Ok, I was only going to post a short verse of this song bit I might as well post the whole thing. Seriously good writing here.
Slight bit of profanity here.
Akala - Find no Enemy
"Apparently
I'm second generation, black Caribbean and half-white Scottish
Whatever that means.
See lately I feel confused with the boxes,
'Cause to me all they do is breed conflict,
It's not that I've lost touch with reality of racism, sexism and nationality,
Just to me it all seems like insanity,
Why must I rob you of your humanity
To feel good about mine.
It's all about crime, dehumanizing is how I justify 'em,
So I must keep on lying about the history of Africa,
So I can live the with massacres
And repeat my mantra: Muslim, terrorist,
So I can sleep at night as bombs*take*flight,
Eyes open wide but I'm blind to the sight
Too busy chasing the perfect life.
And the working class keep them uneducated
Truly educated man could never be a racist,
To educate is to draw out what is within
Are we not all the same under the skin?
I got a heart like yours that pumps blood and oxygen
And insecurities, a whole lot of ‘em,
I'm scared like you deep down,
I really do care that the world is not fair like you,
But I don't even believe my own prayers like you,
Chasing career going nowhere like you,
Lost in a fog of my own insecurities I hold myself up as a image of purity,
And I judge everybody else by the colour of their skin or the size of their wealth
But it's not good for my health as the only one I ever really judge is myself
The oppressor must suffer like the oppressed though I pretend I'm in control of this mess
By inflating my ego, puffing my chest
I see a weakness and need to show strength
For what*we think strong is, 'cause if we're honest,
True strength is the strength to be honest
And if I'm honest, I am just tired
If I'm honest, I am just tired,
Tired of every day filling up my car and knowing that I'm paying for the bombs in Iraq;
Tired of pretending it don't hurt my heart, of wanting change, not knowing where to start;
Tired of listening to all the conditioning and all the forms that they got me filling in.
Next time you see what you think is a thug and despise him,
Please know, I was just like him,
'Cause I was like eight first time I saw crack, same time I first smoked weed choking on blowbacks,
First time I saw knives penetrate flesh, it was meat cleavers to the back of the head,
As I grew and teenage years passed, many more knives pierced and the shots blast
And I ain't saying I had the worst upbringing but there's a million young men just like me in prison.
We complain about racism, elevate clowns with their trousers down swinging their dick round,
Maybe that is not quite literal but everything they do is just as stereotypical,
To my real fans I feel your pain and I get the messages but don't complain
That we ain't got more fame we're playing our part,
They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts,
They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts,
They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts,
Call it black radio, don't make me laugh, so is black music all about **** and arse?
You don't represent nothing, you're just pretending,
When was the last time you ever played Hendrix?
Or Miles Davis, or John Coltrane, or Ella Fitzgerald, or Billie Holliday;
We can call it urban, to me that's cool,
If urban means street, that includes jazz too, and rock for that matter
Go ask Mick Jagger or Jimmy Page what they were listening to - the blues
Not discrediting, love Zeppelin, too; just giving credit where credit is due
That blood-soaked word rappers still use,
All it really*shows is we still self-abuse,
That was the word that was used to kill Kelso Cochrane and Emmett Till
That was the word that the conscience eased,
And made people pleased to hung you from trees
That was the word that let the whips crack,
No matter what you say you can't take it back
And I can say they're black, so I feel their pain easier but 1915, look at Armenia,
Is the whole world this human stupidity that we choke ourselves to death quite literally?
And I can talk with my comfortable mouth,
With my comfortable clothes in my comfortable house
The tables will turn, we can not stall them
Every empire on this earth has fallen
So unless we can find another way
Maybe not today but it will come one day,
And it may sound like I'm bitter — but in fact truth be told I am quite the opposite,
I wake every day and I'm overwhelmed just to be alive and be like no one else
And the sheer weight of the thought of space is enough to keep my little ego in place.
All that we chase and try to replace
All along it was right in our face,
The only way the only way we can ever change anything
Is to look in the mirror and to find no enemy,
The only way we can ever change anything,
Look in the mirror and to find no*enemy"
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