Hip Hop - What we got

Hey all,

Just wanted to share it. Wrote it because I'm teaching a hip-hop unit and wanted to write something since I expected my students to do the same. Hope you enjoy. Any suggestions? Please send them to nan230@nyu.edu.

Thanks,

Nandini

“Hey honey, if you hot, you got-to make mo money,

You got-to go-go-go. Fast, not slow, make some mo,

not less.” I must confess, it's a mess, it ain't funny.

This whole distinction between high and low

I've seen, I intervene, it's hella mean! Capitalistic

thought is fraught with difficulty. I cough, I wheeze,

It makes me sick, it's just about burnt my whole damn wick!

On poor people , the rich one's pick. I plead, “please”,

But I ain't getting down on my knees to beg, the dregs

have got to stand up to the King, and justice to bring.

They gotta fight with their hand, stand up on their legs,

Scream! Scream like the howling wind, woooh, rise up and sing

To bring freedom. From these shackles, these cuffs, enough's

enough! I don't want no fancy cars. Don't want no gold,

I'm not good at doing what I'm told. You see, 'coz I'm tough,

I have my own mind. I'm fine. I don't fold. I am bold

enough to think my own thoughts. To live my own life the way

that I want. I'm not how much money that I got. It's not my bank that

I wanna thank. Life's not about things for which you gotta pay,

Let's not pretend, it's not that. It's your friends, your family. They're phat.

Who care's about things? Cars and cells and happy diamond rings?

It makes me weep. In objects you swim so deep, you keep

On sleep-shopping for things you don't ever need, think it brings

You real joy? Chips ahoy? Ha! At the end you'll find a heap

Of all this stuff. Wake up! Smell the coffee from the coffee cup,

Plant the seeds of what you really need, seeds of smiles for

You to later reap. Seeds of gratitude and compassion, that's what's up!

Belief in less is more, not in lure. Hey, look it, life's already rich galore.