This is what comes after
In more ways than one
After the fire and the ashes were gone
It took time to build desire up to write a new song
So much destruction, so much went wrong
These objects we all thought were sacred are gone
Love is the foundation we've been building upon
And with that still solid, we are carrying on
This is new growth after all our old things burned
Like a ceremony, but we were forced to learn
The way forests thrive with the small fires
Gotta clear space for some things to grow higher
And if we don't, this consumes us all
I'm in the city now, watching all these ashes fall
Thinking 'bout what grows when the time comes
'Cause the climate got a whole human crisis
Capitalism has got us sick, we gotta fight it
Until the day that we can all stand united, after the fire
After the fire took away our place
After the flames burned all our thangs
After the ashes fell like the rain
After the pain we grew in a new way
After the fire took away our place
After the flames burned all our thangs
After the ashes fell like the rain
After the pain we grew in a new way
After the fire stopped blazing from the bombing of our island
I wonder if my Nana started smiling
Did she feel liberated by the end of Japanese violence?
Or feel conflicted by the invasion of American tyrants?
It's amazing how a flame can be used to abuse
Or be worked with lovingly to help forests renew
And if only we knew what our ancestors would do
As the empire falls, look to the past for the truth
Innovate new tools, infusing prayer and intuition
The poetics of the elements, revealing premonitions
Time moves in cycles
The land is insightful
New growth thrives right after a typhoon
There's wildfires in my birth land
And rising tides in my homeland
They say it's only getting worse
And we plant new seeds every time we touch a mic and notepad
After the fire was treated like a relative
After the flame was seen like a medicine
After the ash was applied to our face
After the pain we found a new strength
After the fire was treated like a relative
After the flame was seen like a medicine
After the ash was applied to our face
After the pain we found a new strength
It's like we lifting up the hood
I ain't no mechanic but the little engine could
Holding on some gasoline and rolling up the wood
Shango in the trees like, homie wish you would
Leaning on Orishas so I put it in m'Oshun
Sent us back to hell, but they said it was no room
Hero to a villain, guess we living in Dune
I ain't really in the mood
I be staring at the moon
We the only people who ain't even got a name
But the whole world eating off of African pain
You can peep the averages
Reading Middle Passages
Word to Pocahontas' Daddy
They called us some savages too
But see me I know the truth
So even when I say I'm Black
That mean Indigenous roots
From Seattle to Mogadishu
Don't try to make an issue
Naw I ain't the mayor
But they know that we been official
How we travel waters but they saying we can't swim?
Why my cuddy gotta take a plea when the case slim?
Even when we hot, we can lie, can't win
Wanna be free but the city is caged in
Real life
After the fire, I ain't had no friends left
After the flame, I was lost on impact
After the break, had to let that past go
After the pain, knew it wouldn't last though
After the Nu Growth, there was an NRG
After the first SOW, there was a trilogy
The fire next time gon' come for the industry
When it all fades, all we got is the memories
We rose from the ashes of our history
When the darkness comes to light
But despite this fight, the future is bright
We gon' be alright
