Kindred

[Intro - Chuck D] This is Chuck D. The effects of slavery have had a far reaching Effect on black people in America The scars run deep Not just the physical, but the emotional and psychological scars as well And they still hurt today It's been said before, that we can't know Where we are going, without knowing where we have been Follow along, as Akrobatik takes us on a journey Back to how things started for us here And links topics to what we're dealing with, to this day [Akrobatik] It took me six years to build up enough courage to run And only six hours to be facing the barrel of a gun Not knowing if it's the last time I'd ever see my sons And that's punishment enough, still the pain has just begun Life flashes, whether from the whip lashes He's threatening to burn me in my own ashes Brown skin is now purple, it comes full circle When the pain that I'll endure is the pain I have to work through For now my body lies listless Wishing that my wife wasn't forced to witness Wishes she wasn't forced to be master's mistress Wishes she wasn't forced to be under this disstress How did we ever get into this mess We came from kings, now we're wearing rags Eating unmentionable things, the stings From the welds on my back make me wanna attack And be a martyr for blacks, but then the whip cracks And brings me back to reality, madness brutality That leads to fatalities And if he knew I was reading books and getting smarter It would only make him whip me harder Sometimes I thank God I never had a daughter But even if I did it might definately connect Through the pain, our soul's kindred [Hook - Brenna Gethers] Hmm-mm-mm, we are kindred Through our name [Chuck D] Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath Have long since been forgotten by many of those unaffected by her wrath Felt in 2005 Once again our people have been displaced by the thousands And were left to fend for themselves While those more fortunate were able to escape Let's take a look at what may have been going on Through the mind of victims of America's most infamous natural disaster [Akrobatik] I'm on my rooftop, sick and thirsty, asking God for mercy Please spare my wife, she's only thirty Schoolbuses float atop murky waters, could they have Used them to at least evacuate our sons and daughters? We sleep because we have no choice, dehydrated And we can't scream for because we have no voice Crying for what the helicopters never dropped us The stench of bodies in piles is evident for miles Broke with little home, laid off with little income Ghetto life is no joke, I'm broke and then some My son is on his stomach, body riddled with heavy shakes I guess we now know what happens when the levee breaks For now my body lies listless Whishing that my wife wasn't forced to witness Whishes she wasn't forced to be without me for Christmas Whishes she wan't forced to be under this disstress How did we ever get into this mess We came from kings, now I feel I truly know why the caged bird sings He sings to keep his mind of the pain of things But the way that we were left to remain, it stings Stings like the welds on the back of my kin Now replaced by the toxic water attacking my skin I bet CNN is broadcasting this slaughter As gasprices rise like the water I thank God I never had a daughter But even if I did it might definately connect Through the pain, our soul's kindred [Hook - Brenna Gethers] Hmm-mm-mm, we are kindred Through our name