Fading2PRPL (feat. Matthew Butera)

I'll tell you my story
I'll say that I had a gambling problem
You see
I bet my happiness on the integrity of my neighbors
And sometime after Philando's hashtag but before my own, I lost not just my smile
But my love of music as well
Every song America sang had a new lyric to the same old beat
And after while I got tired of being angry at a broken record for being scratched
I'll tell you my story
I'll say that I knew how dismal my future looked
But I also knew
That there was more to being black than this
That after the pain came a pride so grand that racism itself couldn't shame
I knew that I was supposed to smile through the struggle
Because my parents did it
My grandparents did it
My ancestors did it
Because we are God's children created in His image
I knew that I was supposed to embrace my ageless skin
My endless curls
My beautiful heritage
And my powerful voice
I knew that it should not have been a crime to be black

You said it'd be fine
You said that you would defend me
Then took my life
Now I ain't more than a memory
I can't be a memory
Promise you'll remember
No I can't be a memory

But I also knew where I lived
I knew that having white friends wouldn't be enough for me
I knew that being well known and respected throughout my community wouldn't be Enough for me
I knew that my time as a young, African-American male
Could only be borrowed for so long
Before the system wanted its money back
Just as I knew that the red pill you took today would fade into purple tomorrow
And you'd remember me as nothing more
Than a horror story black parents tell their children to ensure they're home before Curfew
A chess piece politicians manipulate to win them their elections
And a hashtag slam poets use to get their points across