Chains and Whips

What once was a symbol of slavery

Has now become savory

To the appetite of our eye

We have been told a lie

We look back to our past

We used to dread chains and a whip

Now they're what we desire and will pay cash

To get the things that used to strip

The spirit from our ancestors ripped from their homeland

I often get told my taste is bland

But I simply look deeper than physical appeal

I know the deal

Of how we chase what once killed our fighting mentality 

And how today it blinds our visuality

To who the enemy really is in our hood

Its not our brothers, its the man who said abortion is good

Its merely population control dressed up as a cop out

Don't get me started on the drop outs

Keys used to set us free

Now the only thing they get us into is Juvie 

Its kids runnin in these streets

Turning into fathers that abandon their family's needs

He push weight like he on the bench press

And he reads like people before the printing press

Its amazing how reality has flipped

Conspiracy theorists might say there is a script

But I'm more of a realist that mergeed minds with a pacifist

Needless to say I carefully evaluate every twist

And the consequences that result

From the founding fathers being in a cult

And drawing the white line

Does a spotlight truly shine?

Have we become so shallow

That we blindly desecrate our hallowed 

Past, with all the pain

But without struggle there is no change 

But was their sacrifice in vain?

Has this generation left an indelible stain?

On the paper our African American history

This isn't from the NAACP or Black Panthers, its from me

A young man worried when chains are after a sought after possession 

Our culture is in severe depression

Colors used to be used to paint

Now the simply taint

The streets with blood

Its a shame some flowers never get to bud  

Handcuffs are the new bracelets 

Dreadlocks are what corporations use as nooses

Leading him to a bottom-end job which equals debt

Then kids get cavities from the cheap sugar-filled juices

But the government healthcare takes care of that

I tip my hat

To those who choose to see the world for what it is

To the man thats determined to get his

By beating the "system" at its own game

All the while making sure Uncle Tom isn't his name 

That's deep

At night I weep

For those lost, committing mutiny

In this war, my own side is shootin' me

Unity is a foreign concept

Murder has never been so direct

Yet so mislead

The reason that man is dead

Is because of where he grew up and who he knew

Its like the teachings of Hitler, only the people aren't Jews

Evil intent is all around

This plan needs to be crowned

As the most intricate scheme

Thats been in motion since engines ran on steam

Its self-defense if a white man murders me

Its all part of the plan if someone with my skin shoots me while I'm climbing the tree

Because we can't touch America's ladder

Somebody get that baby a rattler

He's crying for his parents

But they're out pushin, movin, slingin, or whatever will pay for pampers for little Terrance

But wait EBT pays for that

And again I tip my hat

That system creates debt and a poor mindset

If they ever get money, they'll blow it like somebody shot a jet

Out the sky

And just sure as the birds fly

Another man will die

Because he"s on the wrong side of the law

Violence is trending, a thread that stands up to a chainsaw

Because no matter how much at the problem someone may hack

We still fall victim like a girl tied up in a sack

No life lessons are taught in school

Kids go to class and get challenged to a duel

Only its no 10 paces

Just 10 holes in his face

I could delve into the area of relationships

But truth be told they're just trips 

Like an extended vacation

Where the only goal is consummation  

But who am I to right the wrongs I see

I used to think changing the world was just my cup of tea

But I realized I need to start small

Before I grow 20 feet tall

These are just some of the thoughts that rob me of my sleep

This is just scraping the surface, I haven't even begun to get deep