Immortal Technique, Mumia Abu-Jamal - Homeland and Hip-Hop lyrics
[Immortal Technique, Mumia Abu-Jamal - Homeland and Hip-Hop lyrics]
Homeland and Hip-Hop
To think about the origins of hip-hop
In this culture and also about
Homeland Security is to see that there
Are, at the very least
Two worlds in America: one of the
Well-to do and another of the
Struggling for if ever there was
The absence of homeland security
It is seen in the gritty roots
Of hip-hop for the music arises
From a generation that feels, with some
Justice, that they have been betrayed by
Those who came before them, that they are
At best tolerated in schools
Feared on the streets
And almost inevitably destined for
The hell holes of prison they grew
Up hungry, hated, and unloved
And this is the psychic fuel
That generates the anger that seems endemic
In much of the music and
Poetry one senses very little hope above
The personal goals of wealth
To climb above the pit of
Poverty in the broader society, the opposite
Is true, for here, more than
Any other place on earth
Wealth is so widespread and
So bountiful that what
Passes for the middle class in America could
Pass for the upper class in most
Of the rest of the world their very
Opulence and relative wealth makes them
Insecure and homeland security is
A governmental phrase
That is as oxymoronic as crazy
As saying military intelligence, or the US
Department of Justice they're just words
They have very little relationship to
Reality now do you
Feel safer now? Do you think you will
Anytime soon? Do you think
Duct tape and Kleenex
And color codes will make you safe?
From Death Row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal
There are many governments
Business interests
Even religious leaders that would like to
See me depart this Earth i'll
Grant them their wish soon
Enough but before I
Do, I wish to make a small contribution
A final gesture of goodwill to the
People of this little planet
That have given from whom I
Have taken so much
To think about the origins of hip-hop
In this culture and also about
Homeland Security is to see that there
Are, at the very least
Two worlds in America: one of the
Well-to do and another of the
Struggling for if ever there was
The absence of homeland security
It is seen in the gritty roots
Of hip-hop for the music arises
From a generation that feels, with some
Justice, that they have been betrayed by
Those who came before them, that they are
At best tolerated in schools
Feared on the streets
And almost inevitably destined for
The hell holes of prison they grew
Up hungry, hated, and unloved
And this is the psychic fuel
That generates the anger that seems endemic
In much of the music and
Poetry one senses very little hope above
The personal goals of wealth
To climb above the pit of
Poverty in the broader society, the opposite
Is true, for here, more than
Any other place on earth
Wealth is so widespread and
So bountiful that what
Passes for the middle class in America could
Pass for the upper class in most
Of the rest of the world their very
Opulence and relative wealth makes them
Insecure and homeland security is
A governmental phrase
That is as oxymoronic as crazy
As saying military intelligence, or the US
Department of Justice they're just words
They have very little relationship to
Reality now do you
Feel safer now? Do you think you will
Anytime soon? Do you think
Duct tape and Kleenex
And color codes will make you safe?
From Death Row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal
There are many governments
Business interests
Even religious leaders that would like to
See me depart this Earth i'll
Grant them their wish soon
Enough but before I
Do, I wish to make a small contribution
A final gesture of goodwill to the
People of this little planet
That have given from whom I
Have taken so much