This Fire
This Fire has been burning since Columbus
Been burning since Slave Patrols
Became Police Patrols (one in the same)
Been burning since they burned us alive at picnics
Used our skin as lampshades
Cant hide in the shade and hope for a cool breeze to calm us
You tried to fire bomb us
Back of the bus
Sorry, no more jobs us
From sharecropping to red lining
This Fire has been feverishly burning
for decades,
It put on a new suit and hid behind some Amendments but it’s the same fire
Burning hot as Hades,
America you can’t start a fire then hide your hands,
America has been a powder keg since it’s inception,
America has always tried to place Band-Aids
On wounds that needed reconstructive surgery
400 years of free labor will break the strongest Man’s back
And what you see is the people liberating it back
Release the funds back to the people
Release the funds back to the people
This is I’ve had it up to here times 400
This is I’m not clocking out for lunch,
I’m just going
This is cold water in fresh kool-aide,
What I’m saying is, this is breaking all the rules,
This is fish grease on your hands
Find truth in our demands
Release the funds back to the people
Release the funds back to the people
This is Not a test.
And yes that’s a fire alarm you here ringing
This fire is gonna keep singing
Until it singes everything
This is Kerry Washington,
Little Fires Everywhere, America.
The people are coming and the vision is clear.
Move or be burned.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rashad thaPoet Rayford has been hailed as one of the most consistent artists in Nashville. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Huffington Post, The Tennessean and the Nashville Scene among others.
Rashad’s company, Elevate Your Vibe, LLC, is a non-traditional speaking company that blends spoken word poetry, inspirational speaking and business talk to help companies tell more concise stories.
Rashad has taken that same drive and attention to detail that he used as a poet and become one of the most sought after speakers in the market. He has the innate ability to transform any crowd in any industry and Elevate their vibe through his wordplay and high energy talks. His goal is to leave people more inspired and more in tune with their own stories and their own authentic voice.
His new book, Elevate Your Vibe: Ten Ways To Grow You, is a self development book that gives the reader ten practical ways to Elevate to their highest self.
Rashad is The MOTH story hour Nashville GRANDslam champion.
His blend of soulful jazz and hip-hop have been captivating audiences for close to 7 years. He is an 8-time Nashville Industry Music Awards (NIMA) winner and a 3-time SEA nominee (Southern Entertainment Awards) including a nomination for Southern artist of the year for 2018.
To date he has 15 albums (spoken word and hip-hop) and several awards under his belt. His work earned him the honor of presenting a TED Talk at TEDX Nashville.
He has also curated curriculum on Civil Rights and Spoken Word/Hip-Hop for the Downtown Public Library in Nashville.
He now leads workshops on Hip-Hop for The National Museum Of African American Music (NMAAM) and is also a mentor for Southern Word, teaching literacy in schools using spoken word.
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