Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Mirror, Mirror
Kemet Mawakana
22 Apr 2008
🖨️ Print Article

7_foot_poet_upright_250wide

by Kemet Mawakana (aka “The Seven-Foot Poet”)

is a highly acclaimed spoken-word artist, and has published two books A . . . Z . . . Infinity and Crucifixion of My Soul. The collective body of his works presented weekly in BAR are in tribute to Listervelt Middleton, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and “For The People”. Currently, he is a facilitator at AYA Educational Institute (www.ayaed.com) and can be reached at sevenfootpoet(at)gmail.com.
 
 
 
 

Mirror Mirror

the audio for this poem is temporarily unavailable/

We know you knew about Inner City Blues.

We know you knew about Thug Life.

And wanted to save the children.

And would answer if your homie calls.

Everybody loved you after the dance giving sexual healing.

You got around asking what’s your phone number and how do you want it?

A breach birth because you were born on the East Coast headed for Hollywood.

A breach birth because you were born on the East Coast headed for Hollywood.

On your label hot acts like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

On your label hot acts like Snoop Doggy Dogg and the Dogg Pound.

Mercy mercy me nobody told them whats going on like you.

I ain’t mad at cha because you gotta keep your head up.

Some said you were so negative some said so positive.

Some said you were so negative some said so positive.

My favorite lyric, “ ” yeah that one.

My favorite lyric, “ ” yeah that one.

It was hectic during your lifetime the war the riots and all.

It was hectic during your lifetime the war the riots and all.

You were a troubled man.

You saw death around the corner.

So sad you life ended so young.

So sad you life ended so young.

It makes me wanna holla.

It makes me feel trapped against all odds.

People still love your music.

People still love your music.

Your style was complex in its simplicity.

Your style was complex in its simplicity.

We miss you 2Pac we miss you Tupac Shakur.

We miss you Marvin we miss you Marvin Gaye.

 

By Kemit Mawakana (aka The Seven-Foot Poet)

Peace (when appropriate) War (when necessary)

Copyright 1998.

 

Kemet Mawakana (aka “The Seven-Foot Poet”) is a highly acclaimed spoken-word artist, and has published two books A . . . Z . . . Infinity and Crucifixion of My Soul. The collective body of his works presented weekly in BAR are in tribute to Listervelt Middleton, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and “For The People”. Currently, he is a facilitator at AYA Educational Institute (www.ayaed.com) and can be reached at sevenfootpoet@gmail.com.

 

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Propaganda Watch: Kagame Is Not Traoré
    21 May 2025
    A recurring social media trope casts Rwandan President Paul Kagame as a defiant African hero, like Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré, resisting the West’s dictates, but nothing could be further from the…
  • Jon Jeter
    In DC, A New ‘Mayor 1 Percent” This Time in Blackface
    21 May 2025
    Muriel Bowser is proving that Black faces in high places don’t break systems, they grease them. While slashing wages for tipped workers and handing billionaires stadium deals, D.C.’s mayor is the…
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Temerity, Tartuffery, and Toxic Identity Reductionism…the Latest Democrat Party Hoggwash
    21 May 2025
    The Democratic Party would rather silence critics like Hogg than fix its own rot. Their reliance on Black Misleaders to do the dirty work exposes once again that the Democrats care more about power…
  • Djibo Sobukwe
    Malcolm X: Foundational Black Internationalism and the Anti-Imperialism of the Black Alliance for Peace
    21 May 2025
    Malcolm X didn’t just fight for Black liberation—he waged war on empire itself. As U.S. militarism tightens its grip on Africa and beyond, his revolutionary internationalism burns brighter than ever…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
    21 May 2025
    "A few lines for the Poet Ojenke..." is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us