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about
Like so many of the artists I’ve spoken to recently, it’s been very difficult to create as of late. When the world began changing in response to COVID, but even more when the world began protesting against white supremacy and in support of Black life, I was stuck.
I was trying to process how I felt about the way that we’re still getting killed at large. The names of everyday Black people became household names because their lives were taken by a global system that’s meant to oppress them.
We hear George Floyd 24/7. We hear Ahmaud Arbery 24/7. Less often, we hear of the attacks on people like Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Iyanna Dior. I wrote this song on June 8th, and weeks after I wrote it, I heard of the attacks on Oluwatoyin Salau, Rayshard Brooks, Layleen Polanco and so many more.
The sad truth is that we live in a world designed to breed these kind of attacks. We live in a world designed to keep people unaware of the disproportionate statistics behind these attacks. We live in a world that forces everyday people to believe that their elected officials, and law enforcement are working against this violence, when they are in fact just doing their jobs.
There’s so much miseducation that has gone on in our world, and it makes the jobs of our leaders, activists, and revolutionaries that much more difficult. It makes those, including myself, who have different kinds of privilege take far too long to lose our egos and work towards true change. It makes us forget to care about everyone else, because we’re so focused on trying to make ends meet in a strategically broken system.
When Paul Robinson, one of my childhood friends and frequent producers first posted the beat for this song online…I literally heard 4 seconds of it and told him I needed it. I already knew that my 2-3 month creative slump was about to unravel itself. That’s part of why it was important to the both of us, as we knew others would feel the same, that we made the beat accessible to other artists.
We challenge other vocal artists to write and record their emotions to this beat. We challenge video editors to create stories with this song. We ask that everyone who participates in the #wakeupchallenge uses the hashtag, shares the original on their social media, and uses the many resources on my link tree and else where to learn about defunding police, ICE, and more…and to send emails and sign petitions to push these causes. There’s also plenty of resources that I’ve found for generally learning, helping, and donating during these times. linktr.ee/SO4P
We challenge everyone to work to educate themselves and their communities, because our schools and news outlets are failing us. We challenge everyone to challenge themselves and everything they’ve been taught. We challenge everyone to wake up.
System gotta break up,
The politicians stay frontin'
Wearing all that makeup,
Clowns, tryna debate something
This is real life, so real people gotta...
Look, I don't wanna wake up,
Knowing I ain't change nothin'
System gotta break up,
The politicians stay frontin'
Wearing all that makeup,
Clowns, tryna debate something
This is real life, so real people gotta say something
Choppers in my city, I'm afraid I might get sniped down
Tears all on my people's faces,
Know they might get wiped down
Amplified my voice,
Cuz I know they need me to pipe down
'Fo' someone hear the truth,
Cuz with this pen, that's what I write down
Who gon' save the youth from all the trials and tribulations?
That boy don't need no juice,
He need accurate education
You can't get it in schools
Where they stifle imagination,
But I've always felt a movement brewing
In my generation
It's hard to understand it when they hide the information,
But I'm grasping at the root of it,
Word to Angela Davis
Cycling through the pages of my predecessors,
Ima do my job, but with their help,
I bet I'll do it better
Might think it's a hobby,
But I gotta do it to the letter...
That's that tea, hot,
Make a nigga gotta lose a sweater
No I can't stop,
Cuz I see the pavement getting redder
Every last cop,
Need to quit their job,
And even better...
Tired of seeing pennies trickle down,
I need some different weather..
I need reparations,
And I prolly need berettas
I need investigations
On the policies that severed
Families for the greed of corporations
Under claims that they making it better
They take whoever into the system..
Money fighting cases,
So no wonder they dismiss them...
How could a hero ever have this many victims? Huh?
And you expect me to forgive them?
Well damn I can't do it..
The same way mayors watch a video
And can't prove it
See Martin had a dream,
And now my people dream lucid
And I still see the shadows
Of Klan members with nooses..
The truth is..
I want the needle moved,
I gotta find a way to move it
We gotta watch the way
We putting people on a pulpit
Everyone got a voice,
But they all need a chance to use it...
This shit way bigger than inclusion
Black lives matter,
That should never be confusing
And if we not fighting for all Blacks,
We losing
This shit for Tony, Iyanna,
For Emmett and those cooped in
My people dying,
I can't judge no looting
This for those that's studying,
And this for those that's hooping..
This for the ruthless,
And for those that's living roofless...
For those with disabilities,
Still pushing through it...
I know it feels impossible,
But we can do it
And I don't wanna wake up,
Knowing I ain't change nothin'
System gotta break up,
The politicians stay frontin'
Wearing all that makeup,
Clowns, tryna debate something
This is real life, so real people gotta say something
x5
credits
released June 21, 2020
Written by SO4P
Prod. Paul Robinson
Brooklyn hip-hop artist and Emmy-nominated filmmaker SO4P first caught attention as a collaborator of DAP the Contract,
Roaring NICE, Kamaria Woods, and Toneraps. His work on records like 'In a Moment', 'Sickest', and 'Open Up', showcase his range and capability to link strong lyrical content to his own Brooklyn bounce....more
NY rapper Mfasis goes deep on his latest album, culling rhymes from his own internal struggles and his observations of the world. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 18, 2021
