Akala - Find No Enemy lyrics

Apparently I'm second generation black Caribbean And half white Scottish whatever that means See lately I feel confused with the boxes, 'Cause to me all they do is breed conflict, It not that I've lost touch with the reality Of racism, s**ism and nationality, Just to me it all seems like insanity, Why must I rob you of your humanity To feel good about mine, It's all about crime, Dehumanizing, is how I justify it, So I must keep on lying about the history of Africa, So I can live with the ma**acres and repeat my mantra, m**m and terrorist so I can sleep at night, As bombs take flight, Eyes open wide but I'm blind to the sight Too busy chasing the perfect life, And the working cla** keep them uneducated, Truly educated men could never be racist, To educate is to draw out what is within Are we not all the same under the skin, I got a heart like yours that pumps blood and oxygen And insecurities are a whole lot of them, I'm scared like you deep down, I really do care that the world is not fair like you, But I don't even believe my own prayers like you, Chasing career going nowhere like you, Lost in a fog of my own insecurities I hold myself up as an image of purity, And I judge everybody else By the color of their skin or the size of their wealth, But it's not good for my health As the only one I ever really judge is myself, The oppressor must suffer like the oppressed, Though I pretend I'm in control of this mess, By inflating my ego, puffing my chest I see my weakness and need to show strength, For what we think strong is 'Cause if were honest, true strength is the strength to be honest, And if I'm honest, I am just tired if I'm honest I am just tired, Tired of everyday filling up my car And knowing that I'm paying for the bombs in Iraq, Tired of pretending like it don't hurt my heart, Of wanting change but not knowing where to start, Tired of listening to all the conditioning, And all the forms that they got me filling in, Next time you see what is a thug and despise him, Please know I was just like him, 'Cause I was like eight the first time I saw crack, Same time I first smoked weed chocking on blowbacks, First time I saw knifes penetrate flesh It was meat cleavers to the back of the head, As I grew and teenage years pa**ed Many more knifes pierced and the shots blast And I ain't saying I had the worst upbringing, But there's a million young men just like me in prison, We complain about racism and elevate clowns, With their trousers down, swinging their dicks round, Maybe that is not quite literal But everything they do is just as stereotypical, To my real fans I feel your pain And I get the messages but don't complain That we ain't got more fame for paying our part, They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts, They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts, They can keep the charts all I want is your hearts, Call it black radio don't make laugh, So is black music all about tits and arse, You don't represent nothing, you're just pretending, When was the last time you ever played Hendrix Or Miles Davis or John Coltrane, Or Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday, We can call it urban to me that's cool, If urban means street that means jazz to And rock for that matter, Go ask Mick Jagger Or Jimmy Page what they were listening to, the blues, Not discrediting love Zeppelin too Just giving credit where credit is due, That blood socked word rappers still use All it really shows is that we still self abuse, That was the word that was used to k**, Kelso Cochrane and Emmett Till, That was the word that the conscience eased And made people pleased to hung you from trees, That was the word that let there whips crack, No matter what you say you can't take it back, And I can say they're black so I feel their pain easier, But 1915 look at Armenia, It's the whole world is human stupidity Though we choke ourselves to d**h quite literally, And I can talk with my comfortable mouth, With my comfortable cloths in my comfortable house, The tables will turn, We can but stall them, Every empire on this earth has fallen, So unless we can find another way, Maybe not today but it will come one-day, It may sound like I'm bitter, But in-fact truth be told I am quite the opposite, I wake everyday and am overwhelmed Just to be alive and be like no one else, And the sheer weight of the thought of space Is enough to keep my little ego in place, All that we chase and try to replace All along it was right in our face, The only way we can ever change anything Is to look in the mirror and to find no enemy, The only way we can ever change anything, Look in the mirror and to find no enemy