The Africa I know
You may not have known this but my roots extend all the way back to the west coast of Africa, Nigeria. Where the atlantic meets the beautiful sandy beaches of Victoria Island...that's my spot.
I've become increasingly disturbed with how many Americans have a very distorted view of what africa is like. Living here in Massachusettes, I get to experience ignorance too often. So in response I wrote this piece...enjoy
The Africa I know, is not the same one that's shown on CNN and Foxnews
The reality is really misconstrued
They gat people swinging from trees, everyone's a refugee
and if you visit, you gon catch a contagious disease
and I get asked "how come you speak such good english?"
See after all Africa has been thru
the slave trade, diamonds extracted at the cost of children's blood
gold mined by dead sons sitting in your jewelry box
you wonder why 3/4 is still 3rd world?
If my great great great grandfather's beautiful mind hadn't been shipped off
don't you know he would have invented the first light bulb?
They paint Africa as a grim picture, savage deadly and primitive
but I tell you they gat the whitest beaches
the views will leave you breathlesss
and the people don't trust in riches
some visit the safaries and think all they have are giraffes and tigers
Fact: worldwide scholars, travelled thru Nigeria, along the Niger river
to be schooled in Timbuktu
some think issall voodoo but 4got we made the 1st spices you put in ur food
The west ready dissappoints me with its ignorance
"No I don't speak 'African'" and "No, on the streets they don't ride on elephants"
why prejudiced towards the immigrant?
we all Adam's descendants, foreigners occupying the native indian's land
so don't be disrespectful talking 'bout my motherland
Broke top ten in oil production,
our history is French and British colonization,
but our reality is Pepsi and Coke competition, I'm just tryn to change ur perception
I never saw a lion. and the only place I saw a chimpanzee was playing donkeykong on my atari
and after school voltron cartoons and sesame street
I'm just like you
and yeah there are places where people starve and there are child soldiers
corrupt govt. officials and the situation with aids is critical
but don't make the mistake of thinking issall of Africa
From the dynasties of Accra Ghana to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia
you'll fall in love over and over, so keep them hamburgers
gimme pounded yam and Egusi soup
taste so good it hurt your feelings, n leave you anticipating a visitation
to Lagos, Victoria Island...hope you're proud of me
I replay my memories like my cd's, n though my accent will now sound foreign to thee
but still, you remain the Africa I know, the Africa I show.
I've become increasingly disturbed with how many Americans have a very distorted view of what africa is like. Living here in Massachusettes, I get to experience ignorance too often. So in response I wrote this piece...enjoy
The Africa I know, is not the same one that's shown on CNN and Foxnews
The reality is really misconstrued
They gat people swinging from trees, everyone's a refugee
and if you visit, you gon catch a contagious disease
and I get asked "how come you speak such good english?"
See after all Africa has been thru
the slave trade, diamonds extracted at the cost of children's blood
gold mined by dead sons sitting in your jewelry box
you wonder why 3/4 is still 3rd world?
If my great great great grandfather's beautiful mind hadn't been shipped off
don't you know he would have invented the first light bulb?
They paint Africa as a grim picture, savage deadly and primitive
but I tell you they gat the whitest beaches
the views will leave you breathlesss
and the people don't trust in riches
some visit the safaries and think all they have are giraffes and tigers
Fact: worldwide scholars, travelled thru Nigeria, along the Niger river
to be schooled in Timbuktu
some think issall voodoo but 4got we made the 1st spices you put in ur food
The west ready dissappoints me with its ignorance
"No I don't speak 'African'" and "No, on the streets they don't ride on elephants"
why prejudiced towards the immigrant?
we all Adam's descendants, foreigners occupying the native indian's land
so don't be disrespectful talking 'bout my motherland
Broke top ten in oil production,
our history is French and British colonization,
but our reality is Pepsi and Coke competition, I'm just tryn to change ur perception
I never saw a lion. and the only place I saw a chimpanzee was playing donkeykong on my atari
and after school voltron cartoons and sesame street
I'm just like you
and yeah there are places where people starve and there are child soldiers
corrupt govt. officials and the situation with aids is critical
but don't make the mistake of thinking issall of Africa
From the dynasties of Accra Ghana to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia
you'll fall in love over and over, so keep them hamburgers
gimme pounded yam and Egusi soup
taste so good it hurt your feelings, n leave you anticipating a visitation
to Lagos, Victoria Island...hope you're proud of me
I replay my memories like my cd's, n though my accent will now sound foreign to thee
but still, you remain the Africa I know, the Africa I show.
posted by Aima at 9:17 AM
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