Up With Slavery (The Ballad of Uncle Ruckus)

"...we've gone from black is beautiful to black is ghetto." - Dr. Carl Ellis

We went from being property to President

To homeowners and residents

By God’s grace

We overcame the cotton fields and hatred

But still never quite made it off of the plantation…

Hobbled by our own lust

For the so-called “American Dream”
Took our newfound freedom for granted
'Cause all we cared about was forty acres and the C.R.E.A.M.

Livin’ in white rooms with black curtains
We’ve got a culture that still hurtin’ –
“Cash Rules Everything Around Me”
And we’re its loyal and humble servants
Blackface, you know
Has a different look to it these days…
It exists in the form of
Gold Chains, Bentleys,
Swisher Sweets, and Three-ways

I know what you’re thinkin’ –
What in the hell happened to the ‘Talented Tenth’?!”
Well, the dollar became their Almighty Allah
And you know they gotta pay rent
It’s a high price to pay
When you render unto Caesar;
Pawned your soul for a “Jesus Piece”
And Sickle Cell Anemia

We’ve stopped wearin’ X’s like Malcolm
‘Cause we’ve crossed over and sold out
Faster than Lando Calrissian did
When he lost the Millennium Falcon
We don’t talk about “Founding Fathers”
‘Cause daddy’s nowhere to be found
Until he shows up on the Maury Show
Actin’ like a clown…

Shuckin’ and Jivin’ –
Never claiming his daughters
Now she’ll grow up and repeat the cycle
‘Cause it’s all that men have ever taught her
No, he ain’t tryin’ to stay
But he’ll pay to have her give it up
Or to “make it go away”…

If this is what you call
“Being on the come up”
I’d much rather go back
To just being a slave


"For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ."

- 1 Corinthians 7:22 ESV

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon