the truth Our time has come to rejoice A new agenda's due Amen All that we've been through Our time has come to rejoice