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Today,

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a baffled lady observed

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the shell where my soul dwells

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And announced that I'm

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"articulate"

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Which means that when it comes

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to annunciation and diction

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I don't even think of it

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‘Cause I’m “articulate”

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So when my professor asks a question

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And my answer is tainted with a connotation

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of urbanized suggestion

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There’s no misdirected intention

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Pay attention

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‘Cause I’m “articulate”

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So when my father asks, “Wha’ kinda ting is dis?”

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My “articulate” answer never goes amiss

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I say “father, this is the impending problem at hand”

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And when I’m on the block

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I switch it up just because I can

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So when my boy says, “What’s good with you son?”

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I just say, “I jus’ fall out wit dem people but I done!”

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And sometimes in class

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I might pause the intellectual sounding flow to ask

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“Yo! Why dese books neva be about my peoples”

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Yes, I have decided to treat

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all three of my languages as equals

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Because I’m “articulate”

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But who controls articulation?

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Because the English language
is a multifaceted oration

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Subject to indefinite transformation

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Now you may think that it is
ignorant to speak broken English

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But I’m here to tell you that
even “articulate” Americans

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sound foolish to the British

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So when my Professor comes on
the block and says, “Hello”

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I stop him and say “Noooo…

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You’re being inarticulate…

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the proper way is to say ‘what’s good’”

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Now you may think that’s too hood, that’s not cool

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But I’m here to tell you that
even our language has rules


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So when Mommy mocks me and says

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“ya’ll-be-madd-going-to-the-store”

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I say “Mommy, that sentence is not following the law

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Never does the ‘madd’ go before a present participle

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That’s simply the principle of this English”

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If I had the vocal capacity I would

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sing this from every mountaintop,

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From every suburbia, and every hood

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‘Cause the only God of language is
the one recorded in the Genesis

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Of this world saying “it is good"

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So I may not always come before you

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with excellency of speech

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But do not judge me by my language and assume

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That I’m too ignorant to teach

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‘Cause I speak three tongues

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One for each:

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Home, school, and friends

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I’m a tri-lingual orator

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Sometimes I’m consistent with my language now

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Then switch it up so I don’t bore later

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Sometimes I fight back two tongues

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While I use the other one in the classroom

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And when I mistakenly mix them up

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It feels crazy like…I’m cooking in the bathroom

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I know that I had to borrow your language

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because mine was stolen

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But you can’t expect me to speak your history wholly

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while mines is broken

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These words are spoken

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By someone who is simply fed up with

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the Eurocentric ideals of this season

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And the reason I speak a composite
version of your language

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Is because mines was raped
away along with my history

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I speak broken English so the
profusing gashes can remind us

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That our current state is not a mystery

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I’m so tired of the negative images
that are driving my people mad

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So unless you’ve seen it rob
a bank stop calling my hair bad

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I’m so sick of this nonsensical racial disparity

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So don’t call it good unless your hair is known

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for donating to charity

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As much as has been raped away from our people

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How can you expect me to treat
their imprint on your language

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As anything less than equal

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Let there be no confusion

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Let there be no hesitation

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This is not a promotion of ignorance

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This is a linguistic celebration

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That’s why I put ‘tri-lingual’ on my last job application

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I can help to diversify your consumer market

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is all I wanted them to know

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And when they call me for the interview

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I’ll be more than happy to show that

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I can say:

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“What’s good”

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“Whatagwan”

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And of course…“Hello”

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Because I’m “articulate”

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Thank you.

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(Applause)