El Hip-Hop Que Sé

The hip-hop I know won’t be silenced, it speaks loud and clear
It’s reborn from the gray asphalt, transforming it right here
It always finds a way, even when it’s broke
Knows no rules, feels alive, and celebrates with hope

It speaks its mind, even when luxury corners it tight
Even when it’s abandoned and ambition clouds its sight
For it, it’s crucial not to back down, to expose
To be unique and special, pouring its life into flows

It’s in the mind of that smart kid
Searching for a role model that he can’t find in his kin
It’s in the teeth of hungry teens
Labeled as delinquents by parents and regimes

It spits out life and stares death in the face
Knows that the shit surrounding it only makes it embrace
So cool yet humble, it spills on any wall
And flows on the ground like chess pieces in a brawl

It messes with the intolerant, the hypocrite, the racist
Pulls kids from the ghetto, turns them into artists
Sometimes it’s contradictory, can’t help but be
If it talks about respect but is the first to disagree, it

This is the hip-hop I know
In it, I put my honor, all my love, my being, my soul
With it, a new dawn
With lights and shadows, but I’ve always been loyal

And this is the hip-hop I know
In it, I left my heart, my mind, my voice, my skin
What I could learn
My passion and my craft, pain and pleasure

It travels dressed in sweats, with a marker and a pad
Talks about mistakes made so you don’t make them bad
Sometimes it kills and other times it prays, it’s bold
First talks about poverty, then diamonds and gold

It conquers the world, its disobedience is free
Though sometimes it fears being deep and sensitive
Knows so many schools, plays and renews
Rebels when the system burns and puts it to the screws

It flies and falls in love, collaborates or stays alone
It’s vulgar, can’t control it, suffers dramas and moans
On paper, it always endures and stands tall
Even when drugs and gangs want to take it down, it won’t fall

Sometimes it copies from America instead of reinventing
Sometimes it seeks controversy, unable to find its own meaning
Sometimes it gets passionate, brings out its essence, its class
Or reacts with violence instead of creating and relaxing, it

This is the hip-hop I know
In it, I put my honor, all my love, my being, my soul
With it, a new dawn
With lights and shadows, but I’ve always been loyal

And this is the hip-hop I know
In it, I left my heart, my mind, my voice, my skin
What I could learn
My passion and my craft, pain and pleasure
The hip-hop I know sometimes lives in war like Syria

And finds brothers far from the warmth of their family
It’s prey to envy and ignorance
But with a mic, it turns danger into grace
Produces on MPC, listens on MP3
Downloads its faith on forums, blogs, and websites

It’s sincere, shows its pleasure, its rage
Sometimes it does it for money and almost always for therapy
It’s revolution, activism, and resistance
Says what it thinks without caring for the consequences

It screams the helplessness of the working class
With the fury and impatience of those who are out of gas
It’s blind justice, mistreated, marginalized, misunderstood
Looks sideways, knows it has enemies in the hood

Never gives up even when it’s violent
Even if it thinks money will ease its torment
It’s honest and aggressive, doesn’t flinch or hide
Has the face of a child and an adult mind inside

It’ll spit at you if you insult or betray
Grows beyond languages, where others see races, it sees humanity’s way
It either works or stays pure, never had a plan B
Rewrites the future with the ink of its blood, you see
It’s so beautiful and poisonous at the same time
With flaws and virtues, but I’m proud it’s mine

This is the hip-hop I know
In it, I put my honor, all my love, my being, my soul
With it, a new dawn
With lights and shadows, but I’ve always been loyal

And this is the hip-hop I know
In it, I left my heart, my mind, my voice, my skin
What I could learn
My passion and my craft, pain and pleasure.