Verse 1
They lied to us dirty, said we came off a boat
But we been on this land before they ever wrote notes
Before chains, before flags, before “property owned”
We was here, then they came with the whip and the throne
Stole dirt, stole breath, stole names out our mouth
Beat language out our elders, left scars in the South
Backs split open, blood soaking the ground
Now they confused why the rage still pound
They called us animals, savage, subhuman
Then made us build kingdoms while they played stupid
Iron on the wrist, iron on the soul
Now my watch weigh heavy like my granddaddy’s load
You see gold on my neck, don’t ask why it shine
That’s pain turned profit, that’s trauma refined
Hook
We wear chains ‘cause they chained us first
Turn whips into wisdom, turn hate into work
From shackles to necklaces, pain got flipped
What was meant to break us now ice on the wrist
They stole our land, then stole our truth
Now they scared of the day we remember the proof
Verse 2
They freed us with paper, no land, no check
Just “good luck,” then the knee on the neck
From fields to prisons, same damn plan
Just switched cotton sacks for a badge and a cam
Profile my skin, call it “reasonable doubt”
Same fear they felt when we figured it out
They call us lazy but fed off our grind
Whole economy built off stolen time
Last names foreign, culture fractured
Bible in one hand, whip mastered
Told us heaven later, hell right now
Kept us broke, then asked “why you wild?”
Courts ain’t blind, they just trained to look away
Same system, new suits, same shit, different day
They say forget it, move on, be calm
But you don’t heal bullet holes by singing psalms
Hook
We wear chains ‘cause they chained us first
Turn whips into wisdom, turn hate into work
From shackles to necklaces, pain got flipped
What was meant to break us now ice on the wrist
They stole our land, then stole our truth
Now they scared of the day we remember the proof
Verse 3
This ain’t victim talk, this survival rap
We still standing where they tried to collapse
They buried the truth, built schools on lies
Now mad ‘cause the dirt still testify
We ain’t asking permission, we taking our voice
History only change when the hunted make noise
You call it “old news,” I call it unpaid debt
Generational scars still collecting interest
From rope burns to red lines, same war different gear
Still fighting ghosts every time we look in the mirror
We not from nowhere, we not confused
We descendants of people too strong to lose
You can censor the books, whitewash the past
But the land don’t lie, and the truth don’t pass
Outro
This that blood-memory music
That “they don’t want us knowing” music
From chains to crowns, from dirt to sound
We still here, still rooted, still unbound
Wawee
