Rikers Island Redux

America, America

Purveyor of mass hysteria

Mass production

And mass incarceration

The epitome of huddled masses yearning to breathe free

The masses, masses, the masses, masses

Mass is the property of matter regardless of the state

But it seems we don't matter until we're properties of the state en masse

And massah's still trying to trick himself into believing he picked cotton too

No matter how much I cow tow tap dance and jump through a bunch of hoops

I'll still be the one who winds up in a jumpsuit

I'll still be the one who winds up with the gun wounds

King had one dream that won't seem to come true

X had necessary means and a gun too

Though there's always more than one truth

Even on cloudy days, sun rays still come through

I mask feelings of pain and ask for healing

We got the same glass ceiling

But I'm s'posed to be thankful for my sun roof

And massah's still trying to trick himself into believing he picked the cotton too

It's complex how being born with this complexion ups the likelihood of dying in a prison complex

And orange ain't the new black

Black is the same, same black

But this ain't just for black folks

Just ask those backward folks

That stay intolerant like lactose

We 'bout to blast, blowing like Miles, Coltrane, and Satchmo

You can act slow, but we want our civil rights in fast forward

Ain't we asking for it

This is just the beginning of a long list of demands, bro

This ya last chance, yo

This is the optimum time, and just like Optimus Prime, we gon' transform

This gift of gab is God given, and it's given this man a knack for it

So let's stand for 'em

In New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Charlotte, ATL, Charleston, San Fran, Oakland, LA, B-more, Detroit, DC, Chicago and Ferguson

It's time for turning up, time for turning tables, turning heads and it's time to plan

I take a line from my man Lin-Man who wrote Ham

Revolution is messy, but now it's time to stand

So stand up, stand up

Word to the words of the police, hands up

Word to the folks in jail copping pleas

Please, people, copy me

No misogyny, but we gotta man up

We gotta open that can up

I'm not worried about becoming worms meat

What concerns me is my people learning

The difference between earning our own keep

And working another man's land for free

One is just the same slavery

The other unlocks chains, so turn key

I hate that this deferred dream keeps recurring

Wake up America, wake up and hurry