The Hardships of a Black Man

Now I’m gonna tell a story.

Of a black man who was manipulated to be

What society labeled all black people to be

A black man who tried to restart his life

Flew across countries met face to face with strife,

Caught up in the streets, letting niggas roll his dice

So stick around for this one, listen to my words

This isn’t just another story that everyone has heard

This man did try, but his aspirations were deferred

From game changer, to gangbanger, to rotting in a cell,

He should’ve known better, mama did teach him well,

But anyways here we go, no time to waste

Here’s his tale, concrete into a damned life state

 

Showing a place of serenity and grace,

Overcame with great happiness that they’ve packed up their place

Moved cities to cities, land with a look of mistake

Upon a place that’s been hyped up, to look like nothing more than a waste

Soon after they land, he gave the title friends

To the low-life, street-bound, throw it up kinda men,

Of people who said “I gotchu”, while scheming up plans

Trying to plead your stance that wasn’t accepted but by chance,

You’ve accepted your fate, signed invisibly into contract

Never questioned their motives, didn’t feel the knife in your back

Mama said “Stay in the back,” but he was out front sagging pants cause it was ‘cool like dat”

Stealing grams, on the corner, they put him up to that.

He’s shown what color he claimed, but certain niggas don’t like that.

They pull up, bang bang in front mama’s house

Shooting windows, holes in doors, bullets piercing mama’s blouse

Tires screeching, people screaming, “lets go, lets go!” hands withdrawn

 

Mama’s blood spilling out onto the tainted lawn.

“Hands in the air,  don’t move!” you gotta follow orders

Close in, check hands, cuff you up, move forward

Sirens flaring,neighbors staring, buzzing live with the news

Shoved inside peep outside, watch them snicker amused

Mama pleading “Don’t take him” but she don’t get to choose

 

Watch her cry to the sky “Lord watch my child!”

Watch her slowly disappear into ongoing crowds

Looking down at his hands, changed and tainted.

He’d given proof to how people with color are painted.

News stations so hungry to follow reports

Of a labeled “dumbass black man” picked out from the sort

No need to question him, they gathered up their facts

News know what to do, they twist the story for pats on the back

He was trying to be something

 

But they don’t see that.

They see a man with a sign saying “I’m black.”

Don’t give a damn about motives and just plain facts

Starting over doesn’t matter, just remember that

Given the chance, not an option were on display

Wearing different colored clothes, your color never frays

I must say that we have a title anyways

We can’t protect ourselves, never could in the old days

“Nigga” added in vocabulary to those who don’t know

That that word was meant to rest hundreds of years ago

You say you’ve heard my words before, just from different lips

But you ain’t never heard a story being told like this.

Let the news understand that we aren’t one voice

We don’t all do the same, nah that’s by choice

We work, sweat, and cry like we were taught to

Ain’t no excuse to disrespect except “we want to”

So before you even speak on what we all have in hand

Think hard about the hardships of a black man

 

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