Color Lines

Your first rap show posted in the back row Of a sea of white kids bent on supermanning that hoe Pretty soon you're buying fitted hats and high tops Pretending that you're black enough and rapping with the lights off Its like a cyclops with one closed eye You can tell me that you're winking, But the grin dont lie And no mouth supplies, what your skin tone hides About a thousand miles south as the Jim Crow flies And then we're playing he said she said I see red when I peep a pink cheeked boston meathead I wanna go Bruce Lee When I see him on the T taking up two seats And say, "excuse me, but would you move if hell froze?" You know the subway is the underground railroad Lynch trees have the same white limbs Check out my arms, I look just like him These color lines will make you break you make you choose a side These color lines these color lines been here since jump I write these color lines cause if I don't I'll lose my mind I write these color lines these color lines Let's you and I get one thing straight The game never been equal, ain't no food on my plate I gave birth to this and you just took it and co opted it and profited And packaged it and wouldn't give me half of it Peep how I master this and break down how you took it all Raped the culture and you standing there looking all Innocent, take a mile when I give and inch And how you getting rich, is it a coincidence? Or is it ignorance? You don't know your own privilege You own riches and don't know what homeless is You got a lot to learn before you even think about Hip hop, black culture and which fitted you pickin out Nigger in the street, I don't think so bro My people ain't supportin your black history show So stop what you doing we won't take it anymore Before you come in my house wipe ya feet at the door These color lines will make you break you make you choose a side These color lines these color lines been here since jump I write these color lines cause if I don't I'll lose my mind I write these color lines these color lines I see the color lines It's tough that Every other time a bother rhymes White mothers think of gutter crimes We keep our standard higher We don't kick lower rhymes Other times it undermines the fact the mine are over mindsAll you gotta do is get past the guilt We ain't living in a house that master built If you understand that, tell your people what you know Because one of em got enough money to pay back what you owe Yes, My great gramps had land, had slaves I guess I pressed this record off the bank he made But I want independance, past the declaration But one down ass white boy can't pay for reparations I'm running out of patience while you do the work of Satan Like an impulse. Edu Leedz Black history's an insult Number one. I'm not. trying. to tell. your. story I just want to sit on my porch, drink a forty and spit Number two, cause You can smell bullshit I just love hip hop Pinky swear that's it If you love hip hop respect it That includes the people who created it and paved the way for this So that you're making it Well if you're talking on who's making it, I'll play devil's advocate A lot of black music has white dollars backing it (Kweli's got it on lock) Rupert Murdoch funded Rawkus You looking for the keys, then you better check the pockets I'll be checking pockets all right As soon as it gets dark and all night I'ma get my money we can all fight You taking out the high and the mighty And their kids You say kill whitey I say call i live? You're not black militant Killing us diligent Grab my fam, and grandma and light us up like a filament I thought we were cool now I'm this close to giving in Just put a bullet in for each missed dose of Ritalin These color lines will make you break you make you choose a side These color lines these color lines been here since jump I write these color lines cause if I don't I'll lose my mind I write these color lines these color lines So whats a white man's place in hip hop? A white man's place... is to stay in his place how 'bout that? Ill learn my place man cause when i was in middle school... I learned, to freestyle from the Asian kids. Are some worth procreating more than others? I mean, a procreation has a lot to do with disrespect so As a participant in hip hop You'd have to have supreme respect for where it came from D'you think that we should have total cultural exchange? Because we don't want to lose our heritage I mean yo if I could do Latin River dance, and make a whole bunch of money off of it... Kaching If... you take Latin River Dance I'll speak on behalf of my Irish side of the family And we'll give you Latin River Dance if you Forgive all the cultural appropriation and heritage Privilege and my Jewish side of the family Will throw in Klezmer music. Unfortunately that doesn't undo, Years of oppression and white privilege.