Immortal Technique - Harlem Renaissance lyrics
rate meHarlem was once was red line district rated
Designated ghetto like the yellow star of David
And you wonder why people don't own their homes
Cuz the racist bank couldn't fuckin mortgage a loan
[x3]
Until after the invasion of gentrification
Eminent domain intimidation
That's not negotiation, and it's frustrating to look at
Everyday, like watching a porno on 56k
Bio hazard labs instead of store rooms
What's next motherfucker, projects as dorm rooms
You ain't fool nobody in this community duke
With your little fake Manhattanville community group
Ivy league real estate firms are corrupt
They'll lay siege to your castle like the Moors in Europe
And treat street vendors like criminal riff raff
While politicians get the corporate kickback
Harlem Renaissance, a revolution betrayed
Modern day slaves, thinkin that the ghetto is saved
So they start deporting people off the property
Ethnically cleansing the hood, economically
They wanna kill the real Harlem Renaissance
Tryna put the Virgin Mary through an early menopause
The savior is a metaphor for how we set it off
Guerrilla war against the beasts only predators
When I speak about Harlem
I speak to the world
The little Afghan boy and the Bosnian girl
The African of Sudan, the people of Kurdistan
The third world American, indigenous man
Palestinians, Washington Heights Dominicans
Displaced New Orleans citizens
Beachfront Brazilian, favelas that you living in
The hood is prime real estate, they want back in again
I didn't write this to talk shit, I say it because
Some of ya'll forgot what the Harlem Renaissance was
We had revolution, music and artisans
But the movement was still fucked up like Parkinsons
Cuz while we were givin birth to the culture we love
Prejudice kept the old people outta the club
Only colored celebrities in the party
And left us a legacy of false superiority
W.E.B DuBois versus Marcus Garvey
And we ended up selling out to everybody
The Dutch Schultzs and the John Gottis
Banksters, modern day gangsters
Immobile army
They wanna move us all out the NYC
Like they did to the Jews
With the Al Hura Decree
So support your own businesses and do the knowledge
Cuz the real Harlem Renaissance is economic.
Thanks to Mr. Kuang for these lyrics
Thanks to MC Juice for these lyrics
Thanks to EMO for these lyrics