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co-produced by June22 and Ras Ceylon

lyrics

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"

credits

from The Collegraduate: Lessons 1999​-​2004, released June 22, 2004
originally created as an Academic piece for an Ethnic Studies course on Decolonization

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Ras Ceylon Oakland, California

Ras Ceylon is noted as the first Sri Lankan Hip-Hop artist to release an album (debut in 1999). He has been bringing uplifting messages to the masses for over 20 years, releasing 5 solo albums to date and appearing on multiple projects with notable Rap and Reggae artists. He works closely with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. Black Panther Party Cubs & is a member of Sizzla Kalonji's Judgment Yard fam. ... more

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