White Privilege

Now nod your head and wake up
 I see so many people lost who really try to pretend
 But am I just another white boy who has caught on to the trend
 When I take a step to the mic is Hip-Hop closer to the end?
 'Cause when I go to shows the majority have white skin
 They marketed the windmill, the air flair and head spin
 And white rappers albums really get the most spins
 The face of hip hop has changed a lot since Eminem
 And if he's taking away black artists' profits I look just like him
 Claimed a culture that wasn't mine, the way of the american
 Hip-Hop is gentrified and where will all the people live
 It's like the Central District, Beacon Hill to the South End
 Being pushed farther away because of what white people did, now
 Where's my place in a music that's been taken by my race
 Cultural appropriated by the white face and we don't want to admit that this is existing
 So scared to acknowledge the benefits of our white privilege
 'Cause it's human nature to want to be part of something different
 Especially when your ancestors are european christians
 And most whites don't want to acknowledge this is occurring
 'Cause we got the best deal, the music without the burden
 Of being black in a system that really wants you to rock
 'Cause all you need is a program and you can go and make Hip-Hop
 And we hate the mainstream cause we're the ones that took it
 Now we listen to Aesop Rock and wear t-shirts that say Brooklyn
 But it's not about black and white, right?
 I mean, good music is good music regardless of what you look like
 But when you don't give them props isn't that selfish?
 That's like saying rock was actually started by Elvis
 So where does this leave me?
 I feel like I pay dues but I'll always be a white MC
 I give everything I have when I write a rhyme
 But that doesn't change the fact that this culture's not mine
 But I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
 This is something that's effortless and shouldn't be hard
 I said I'm gonna be me, so please be who you are
 But we still owe 'em 40 acres now we've stolen their 16 bars
 Hip-Hop started off in a block that I've never been to
 To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
 If I think I understand just because I flow too
 That means I'm not keeping it true, nope
 Hip-Hop started off in a block that I've never been to
 To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
 If I think I understand just because I flow too
 That means I'm not keeping it true, I'm not keeping it true
 Now I don't rap about guns, so they label me conscious
 But I don't rap about guns 'cause I wasn't forced into the projects
 See, I was put in the position where I could chose my options
 Blessed with the privilege that my parent's could send me to college
 Now, who's going to shows?
 The kids on the block starving?
 Or the white people with dough that can relate to my content?
 Marketed the music now adapted to the lifestyle
 What happened to jazz and rock 'n' roll is happening right now
 Where's my place in the music that's been taken by the media
 With white corperations controlling what their feeding ya
 I brought up Aesop Rock but I'm not even dissing dude
 We love Hip-Hop and what do you think caucasians are listening to?
 And I speak freely when I write this
 If a black emcee examined race there goes half their fan base, white kids
 And this is so true
 And we didn't even have to fight the system, we just went and picked up the microphone too
 And we got good at it so we should be rapping
 But only supporting them is like burning Jimmy and buying Clapton, now
 Clapton's incredible but no Jimmy no foundation
 So here comes history and the cultural appropriation
 White kids with do rags trying to practice their accents
 From the suburbs to the upperclass mastering a language
 But Hip-Hop is not just memorizing words
 It's rooted in authenticity something you literally can't learn
 But I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
 It's something that's effortless and shouldn't be hard
 I said, I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
 But as I'm blessed with the privilege, they're still left with the scars
 Come on
 Hip-Hop started off in a block that I've never been to
 To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
 If I think I understand just because I flow too
 That means I'm not keeping it true, nope
 Hip-Hop started off in a block that ive never been to
 To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
 If I think I understand just because I flow too
 That means I'm not keeping it true, I'm not keeping it true