pistola.

free huey rally. west oakland.

what becomes of the broken hearted?

one love.

typically.

usually,
i would try to escape this place.
the overwhelming darkness that
at times can engulf you.
pulling you down,
so deep inside yourself
that the melancholy
becomes apparent.
it shows in your movements,
you wear it on your sleeve.
your eyes
refuse to lie,
no longer
harbor misery.

so you take refuge
in the most toxic of
solace
drowning feelings in
bottles & ounces.
anything to pass these
moments while at the
same time seeing
nothing.

but instead of surrendering
to the allure of escapism,
i've decided to just live
in this mindstate.
no alteration
or impairments.
to gain
understanding,
i have to be
alone.
in the dark.
alone.
with the pain.
& sorrow filled
thoughts.

until i am aware.

a change is gonna come.

if you know me,
you know how hard i fuxx with dude.
always have.
still do.

read cudi x complex article.

i still love wale though. :)

vision.

i slept.
i saw.
i woke.
i wrote.

freedom.

brown skin lady.

where do we go from here?

the roots have been removed.
prohibiting growth.
we cannot rise without foundation,
the sacred tree which held our ancestry
has been forsaken.

we have no identity.
can't we see
they have taken everything?
our customs,
language,
our culture.
and molded us to fit
the criteria of american civilization.
where they only accept us if we
service or entertain them .

the african american was created
by the oppressor.
taught to worship money
trained to be submissive ,
the first thing we learn is that
we are inferior.
& so begins the genesis of
a lost people.
too hopeless to uplift our own,
too distracted by
internet
television
yet another iphone app,
to ever come to
recognize the flaws
in the establishment.

where do we go from now?

whiplash.

birdie.

the 6th sense.

telephone.

"telephone .. . its Ol Dirty .. he wants to give you directions home ." -ebadu

" "Telephone" - last track of the album inspired by a story Dilla's mother told Badu. Evidently during his final days, Dilla would float in and out of coherence, having very real conversations with people no one else could see. One of these people, as Dilla told his mother, was ODB. Dirty was telling Dilla that when he gets to the other side not to get on the red bus, though it was inviting. The white bus would be the one to pick him up"

rip dilla.

radio.

slappin:

blackitolism.

the work.

nine.

on my ninth birthday,
my mommy played
nine by dianne reeves.
i remember
the wiz stageplay.
& fentons ice cream.
i remember nine as if
it were yesterday ....

funny how something
so small,
holds so much meaning
& defines 365 days.

"this camp brings out the very best in brothers
or destroys them entirely.
but none are unaffected.
none who leave here are normal.

if i leave here alive, i'll leave nothing behind.

They'll never count me among the broken men,
but i can't say that i am normal either.
i've been hungry too long.
i've gotten angry too often.
i've been lied to and insulted too many times.

They've pushed me over the line from which
there can be no retreat. i know they will not be
satisfied until they've pushed me out of this
existence altogether."

-George Jackson,
Soledad Brother

.

i've begun to become... .

complacent.
stagnant.
satisfied.

i have fallen victim.

i have succumbed....
have become .....
submissive.

surrendered.

given myself to them
unknowingly.
inadvertently,
made myself
prisoner.

i once thought i was,
but now i see
i am no different

back to you.

inspired.

dreams.
water.
words.
colors.
grass.
trees.
morning dew.
brown boots.
creativity.
gold earrings.
homemade jewelry.
hardwood floors.
the smell of library books.
copper.
long dresses.
head wraps.
sneakers.
telegraph ave.
shadows on the sidewalk.
when the sun peeks through the trees.
street musicians.
rings on every finger.
growth.
eyeliner.
dark skin.
black nail polish.
hendrix. hendrix. hendrix.
silly e. badu.
gil scott.
wasalu.
poets.
loud & powerful voices
[not loud people, there's a difference].
sky.
moon.
sunshine.
breeze.

light.

ohhhhhhh girrrrrrrllllll.

(1972).

t.o.n.y.

my fave knowles.

you gotta be.

sumthin i tweeted.

the objective
of the workplace
is to suck your soul dry.
find what you love.
do what you love.
not for the $,
but for peace of mind.

quick thought.

why is the
generation
who walked
before us so
. ... satisfied?
standing at the
forefront of these
trying times -
defeated.
staring us
dead in the eye,
muttering
"everything
is fine."

that the answers
are in their schools,
that our duty is to
engage in slave
labor?
believing in the system
because of the little
that they pay us.

why won't you give us
the wisdom of all that
you have seen?
Tell us of the
Panthers
and the marches
with King.
tell us of our people.
restore our pride.
tell us who we are,
or we will learn
from their lies.

how will we know
if you choose not
to speak.
how can we grow
if you leave
no legacy?

take off the blues.

feat. darien brockington

+ valediction.