I am nobody’s nigger

So please, let my ancestors rest in peace

Not turn in their graves in Jamaica plantations

Or the watery graves of the slave trade

Thrown overboard into middle passage

Just for insurance claims

They were chained up on a boat

As many as they could manage and stay afloat

Stripped of dignity and all hope

Awaiting their masters and European names

But the sick and the injured were dead weight to toss

And Lloyds of London would cover that cost.

I am nobody’s nigger

So you can tell Weezy and Drake

That they made a mistake

I am nobody’s nigger now

So you can tell Kanye and Jigga

I am not a nigger… in Paris

I’m not a nigger in London

I’m not a nigger in New York

I’m not a nigger in Kingston

I’m not a nigger in Accra

Or a nigger with attitude in Compton

Cos “I don’t wanna be called yo nigga”

How were you raised on Public Enemy

And still became your own worst enemy?

You killed Hip Hop and resurrected headless zombies

That can’t think for themselves or see where they’re going

Or quench the blood lust because there’s no blood flowing

In their hearts, just in the streets

They don’t give a damn as long as they eating

Their hearts ain’t beating, they’re cold as ice (bling)

Because they would put money over everything

Money over self respect or self esteem

Or empowering the youth to follow their dreams

Stacking paper cos it’s greater than love it seems

Call me “nigger” cos you’re scared of what “brother” means

To know that we share something unspeakable

To know that as high as we rise we are not seen as equal

To know that racism is institutional thinking

And that “nigger” is the last word you heard before a lynching.

Dean Atta (via punkistani)