Beautiful (feat. Ruby Ibarra)

From the jump, they made up lies Threatened by us, afraid of us winning Started fake rumours pertaining to size Cause they were scared of us taking their women Shaming our skin, shape of our eyes Breaking our pride to make us feel different They wanna de-masculate us Cause white fragility is the base of racism Growing up I never had a role model With the same ethnic makeup as me Foreigners, villains and nerdy sidekicks Were the only roles I saw us play on TV Ranked on the totem pole, down at the bottom But we're their fetish now, K-Pop is in We just want to be accepted as human Seen for our character, not for our skin Not to be measured by standards that's Eurocentric Can't colonize what beauty means Representing like I'm Sessue Hayakawa When you see me on your movie screens This for that Asian kid bullied in middle school Ridiculed on the school bus Mock us then copy us, just like the Fox Eye Trend They hate us but want to be us Who told you that you're not beautiful? (Beautiful) They a lie, I just want you to know (Want you to know) Who told you that you're not beautiful? (Beautiful) They a lie, I just want you to know (Want you to know) I'm sitting, reflecting I'm thinking bout all of the days that I used to be so ashamed Look in the mirror, but I wasn't proud of the person The value and worth of my name Didn't feel like I could ever see me And so I would just find all things I could change Stuck in this frame, just a pawn in the game And I'm wearing this mask and pretending the same But who was I playing'? I never saw my life like the ones in the books that my peers might like The ones in the movies with a real nice life So I promised myself that I just might write Myself - living and exist as me There's power in my voice so I speak this free I never saw the void til' I found my peace So I write this piece for the kids like me Thinking 'bout the days I was growing up More or less it made me hate showing up Thinking it's okay to feel not enough My name and then this face that they never loved But I own my name and I won't change, I'll make my way Remember the history, carry the legacy Telling my story they'll never erase So what's it mean for our light to grow? We wanna be seen, do we wanna be known? Or we wanna be free by livin' a life that means we fight for our rights, just know We plant the seeds and we watch them grow Blossom from the ground 'til the roots will show 'Til the seeds are flowers for Vincent Chin And our kids have power and we let them know Who told you that you're not beautiful? (Beautiful) They a lie, I just want you to know (Want you to know) Who told you that you're not beautiful? (Beautiful) They a lie, I just want you to know (Want you to know)