AP and Korso – ‘What Are You?’ [Video]
By Button Poetry
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AP & Korso, performing at Rustbelt 2019 in St. Louis, MO.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:06
But what are you?
00:10
See the world loves to ask really important questions,
00:12
like what race am I.
00:14
– Like I matter. – Like it matters.
00:15
Like they matter to us.
00:17
I am everyone’s favorite guessing game.
00:20
Hmm… Mexican?
00:22
Oh, dude, you gotta let me touch your hair.
00:24
Like my body is oddity, carnival attraction, sideshow,
00:27
foreign animal freak for the white folks to gawk at,
00:30
for their kids to poke at.
00:32
I never really understood why they think
00:34
they can just reach out and grab like that.
00:36
Oh, that’s just show biz, baby, and we’re on display,
00:40
HD, 3D, 1080 p,
00:43
but something’s wrong with the screen
00:44
’cause they can’t tell what they’re watching.
00:47
Is it the Latin channel?
00:49
Should we call TSA?
00:51
Can you say the n-word?
00:54
More importantly, can we say the n-word to you?
00:59
After all, I’d hate to use the wrong racial slur when talking to you.
01:03
Because people decide my race first and how to treat me second.
01:07
But remember, they don’t see color.
01:09
If you don’t see color, then riddle me this.
01:12
If a man is half black
01:13
and half white,
01:14
do we call him white?
01:16
If not, is it because he’s impure?
01:19
What’s the manner?
01:20
Does his melanin taint your America?
01:22
Do I taint your America,
01:25
your sweet melting pot of patriotism?
01:28
You know that’s really funny symbolism, right?
01:30
– The melting pot? – Yeah.
01:31
Because chocolate melts, milk just kind of boils over,
01:36
colonizing your countertop.
01:37
Yeah, you know, hoping to turn it into…
01:41
Sour cream, kefir, yogurt.
01:43
Honestly, anything with a little culture.
01:46
More specifically, ours.
01:48
If only they knew which one.
01:50
Ooh, well, I know what I am.
01:52
I’m part nervous when a car that looks like a cop gets behind me.
01:55
Oh, I’m part “Are you even legal?” on my mother’s side.
01:58
Well, I’m half “Sir, can we see your receipt?”
02:02
You can really see it in my hoodie.
02:04
Oh, but mostly I’m “Ma’am, do you speak English?”
02:07
Well, yes, it is my second language.
02:10
But assumptions are my native tongue.
02:13
Assuming our recipe for curly hair is more than just add water.
02:18
Assuming our race outweighs our experiences.
02:22
Assuming we don’t understand them
02:24
when they ask, “But what are you?”
02:28
– So they repeat it, but what are you? – Chameleon.
02:30
– Yes, but what is your heritage? – Mixed.
02:32
– Yes, but where are you from? – America.
02:33
– What is your family? – Proud.
02:35
– What are you really? – Tired of this question!
02:38
I am proud of my features and from where they have traveled.
02:42
I just wish people would ask me something else.
02:45
Like what makes you happy?
02:47
What’s your favorite color?
02:49
Or maybe what’s your name?
02:53
(cheers and applause)
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This post was previously published on YouTube and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video
The post AP and Korso – ‘What Are You?’ [Video] appeared first on The Good Men Project.