True Ease in Writing comes from Art, not Chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance. - Alexander Pope
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What is Black? Was I African or was I Black
Was I brown? Or was I black
History had it, that, if it was burnt then it was black
In Latine flagrare to blaze meant black?
In Greece phlegein, scorch was black
The old norse, called skin sweard, and that meant black
Sweard was animal hide, well could’ve the animal been a panther? Black?
My German friend’s name was zwart, now that also spelt black
Her animal hide fair... and not black
Joke, maybe her ancestors really were black.
Africa being the first world? Why else would a white girl’s name connote black?
First reason some come to Africa, for burnt, ‘mane’ la black
So tell her ‘u nothing without a tan’, Next time a white girl calls you black,
Most white people I know only listen to music by - blacks
You should some of them when titi goes 'Loxo yi','Loxo yi''
Or when the big man himself goes 'Surface de reparation!' [Impersontes
instrument break - Tchang.. Tchang]
Surface de reparation!' [Tchang..]
Blues, Hip Hop, Reggae, or just married to blacks,
No John Barnes, but they like it - big and black
No racial slur, see I was cush, not even black
One minute I was an angel, next minute my heart was [clears throat -
‘’sad to say’’] - black
But right before I talk a little bit more about black
Man, was you bad, Mic Jac Bad or Just Mic Jagger bad?
I was the baddest , If you was badder, and he was bad,huh
History had it, that, if it ‘stenched’, then it was bad
In Farci, from ancient Persia, bad meant - bad
In English, this linguistic coincidence also reads bad
Don’t know farci but treat the mic like she needed fixing, bad
Omid is farci though, means hope, 'cause things one time, really went bad
When I just started to rap, I wasn’t half bad
Ohm Noyr was the name, wanting to represent ,my African identity, real bad
Metaphysical complications really got bad
Like Rock and punk subcultures mostly dressed, bad
Ohm was latin for man, Noyr French for bad
Joke, French for black, mauvais, that was bad
In Arabic, ‘Noyr’[Noowar],meant The light, but – tooo - bad
Not before, I learnt ignorance ‘ignorance’, mu nyu genon na bad
Wisdom came stuck, started acting a little less bad
But if you claim you a bad man[accentuation patois] go ahead and be bad
Like they say in Nigeria, Nah fo your own head, if you bad-o
[accentuation naija]
But right before I talk a little bit more about bad
Girl, What was beautiful? Was you beautiful or was you not beautiful?
Was it facial? Or heartfelt? This being beautiful?
History had it, that if ,it was, a summation of the body parts
Working together in such A way
That nothing needed - to be added, taken away
Or altered, that was beautiful
In Amharic word is, Amara, meant - becomes beautiful
In African knowing what to name your child that was beautiful
To the old folks, distinctive personality that was beautiful
Personality wasn’t personal any more, if the person wasn’t beautiful
I Joke not, gold and embroidery that was beautiful
In nko, foreign, calligraphy wasn’t half as beautiful
The wife I want to marry; now that was beautiful
Wut James blunt’s beautiful, or Sean Kingston’s beautiful
Suicidal beautiful, could never be with you, because you were so beautiful
Kamikaze beautiful, turn my world into yet still a battlefield,
heavenly beautiful?
Brother, be offended if another man calls you beautiful
Seriously, kick his ass, for that will be beautiful
Now about the talking more about that’s
someone say - beau- ti - ful -
Beautiful like Black Gold
But Black Gold, was black..
The minds of those who killed for it, say- ‘beau - tiful’ ,when truly,
they shit was bad
All so, the bottom lines on their checks, the print not red, but black
Free of debt, but in the real world,
That either meant black?, beautiful? or just bad?
Bad like Black markets?
Black markets, ever wonder why they call them ‘black ‘
Call theirs Illegal trade; do they call yours beautiful, or bad
As in black propaganda, many institutions were black
The use of, partial truths black? Beautiful? Or just bad?
Partial truths like theories of Black Holes
Black Holes, well they say, now that were really black...
Stars that exhausted their fuel and burnt out, weren’t beautiful
Well if only Amy winehouse had seen it like that?
Going to rehab might have been less back to black, than beautiful or just bad.
But Black was the new fashion, all black this all black that
Ibadou’s with their hijabs dressed in black, not so beautiful?
Xana ni tagun, I recall my nigga black..bulen falex black, black, man
sa mo ma genon na bad
But even the Hassidic Jews, some Imams and pastors dressed in black
Black? Beautiful? Or just bad?
Well u know what they say, once you go black u never go back
Still wonder what Amy wine house meant in back to black?
Maybe she was related to my white german friend, swartz
But Saying’s like that, I never considered too beautiful
Just anyhow - never amused me like that - what ?
Well the way in which some use the term black
Bad
And most of all beautiful
But what it did it mean, knowing how to use the term black
Where and when, and why one used the term black?
But what it did it mean, knowing how to use the term beautiful
Where and when, and why one used the term beautiful?
But what it did it mean, knowing how to use the term bad
Where and when, and why one used the term bad?
One learned to, had to, see
'Cause one was The Black, The Bad, or The Beautiful,