Represent
Why do we blast
songs that forgot about our past
and sold out and bought into a
mainstream society
(the same that encourages the
white racist system
that has oppressed you and me),
tried to make us hate our Black selves,
and laughs while we kill our Black selves
and sell stereotypical images of our Black selves
and of our neighborhoods
and satisfy a money-driven industry
in the process
and forget that our identity and integrity
are much more important than popularity and wealth in excess?
Why do we idolize brothers and sisters who brag about the money they have made
when they don't care about
how bad they make us look as long as they get paid?
We can't stand it when other people stereotype us,
but we don't even think about it when it is done by us?
You were made by GOD,
not by your environment.
You can walk with Him and rise above it,
so
why die in it?
Most people in the ghetto are not living foul or selling weed.
We cannot allow ourselves
to be consumed by greed.
We are not niggers!
We are something much bigger!
Your true identity
is more valuable than riches.
Not all of our men run from responsibility,
and not all of our women are what they call
hoes and bit--es.
They claim they don't generalize
when they use these
words,
but still
no distinctions are made.
They glorify players, but don’t think about
how they would feel
if their own mothers and sisters got played.
How can we see the exploitation of our sisters and not care?
Sure, they do it willingly.
But only because those jobs are
already out there.
Adult entertainment?
How you trying to play me, yo?
Adult entertainment
should not be played on the radio.
How can you play tracks that say
drugs are an acceptable escape?
Why is there so little substance in today's CDs and tapes?
Some of us use our bodies to sell our songs.
Since when did love songs
become tasteless sex songs?
Sure, it’s all kinds
of music—
not
just a Black or a rap thing.
But the mentally enslaved
do not regain the status of kings.
It ain't about freedom of expression.
It's about making cash.
We need to recognize that some ‘art’
is just trash.
Being Black does not mean being violent.
The following information
has been kept silent:
The legacy of violence in this country grew out of a slave-owning,
Southern white "code of honor" that we adopted and named respect.
So, it's time to
come correct.
The
way we pretend to be ignorant might be even iller,
using curse words as fillers.
Since when did being Black mean cursin'.
However, we do mess up when we point a finger at only one
person.
But
how can we put the blame only on parents?
Are there any parents who can keep their eyes and ears on their children 24/7 anywhere?
And what about the parents who just don't
care?
No
adult can ignore our responsibility
toward our children--
Tell it.
No one can answer when you ask how much a soul is worth,
but some of us are still willing to sell it.
Rap on the whole is phat and all that,
but negative rap is wack
and we need to check that.
It is and should be a
commentary on reality,
but the negatives in society should not be glamorized.
They must be attacked.
That's what ‘keepin' it real’ means.
Rhymes are not the cause of problems.
But why feed into them
with explicit
sticker contents
when you could be using your skills
to help make a difference?
It's hard to get a record deal,
and so there ain't much incentive
to make a record with more positive than negative.
But there's a time and a place for everything
whether you rap or sing.
So, why not use your talents
to restore the balance?
Why not squash the images
and messages of hopelessness
And return to flows for fun
and battles see who the dopest is?
Our ‘get rich by selling our problems’ entertainers
are just trying to get paid,
but they make small change
compared to the whites
who sit atop the industry.
So, why should we let some prejudiced whites use us to make themselves richer
and help maintain the
negative image
of us in the media
while we get a smaller proportion
of the money?
Sure, in the industry,
we have some Black mo-guls,
but their main concern is making mo’ money—
not making our image mo’ better.
Thug and pimp want-to-be’s
should never
be our role models
and trendsetters.
Music is not just entertainment—
no matter what we try
to say.
Music
is a way of life—
something most people cannot live without from day to day.
You better act like you know.
Before you sign a contract,
you need to take the oath:
I refuse to sell out just to
get the papers.
I
refuse to sell out and misrepresent
just to get the papers.
I refuse to sell out, and misrepresent,
and claim I represent just to get the papers.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Tyari Witherspoon
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