Pretty Black / Split Skies

Intro – Spoken]

Yeah…

Pretty Black women.

USA.

Mind do flips but the crown stay straight.

Pretty Black woman, sky in my mind

Weather keep switchin’, still shinin’ on time

Some days I’m solar, I glow when I speak

Dreams movin’ fast, got fire in my feet

Other days heavy, clouds on my chest

Smile through the pain, yeah, you know the rest

Taught how to struggle and make it look clean

Turnin’ survival into somethin’ serene

They love me strong, don’t love me real

Don’t wanna know how the breakdown feel

Take my rhythm, take my style

But don’t ask why I disappear for a while

Pretty Black, split skies in my head

Up so high, then I’m low again

Bipolar truth but I still stand tall

I ain’t broken, I’m built from it all

Pretty Black, USA-made pain

Gloss on my lips, still fightin’ my brain

Mood swings swing but my crown don’t fall

I ain’t broken, I’m built from it all

Two voices fightin’ when I grab the mic

One say “go,” other say “sit, be quiet”

One talk money, future, success

Other say “breathe,” you ain’t gotta impress

Pills in my purse, lashes on fleek

Therapy notes folded next to my keys

Heal in public, cry in the dark

Still gotta shine just to prove I’m smart

Manic nights teach me what’s possible

Depressed days make me unstoppable

I know pain, so I move with grace

I know depth, so I hold my space

Pretty Black, split skies in my head

Up so high, then I’m low again

Bipolar truth but I still stand tall

I ain’t broken, I’m built from it all

Pretty Black, USA-made pain

Lip gloss shine, still fightin’ my brain

Mood swings swing but my crown don’t fall

I ain’t broken, I’m built from it all

Call me pretty, call me Black

Call me bipolar—still don’t crack

Every label fit me just right

I’m a whole damn woman, day and night

America heavy but I breathe through it

Turn every scar to a movement

Under split skies, I claim my power

I bloom even in the hardest hours

Not broken.

Becoming.

Pretty Black women survive extremes

and still shine.