Origins Video (MV)

They want us
They want us to forget
Do you know
How badly
They want us to forget

About the shackles that they once placed on our flesh
They just took em off and placed on our mindsets

And told you it happened generations ago
But I tell em this generation has not recovered yet

So why
Why should I
Not shed light on the dark times that plagued
That plagued my people

When your
Your forefathers thought it was right to invade
Invade my people

Gave them a bible and claim to have saved
To have saved my people

But in reality
All you ever did was enslave
Enslave my people
So why
Why should I
Ever forget

They told you that our traditions and our customs were antiquated

They built society on our backbones then say that they made it

So I'm standing here in amazement
Because you clearly need us
But think
Think we are lesser because of our pigment

So why
Why should I ever forget
When this melanin in my skin is like a royal
A royal garment
It's only befitting because we descended from kings
And this crown that I wear possess hair that
Combats gravity and defies the wind
It's like a Cadillac with 24-inch rims
With hydraulics
What I'm saying is
It got a mean
It got a mean bounce
The only thing tougher than this
Is what is within

And you
You will not let you break me
I will not be defined as the man that your ancestors tried to make me
I will not let my wife be defined as a black woman who is always angry
I will not bow or cower in the face of your racism and your bigotry
Why is the word thug only used to describe black on black violence
Why when an Arab shoots up a school he's seen as a terrorist
But when a white man does it he's placed in an asylum
I need answers and I can't seem to find em
There's a fine line between what's right and what's legal
And the latter has never been in favor of my people

So why
Why should i ever forget

They told you that the caribs were cannibals
The arawaks were animals
Truly savage , a perfect marriage of beast and man
They weren't peaceful and
They used to destroy the land
And then the white man came
And today
Not a single arawak or carib stands
Remember history is always written by the victor's hand

And we clearly
We clearly did not win that war
And the battle is far from over
They built cities on our bones and put buildings as our gravestones and told you to praise the father
Have faith and one day all your troubles will whither away
But when i look at jesus
All i see is a white face with straight hair
And in my exact experience, that exact appearance has brought my people nothing but horror
So I will not forget
Neither will my sons
And neither will my daughter

I will stand firm in what
What I believe in
Where you come from dictates where you are heading
And if you don't know your origins
Then you are heading to a dead-end my friend
Let me say that again
If you don't know your origins then you are heading to a dead-end my friend

Try and remember
Try and remember
Try and remember
Where ya come from
Where ya come from
Where ya come from
Try and remember
Where ya come from
Where ya come from
Where ya come from
Try and remember
Remember
Your
Origins