Under Lock & Key

They say "America is the land of the free"
But what about the millions
of people who are just like me
Locked in a cage for petty crimes
Don't you see in this so called land of the free
a dead president's face on a piece of
paper is worth more than you or me
And they say the U.S.A.
is home of the brave
What's so brave about locking a
man in a cage
with nothing other than time
to bottle up his rage
There is some who are addicts
others who are mentally ill
And the answer to the problem
when society no longer wants us around
send us to a court so a judge can lay us down
But that judge is no better than you or me
He's just as crooked as any other
politician you see
If you have the money he'll let you go free
But if you're indigent the outcome is
the millions of people who are just like me

No. I do not believe in your government
never have never will
No. I do not support your wars
for your greed i will not kill
No. I will not sit back and shut up
nor play deaf, dumb and blind
No. I will not hear what you say
you can't corrupt my mind
No. I will not teach my children your hate
nor will i teach them your lies
I can see your true colors through your
red, white, and blue disguise
No. I will not go to your church
nor will i read your bible
No. I will not worship your god
fake prophets, a book or an idol

At this time; in this place; I genuinely
know why the caged bird sings other than
being falsely imprisoned, he’s being called
N.I.G.G.E.R. of all things... As I
give perfect praise to “the most high,” I can
only wonder how many more bullets have to fly?
How many more of my precious Black and Latino
prisoners must die? Before those of us who
still dare to be free can remove the blood filled
tearz from our eyez. We’ve all been
shackled by the same chainz, victimized by the
same pain, so... in whose name doez death
blossom? I can vividly recall being racially
profiled as a juvenile, because as a child
I refused to pledge my allegiance to a flag
that forced so many of my B.L.A.C.K. Panthers
into exile... This beautiful black revolutionary
love of mine is God’s design, bottom line...
I speak from the perspective of a S.O.U.L.J.A
with an objective. Cause being Black in
this "white man's worls," justice is often
selective. On behalf of the collective, I
stand on the front lines. My message to the b.l.a.c.k. man
is to fight the power, nourish the seeds
and restore our flowers... This form of revolutionary love will
never be televized, nor will it be glamorized,
because the very essence of this love affair
depicts us finally being unified!! Let’z
reflect back to the bird in the cage, back
to the dehumanization that we endured
while naked on the auction blocks and
stage... Or picture the 25-50 million Africans
that died during the passage that never made
it to the grave because it is only through these
degrees of pain, horror and terror, can one
truly understand the life of a slave... On
the strength of those whose lives were gave,
that divine sacrifice in turn allowed countless
other B.L.A.C.K. lives to be saved!!

Death and destruction, killing and anarchy
Your nightmares and fears have become reality
Open your eyes, you're all going to die
Bodies will burn, women will cry
Children will perish, cities will crumble
Striking you down, making you humble
Death everywhere, violence fills the air
The warnings were clear, you just didn't care
Now your lungs turn to black with the smoke they've consumed
Untimely demise, nothing to prove
For your church and your country you fought with great pride
For your god and your government
You fought and you died.

No Place 2 Be!
Across the world abuse unfolds,
millions incarcerated, cruelty untold
3rd world countries amerikaz cold
The United Nations' head turns,
a system exposed.
Broken promises with a lot of corrupt laws,
no reform, a system flawed.
With one punishment comes isolation
with no air or lights, we suffer deprivation.
At the hands of the system, we slowly deteriorate.
Millions hunger strike, souls daily break.
We complain, they block our appeal.
We associate, they stop our will.
As a whole, we all agree-
frustrated, the system failed us all-
failed you and me!
No place 2 be!
Against all walls!!

On a cold December night
Blue suits tried to fix a fight
Between life and death
As Mumia fought for his next breath
When all was said and done
They'd planted upon him a killer's gun
A "legal" tomb would have to do
To silence his tongue
A voice so vibrant
A spirit so resistant
To their tyrannical ways
A Judge as corrupt as the crimes
Mentioned in his court
Leaned his support
To a truth-less prosecution
So as to up the notch
Of how many he's led to legal execution
A case built on false, lost and tampered
evidence
Was seen as irrelevant
Sitting in the court could've been an elephant
And it like the truth would've gone unnoticed
Death.
That was his peers' decision
Easily decided as what
To view on the television
It's been years since that day
That day in infamy
One that should never have come to be
Cause Mumia should be free!
I've read, like many,
His powerful, passionate words
Of which there are plenty
And it is from them that
I've grown to call him friend
But to me that is not the end
As a child without a father
To have him guide me
That is what I feel he has come to be
A friend and a father
A father who has led me to be free
A father who has taught me what
It means to be a revolutionary.
He has given me hope amongst agony
And shown me how to be strong
Where others bow down in defeat
He has taught me that you never
Surrender and never retreat
For I have learned that
If he,
An ordinary man
Can bravely stand
In the face of death
And continue to fight
Not just for himself
Not for wealth
But for the people!
Then we shall fear not
What we must endure
Rather we should strive
To follow in his compassion
And stand behind him
Just as he
Stands beside you and me.

