I decided my put my thoughts about the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict into a 16 bar verse. The lyrics are below
Do you wanna know how messed up the system is?
Imagine if Trayvon killed George Zimmerman
You think Trayvon would have been found innocent?
He would have faced a lifetime of imprisonment
See Stand Your Ground only works if you’re a citizen
So that right isn’t his only whites benefit
We are not legitimate that fact is definitive
Don’t believe ask Marissa Alexander if it is
To protect herself in her own home with her kids
Fired a warning shot she got a 20 year sentencing
Now that’s ridicules but all Black are witnesses
Of the hatred in this nation that’s run by hypocrites
Would the NRA have backed Trayvon?
Would Fox news tell white folks if he gets off stay calm?
We know the truth so I won’t go no further
Cause Trayvon was found guilty of his own murder
Today, Pharoahe Monch releases a rough version of “Stand Your Ground” in light of the George Zimmerman verdict. Originally intended for his upcoming PTSD LP, Pharoahe chose instead to release the track today and encourage people to “get involved”.
I decided to put my thoughts about the Zimmerman Trial, the Voting Rights Act, and Race in America in a 16 bar verse:
Oh you was born black welcome to the curse race
Oh you was born brown you sure this is your birthplace
This is America the home of the white man
Where every other American gets a hyphen
People of color police shoot us on site man
And then be like damn I was just frightened
See just the color of my skin is intimidating
Here I’m a criminal just based on my pigmentation
We need God our only mass is incarceration
We need Jesus cause these preachers got the heart of Satan
They toast to our death celebrating with ice cream
Vanilla with the cake cone must be a white thing
They wanna stop us from voting well what do rights mean?
If the end result of our struggle can just be wiped clean
And Zimmerman is a creepy ass cracker
A racist child murdering liar and bad actor
This is a letter to Troy Davis, who was murdered by lethal injection on 21 September 2011, in spite of a massive international campaign for clemency. Sampling Billie Holiday’s classic song ‘Strange Fruit’, the song highlights the parallels between traditional racism – where black people could be lynched by paramilitary mobs like the KKK – and the modern systemic racism where black people can be legally lynched on the orders of appointed officials.
Forward against the racist system, by any means necessary.
LYRICS
[Intro]
Another lynching has gone down in the US
And it’s 2011. Nothing has changed.
[Chorus]
What up Troy, I can’t believe they actually did it man
To tell the truth they ain’t never gone kill you man
You live forever in the hearts of those who fought for ya
You fought for us, you gave us strength like a true soldier
[Rodstarz verse]
I feel the pain, I feel the anger and I raise to show it
I hit the streets and spread the word so the world knows it
I’m sorry we didn’t save you
Shoulda been braver
But at times I feel alone when I’m surrounded by these strangers
2009 we first spoke, after I met Martina
I got the shirt but since then I haven’t really seen her
Been on the road with these raps just tryin a spread a message
But when I think about our talks they were such a blessing
You was in jail reading your poems on the phone
And all I did was just listen, back stage of the show
Then I heard the crazy news about a week ago
That the date had been set and they wanted you to go
11.08pm, September 21st
Never forget, my inner being still hurts
Obama stayed quiet, like he did for Oscar Grant
Clarence Thomas b**ch ass never gave you a chance
See, you was innocent, there was too much doubt
7 of 9 witnesses wanted their testimony out
They was scared, police threats, serious like cancer
But you know it wasn’t true, years later they recanted
I wish I had the answer what to do next
Gotta do more than tweet, Facebook and send texts
We need freedom, organise like Zulu
Feel the pain of injustice even tho I never knew you
[Chorus]
What up Troy, I can’t believe they actually did it man
To tell the truth they ain’t never gone kill you man
You live forever in the hearts of those who fought for ya
You fought for us, you gave us strength like a true soldier
[G1 verse]
They still lynching from plantations to the prisons
Methods changed but it’s the same system
White robes used to burn a crucifix
Now black robes sign a death sentence
Instead of Jim Crow and legal segregation
It’s yuppie condos and cuts to education
And I ain’t gotta say it Troy, you said it in your last letter
Thanking your supporters worldwide for they past efforts
More than half a million signed them petitions
The pope, the archbishop, stars and politicians
A who’s who on Twitter weighing in like Mayweather
But what happens to my bro after the storm let up
New day
Pray you in a better place
Over here we coping, tryin a channel that rage
To abolish these legal lynchings, abolish they broken system
Abolish the need for prisons, in defence of the human spirit
[Chorus]
What up Troy, I can’t believe they actually did it man
To tell the truth they ain’t never gone kill you man
You live forever in the hearts of those who fought for ya
You fought for us, you gave us strength like a true soldier