I was moved by the Tucson shooting and attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords, like everyone else in this country. And like everyone else in this country, I turned on my companions on the other side of the political spectrum and chose the reactionary path rather than the rational path. I feel justified in my anger against the voices of the far right in demanding them to tone down their vitriol before more people get hurt, and yet I also feel guilty for doing so; this is the game they want us to play. They divide one nation into as many groups and labels as possible and while we're all squabbling with each other, nothing changes and conditions worsen. That needs to stop.
I've decided, instead, to express how I feel through lyrical poetry. This is something I've been working on for the past week; the first verse is my philosophy on Hip-Hop, the second verse is my philosophy on the economy, and the third verse is my philosophy on how we need to come together and share philosophies in a more positive way. I've included links in the lyrics if you want to know more about what I'm referencing.
So what's your philosophy?
Philosophy
If you feel it's time to chill
Relax and kick back
And if you feel it's time to ill
Then move your head to this rap
My rhymes can shake up capitol hill
Like Hillary Rodham and Bill
Or they can
Reel in a crowd like a largemouth bass
You do the math
'Cause no matter how you divide it
I'll provide lyrical quotients
That get the whole room excited
When it's time to show their skill
Weak MCs wanna hide it
Like they're attendin'
A rap convention
Without bein' invited
It's easy to be materialistic
And stay away from the real
But that bores me like morning TV
So let's make a deal
Get your muse from cats like Nas or Talib Kweli
or listen to Tribe, Mos Def, Guru, Wale
Whatever it is
Peep cats that communicate a message
And don't quench your thirst
With conventional radio wreckage
I say fuck Soulja Boy
Give Gucci the bird
And throw on some Hip-Hop
Like Pete Rock
'Cause that shit is my word
If you rhyme about money
I diss your rhyme straight up
'Cause all the rest of us strugglin'
But you don't show us no love
The world's dyin', we dividin'
Our nation's fallin' from grace
MCs wastin air space
Need to learn they place
Poetry is a gift
So use your rap like a vehicle
To educate young people
Teach 'em all that we're equal
Let's unify, learn to fly
Multiply, learn to ask why
Those we're taught to idolize
Don't live by the rules they gave you and I
Punk MCs wanna diss the relationship between Hip-Hop and me
Well that's fine,
But tell me
What's your philosophy
Verse 2
It's about time for this nation
To have intelligent conversation
Before this rising wave of hatred
Becomes a violent conflagration
The media goes too far
When a sinister operation
Is framed as everyday Americans upset about taxes and immigration
The virus in leadership is corporate to the core
You think Citizens United was bad?
You can expect some more
When speech is money
Our voice is squelched by their roar
In this class war
Waged by the elite against the middle class and the poor
It's deplorable
I can't afford to insure my own health
And one percent of America
Controls almost a fourth of her wealth
And yo
On the low
While CEOs soak in dough
We survivin' by dumpster divin'
Petty crimin'
Slangin' indo
Forgo logos on clothes
America's passin' dro fo sho
Your girl, your professor,
Your grandmoms and even your P.O.
Poverty don't discriminate
And that's a valuable lesson
If you wanna know why the whole neighborhood is suffocatin' on recession
Income hasn't been this lopsided since right before the Depression
Things are lookin' grim and now a teapublican House is in session
And Obama is about as useless as those pills that give erections
Three jobs can't pay my rent
But millionaires get another tax cut extension?
To them, a starving man on a sidewalk
Is natural selection
It's a foolish question
But why must the greedy pee on the needy
Don't you have an objection?
And how can a young woman and her sister
Both with spotless criminal records
Get life sentences for 11 bucks
What's wrong with that picture?
Is this the land of the free
Or the institutionally oppressed?
Because the rich stay rich
And the unemployed stay depressed
Playin' the system's game don't allow you to rest
For poor folks to move up, we gotta risk sellin' cess
These new lawmakers are hell-bent on killin' a century's progress
Already can't wait for the 112th Congress to recess
Let's end this game
Ollie ollie ollie oxen free
The beast can't be tamed
If it has to feed our economy
I don't think the poor should be subject to financial sodomy
But that's just me
I wanna hear your philosophy
Verse 3
It's a brand-new year
Let's make our voices heard to these folks
From the streets to the ballots
We're Democracy's nuts and bolts
While we lag in good health
And burden increasing pain
They concenterate wealth at the top
And pop corks on the champagne
Remember Albert Einstein's words to educated adults
"Insanity is doing the same thing
And expecting different results"
If you don't agree, speak out
Make sure you get your fair say
'Cause you'll eventually get drowned out if they have their way
Whether Christian or Muslim
Look up to the skies and pray
For the preservation of conversation
And don't delay
They won't stop 'til we're divided
Completely in disarray
With our vulnerabilities and weaknesses on full display
Friends and family are more important
Than partisanship and property
But that's me talkin'
What's your philosophy?