Here in the state of Tax-us, it's very sad to say
To stand against the injust-us, you'll never again see the light of day
Oh comrades, many say, but very few do
Years ago, I was lost like you

Seeing what's wrong, uniting to make it right,
Directing the masses, is a tedious plight
The system is large, it breeds all kinds of hate,
Rewarding the submissive who take the bait

The battle is not of our flesh, you'll come to see
It's to control your mind, re-programing who you'll be
This place creates living dead, stealing your soul,
Defeating the dreams, as we lose sight of our goals

Now in the State of Shock, Tax-us classifies all STG the same
Weak minds are broken, who are we to blame?
Promoting racism, thru incognito ways
leaving us bewildered transfixed in a daze

Comrades are betrayed by infiltrators who know our quest
You've gotta stay alert, there's no time to rest
Use the opportunity to teach many, while you're out there
Cause when you're snitched out of population, you'll breath stale Ad-Seg air

Buried in concrete boxes, it will be years before you feel warm sunlight
High security isolation is designed to hinder our might.
Uniting now, will give us some kind of chance
So many become hypnotized, controlled in a trance

Men in these cells are hungry, defeated and cold
We have to endure, standing in solidarity ever so bold.
Humans with rights we struggle to be
Our fight is priceless, nothing is free

This seems to be an outrageous price?
So the system squeezes tighter, we're prisoners in their vice
Thousands are docile, sheep afraid to get more times
Duped into perceiving such is permitted, cause they're here for a crime!

It's not too late comrades across Tax-us you need to believe
in unified strength cut the opposition off at the knee
"So they keep us warring on each other,"
But through peace, you'll find I'm your comrade, not the other.

Don't mess with Tax-us, is the motto they use,
subliminal injections, that our struggle will lose.
Don't play into that Billy Box shit,
Anything will crumble, if strategically hit.

In the State of Tax-us, it's the Tax-us two step. One forward, two steps back!
Pitting brown against white, which turns white against Black
To keep colors warring on each other,
So all groups are incapable to witness brothers.

I read the article, of fledgling plight,
Driven to point of frustration strategically attempting to fight.
Comrades gathered on a yard, to voice grievances to the man,
A peaceful sit-down was their ultimate plan.

Their custody is minimum, the industry has everything to lose,
many are unsure of tactics riot squads will use.
The days are gone where they'd brutalize one man's race,
Now they'll spray you with chemical gas and fold you up as a suitcase.

But majority tomorrow, they'll file to chow hall, sit where they're told,
to be fed rubbery pancakes that are usually cold
Then be rushed back to wings fueled for a productive day!
Forced to meet quotas, compensated no sort of pay.

Afraid to be written a bogus disciplinary case,
To be held in check, while confined to this place.
You're housed in concrete boxes! like sperm specimens in a culture dish,
Checked by intimidation, you're afraid to resist.

Then informers infiltrate, exposing what you plan to initiate,
forcing all backwards to stagnated state.
You're one man, in many who burn with a vision we can achieve,
Now, we must convince other contingents to unconditionally believe.

Now locked in Ad-Seg we passed on the revolutionary flame,
You let them extinguish it so who you gonna blame?
What can they take from us now? or futuristically do,
So, ask yourself, are you capable to follow thru?

Comrades are all I got left, recently I kissed parole goodbye!
To charge the State of Tax-us it's our final do or die
I'm going down swinging, gonna give one hell of a fight
It's up to us comrades to unite for human rights

One voice alone, can easily be quelled,
They'll strip you of everything to be locked in an Ad-Seg cell.
But multitudes of voices they're forced to hear,
United comrades of all nationalities is what southerners fear.

They try to silence our voices, ignoring our needs
Are you afraid to be beat down, for the struggle, to bleed?
There's a fever spreading across Tax-us, they cannot contain
Comrades who are infected become immune to the pain.

It makes my mind wobbly
Why do the state bother?
To sterilize the needle during a lethal injection?
Are they concerned about the condemned contracting an infection?
Or are they just achieving a sadistic judicial erection?
Even the concept of sanitizing executions is mindless!
Who thought of killing them with kindness?
Humanity, need to redefine justice and blindness
It's sad! Humane mercy in the form of an alcohol pad
The executors leave a lot to be desired
It's like they be pissing on a person, on fire
Why do they sterilize the needle? But in the RHU they won't feed us
"Our society teach revenge killing is okay and our society expect murder to go away?"
I got 28 yrs in, my mind could be a little feeble
Because, I thought about flying needles and ask
myself, "why didn't Noah just swat the two mosquitoes and save the world. From a lot of diseases!"
Why? When it come to death they sterilize the needle!
But in the RHU they won't feed us
Another death penalty procedure?

I'm considered an "enemy of the state"
because I refuse to participate
so they incarcerate trying to manipulate
and mandate my mind state, solitary
confined my mind refined but not reformed
nor refrained. I've maintained
an intellect apart, with the intent to
never relent, staying relentless showing
no repentance, insistent that I be
able to live life in the true sense
of liberty unequivocally.
Allow me to enlighten
I don't mean to frighten only to heighten
your ability to see clearly
I only hope you hear me. Society projected
whole communities neglected, infected,
mistreated, abused and used left
confused I'm not amused nothing more
to lose so I spread the news of revolt
a jolt to the very foundation of this
hypocritical nation they are enslaving
I have faith you can envision, listen
and pay attention,
their invention of detention
another form of oppression, take a
lesson start asking questions check
my aggression due to their arrestin'
instead of stressin' I'm pressin'
forward, on and beyond the class war
straight to the core of this division
life in prison a manifestation the
incarceration of a whole nation. They've
got us all under surveillance
and if we show resistance we're
silenced with violence repressed
it's stressed that we fall in line
and be brainwashed one at a time
the status quo has got to go a new
format needs to be executed because
in order for us to exist we must
resist, ready and equipped. They've
got this country voting on shows and
topics that are superficial. But where's
our initial on something politically
official?! Their superimposition is apparent
and transparent with no comment,
committed to categorizing, the use of
hypnotizing with lies refusing to hear our
cries. Time to rise everyone please stand
and demand allow us all to be indelible
a considerable voice to expel, propel and
procure a promising future that will nurture
and educate instead of violate.
The vice that will annihilate our rights
without question should be cropped
and stooped!