I.R.ME (I Represent Me) - Ben Caesar

verse.1

its a complicated/

subject that i touch/

sensitive/

like injured love/

its something i gotta say/

cos it weighs on my heart/

only way to alleviate it/

is to face it head on/

lay it on bass kicks/

this is my therapist/

and nothing listens/

like rhythms//

indigineous/

musicians are wanted/

to represnt/

some hidden forces/

paint tranditional portraits/

cos we supposed/

to ennunciate in certain/

ways/

and portray S.A/

if not we seen as fake/

i overstand this/

cos accents reflect surroundings/

but i’m different/

not from around here/

my tongue/

don’t belong anywhere/

no country claims it/

i was raised in

many places/

so my tongue is/

nomadic/

which is/

hard to explain to the unitiated/

who want things simple and basic/

but the world is mixed and complexed/

i’m mixed race myself/

so what do i hold as my own

i was looking for a home/

i found it in the microphone/

chorus:

i cannot be/

what you want me to be/

or wanting to see/

apologies/

i represtent me/

i cannot be somebody but me /

i’m hoping one day /

that you’ll learn to love me

i cannot deny/

this truth of mine/

i may try/

but the use is none

verse.2

in circles of rap/

there verbal attacks/

on those who do and don’t/

twang on their wax/

some tight tracks fall on the deaf/

who only hear pronunciation/

and nothing else/

respect to the cats who rap

in local vernac/

i wish i could but i can only

represent who i am

wateva tongue u kick it in

its about lyrics in the end/

with no exceptions/

i know to some i sound American/

i’m the result of westernization

and over stimulation/

sits been a part of my shaping/

colour like Zebra/

i’m a combination/

of cultures/

i cannot represent/

one race or religion/

country or tradition/

cos i’m a blend/

you may worry for me/

feel sorry for me/

but i don’t need pity/

cos i love me

chorus:

i cannot be/

what you want me to be/

or wanting to see/

apologies/

i represtent me/

i cannot be somebody but me /

i’m hoping one day /

that you’ll learn to love me

i cannot deny/

this truth of mine/

i may try/

but the use is none

verse.3

black to white/

i’m all in one/

so i’m anxious/

in my reception/

breaker of expectations/

maker of new relations/

i ain’t mad at my situation/

i’m destined to be different/

word is born/

what i’m saying in this song/

is there’s no box for me/

i don’t have a place in society/

indefinable/

not in textbooks/

no identity/

do i follow do i lead?

see me as an entity/

in entirety/

maybe then you’ll overstand me/

till then/

i’m Plan Be/

and

i’ll be representing

---

Ben Caesar (Ben Caesar Charles Le Roux) (born 1985) Dominica

Source: Badilisha Poetry