Rikers Island Redux (feat. Daniel J. Watts)

America, America Purveyor of mass hysteria Mass production And mass incarceration The epitome of huddled masses yearning to breathe free The masses, masses, the masses, masses Mass is the property of matter regardless of the state But it seems we don't matter until We're properties of the state en masse And massah's still trying to trick Himself into believing he picked cotton too And no matter how much I cow tow tap Dance and jump through a bunch of hoops I'll still be the one who winds up in a jumpsuit I'll still be the one who winds up with the gun wounds King had one dream that won't seem to come true X had necessary means and a gun too Though there's always more than one truth Even on cloudy days, sun rays still come through I mask feelings of pain and ask for healing We got the same glass ceiling But I'm s'posed to be thankful for my sun roof And massah's still trying to trick Himself into believing he picked the cotton too It's complex how being born with this Complexion ups the likelihood of dying in a prison complex And orange ain't the new black Black is the same, same black But this ain't just for black folks Just ask those backward folks That stay intolerant like lactose We 'bout to blast, blowing like Miles, Coltrane, and Satchmo You can act slow, but we want our civil rights in fast forward Ain't we asking for it This is just the beginning of a long list of demands, bro This ya last chance, yo This is the optimum time And just like Optimus Prime, we gon' transform This gift of gab is God given, and it's given this man a knack for it So let's stand for 'em In New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Charlotte, ATL, Charleston San Fran, Oakland, LA, B-more, Detroit, DC, Chicago and Ferguson It's time for turning up Time for turning tables, turning heads and it's time to plan I take a line from my man Lin-Man who wrote Ham Revolution is messy, but now it's time to stand So stand up, stand up Word to the words of the police, hands up Word to the folks in jail copping pleas Please, people, copy me No misogyny, but we gotta man up We gotta open that can up I'm not worried about becoming worms meat What concerns me is my people learning The difference between earning our own keep And working another man's land for free One is just the same slavery The other unlocks chains, so turn key I hate that this deferred dream keeps recurring Wake up America, wake up and hurry