Ras Ceylon (BMI) “Decolonize” lyrics -created for an Ethnic Studies course @ SFSU 2003, originally released on “Collegraduate: Lessons 1999-2004” CD "Is is sumwhat of a white lie 4 me 2 self identify usin a bastard language that isn’t even mine yet im kickin rhymes of written lines 2 decolonize the mind 4get master& slave / engage a new paradigm its there 2 find /tho the truth has been hidden 2 redefine your memory go 2 the roots cuz that’s the beginning within a global context / b4 the colonial process one world was the conscience / Africa the continent (listen) Kushite Abbysinian / dark skinned Dravidian Asiatic Ethiopians my eastern origin / from the Nile Valley 2 the Indus / Sri Lanka had been touched / by ancient ancestors b4 Aryan transgressors / 4 many epochs our culture was cultivated undisturbed / until they crossed the Caucus with a psychology that was perturbed / by harsh climates aggression ex and internal divisions breeding color separation and patriarchy in religion Sinhabahu was known as our 1st true king / half-man half-lion fleeing India in 6th century BC I’m Sinhalese / that means the people of the lion ethnicity and nationality didn’t use 2 have us dying I’d be confused without applying / the civil war right now my land is called the 3rd World / history shows us how: it was 1505 when the Portuguese arrived 2 rape an untouched island of beauty /was paradise 4 them 2 take next was the Dutch in 1658 / followed by the Brits the occupation of Ceylon / 1796 to 1948… “the conquest of the earth, which mostly means taking it away from those who have a different complexion is not a pretty thing when you look into it much, what redeems it is an idea only” –Edward Said An idea @ the end of this sh*t… so whats the result of 500 years of denied sovereignty drained resources / forced labor / to sustain poverty the same dishonesty / divide & conquer cracka policy inferiority / pushed in the heads of the majority the Tamil minority / forced to fight an unending war you see unity is key 2 resist foreign authority they put that in check then my parents left for overseas what kind of future did they expect / livin in a war-torn country they wanted a better life / and London England was the plan but the colonial motherland / denied them a home becuz of the color ban you have 2 overstand / this was 1971 / so they came 2 L.A. my Uncle and Aunt planning Revolution 4 years later my older Sis born in Watts Mom stayed working / Pops grinding overtime at every jobspot / I give thanks a lot 4 the sacrifices they all made 6 years later / I’m born again / Reincarnate.. “We must become members of a new race. Overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but our fellow man, within the human community. –His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Sellasie I JAH!!! RASTAFARI! Here I am born & raised on stolen land Tryna deprogram how they destroyed man Determined by Self like everyone should be But the dominant discourse / blocks what you could see I probably would be blind like some / cept Sellasie I saves and I rhyme over drums / I remember after 911 my pops was like “Americans don’t know what it means 2 be colonized” and that’s wise / but we all play a part in this get free or die trying like Spartacus I used 2 be pissed / now I’m blessed in the struggle Concrete jungle / the lions on the humble Ras Ceylon burning fiya on the hegemon From the Vatican 2 the Pentagon beyond that Immortal combat / just like Iraq Yo I’ll break it down but first filter the facts Decolonizing the mind a life-long process 23 years of the racist conquest / I’ve come to realize That it just aint easy / being a brother of color in this society I’ve been brutalized by police / illegally seized miseducated in schools that claim 2 teach its plain to me / institutional white supremacy the legacy of imperialism in my memory the last time I seen my island I was 12 curfews in the streets/ busses packed to swell war is hell / and that aint hard 2 tell / I’ve lived relatively well but far from paradise / looking back on my life decolonized / I gotta stay connected in order to survive looking back on my life / decolonized I am one with my people / that’s no lie"