The Blacker I Get

The blacker I get
the more violent
I become,
because Justice
for me,
means Justice
for none.

You have stolen my dignity,
my respect, and my soul,
now payback...is a MF,
for all the brothers
who are gone.

I thought all lives matter,
but you keep proving
me wrong.

Blue lives
means Justice,
when the black ones
can't breathe.

Yet you want me to stand,
for all the injustice that I see.

You think you're the man,
but you're really a fool,
because the blacker I get,
the more violent
I do too.

Vengeance,
maybe the Lord's,
when you're
dead,
buried,
and gone,
but today it's my wraith,
that you will feel
on your neck,
when I'm crushing
your bones,
and breaking your back.

For all the years
you have killed us,
without batting an eye.

I refuse to let go, until my
blackness...can rise!

HARD KNOCK LIFE :: BY WILLIAM J. BOOKER

“HARD KNOCK LIFE”

Everyday is an infusion of the last,

I almost comatose'd when the judge gave me a pass. 

I think about the times when I use to get high for thrills.

I didn’t give a damn if they were elderly or kids.

I took what I wanted,

cause I never had dreams.

I ran away from foster home at the age of thirteen.

I brought what I wanted, 

and I could go where I pleased. 

I knew all the pimps and the hustlers...they all knew me.

On the south side of Chicago, 

I grew up in Englewood, where if you weren’t in a gang,

you were misunderstood. 

P Stones, 

Black Stones and Disciples ran the show,

and when you stepped off the bus,

your black ass better know.

Back then I made the choice to do all the wrong things.

But as I stood before the judge,

suddenly my heart begin to sing.

Lord forgive me for all wrong, that I caused so many people.

I know I don’t deserve it,

but all I need is your forgiveness.

Everyday is an infusion of the last,

I almost comatose'd when the judge gave me a pass.

:: Hard Knock Life ::

"Who am I to Judge America the Land of the Free?"

"Who am I to Judge America the Land of the Free?"

Who am I to judge America and its Founding Fathers, 

its Star-Spangled Banner or National Anthem?

Who am I to judge America and its wonderful claim, 

of being the greatest country, the world has ever seen?

Who am I to judge America and its brutal enslavement 

of hundreds of thousands of African men?

Who am I to judge America, and its mass incarceration, 

school-to-prison pipeline or racial segregation?

Who am I to judge America and its racial profiling, 

or racist police and blue-code-of-silence?

Who am I to judge America and its police brutality, 

its history of lynching or KKK?

Who am I to judge American and its Tuskegee Experiment, 

or its Jim Crow laws that said "whites only" sit?

Who am I to judge American and its Presidential White House 

that was built by black men whose votes didn’t count?

Who am I to judge America and its confederate flag 

or its “All Live Matter” movement....until a brother is dead?

From Emmett Louis Till to Rodney Glen King, 

you think if they mattered the system would change.

From Laquan McDonald and all 16 shots, 

America the beautiful...a dream I think not.

From Sandra Annette Bland and Michael Brown Jr. 

their lives cut too short for no apparent reason.

From Trayvon Martin and Alton Sterling, 

the justice they got put us all back in chains.

From Tamir Elijah Rice, and of course Freddie Gray 

to the shouts that rang out when we marched in their names.

From Eric Garner, to his cry “I can’t breathe!”, 

they're killing us all or so it would seem.

Yet they criticize me, for not standing up, 

and acknowledging my love and patriotism.

But who am I, a black man, to judge all these things, 

for the love of my country... I’m taking a knee.

"What Freedom Means to Me"

"What Freedom Means to Me"

By: William J. Booker

I’m free to live and die, 

in the ghettos of America, 

and I’m free to fight for my country, 

though her liberties don’t mean much.

And I’m free to sponsor her unions; 

no matter how confederate they be, 

and I’m free to enter her prisons, 

for as long as she wants me.

And when she finally releases me, 

out into the streets, 

I’m free to go where ever I want, 

until the police stops me, 

then I’m free to remain silent, 

because it's really hard to breathe,

with your hands around my neck, 

and your partner beating me.

I'm also free, 

to just die here, 

in the middle of the street, 

with the officers 

the judge set free

after killing me.

If this freedom I have 

sounds more like a sham, 

then a speech from Doctor King, 

it is what it is, 

and those are the facts

of what freedom means to me.

"Hard Times"

"Hard Times"

By William J. Booker

I've never fallen on hard times,

but hard times have fallen on me.

I've been stumped on, spit at, pushed and kicked.

Hard times a son of a bitch.

But I won't let hard times get me down.

You better turn that ugly frown upside down.

I wish the hell you would,

I'm from the hood,

Southside Englewood!!!

where hard times be out everyday,
shuckin’ and jivin,

always two timing,

twerking and cursing,

stealing from you while you're working.

Hard times for real.

Real recognize real.

You better get wit this game;

cause I ain't a shame.

I been hard timing and freestyle rhyming

since I was a shorty in the Audy (home).

Shit'd... hard times, it's a new day.

So best to get the hell out my way.