Brown Out

They teach me to erase that brown, subconsciously I lose my crown 'Til I don't even recognize the person that's inside me now We came from the slums once, now livin' the humdrum In search for the green funds, we never can keep one My mama on 9-5, then switch to an 8-1 An immigrant family losin' our names, and our face, and the place that we came from These institutions working, the devil prove he lurkin' They shoot us down but first when, we play the part and curtains Open up til we prefer them, 'til we don't know we hurtin' 'Til we become a version: a self that's lost it's worth So how can I breathe in this land of the free? My people aint free when the freedom ain't free I look in the mirror then all that I see Is a version of me that they want me to be Plus all of these lies I adopted see I'll never be what they want me to be The devil's at work and he lookin' like me Can you tell me my worth? and I'll pay you the fee 'Til I fall on my knees and I'm feelin' defeat And so give me a reason, the image they feed To the flows that I breathe 'cuz we parted the sea Can you pardon my speech? And the accent I speak? I whiten my skin 'cuz it's all that I see No image of me represented to be Myself so I'm looking for ways I could be Exactly like people they teach me to be!