Renovation

How are they helping us by renovating the slums,

When most of us become homeless when the renovation comes?

When there were rats and roaches, we were allowed to raise our kids there

But they did some landscaping- now we can't afford to live there?

Shit yeah I'm pissed, the corner store my Moms shopped at-

Is now a Starbucks where they won't hire her to mop at.

{Stop that}

They thought Black folks were content

With dusty ass vents

And subsidized rent.

Then they realized the ghetto was a gold mine

So they unleashed the 'Po-Po' and made it a ghost town in no time.

And what becomes of the 'hood where you used to live?

There's a bunch of yuppies walking their dogs, raising their kids.

And it's amazing their kids don't see the same shit that we do-

'Cuz as soon as we moved, they passed a bill to fix up the school.

Now, don't get me wrong- the ghetto's messed up- and I'm all for fixing it-

Don't go twisting it,

Thinking I'm talking ignorant based on fictitious incidents-

We're moving further and further from Downtown- it's no coincidence.

The ghetto has been shitty forever, but they choose

To fix it up and make it 'pretty' AFTER they make us move.

So you decide you want to keep your home on your own--

Good luck trying to get accepted for a loan!

And they wonder why I condone revolutionary tones-

There's nothing wrong with people in BRICK houses throwing stones...

"Mr. Anderson's Opus", coming this fall.