pitch black, such that
any other color is to drain it wan & thin
til it no longer goes so oceandeep
soaking every nation as it does now
one drop dyed the world.
America was born blue in the face
from a bruise with a welt, a wail
new forms of sorrow we six-fingered devils
spun pain into gold into gospel aimed up at a God
remixed to love us back
a God with a little bit of vodun
made the whole church jump with hollers
chants ecstatic & nine-high
music is black because we said once, hey l
et me show you what a fiddle can do l
et me show you, Joplin said, how to twist ivories
into a new grey matter
let me show you, Coltrane said swirled some classical
into this new thing young thing wonderchild jazz
made America's orchestra Duke Dizzy Basie Cab's
bop moanin swung & modal black tie brass
& double bass modern that blinded warcannons
instead of pedigree, our kings & queens
rose merited through soul jazz & swing
the hardest-working we’ve always been
temptations impressions miraculous supreme
Brown-ness & Wonder
conscious & soul music
for marches Malcolm Martin & Mayfield
music is black just look
at a speaker grille don’t listen to Elvis
or Boone's lies disguises & covers for housewives
sanitizing to hide its right fever
as they clutch Grammies close like pearls
whether 'round a midnight fire
or the 1s & 2s revolving
even now the roots of K-pop & J-pop
are Chuck's duckwalk Mike’s moonwalk
an nameless cakewalk a vine teen's poplock
in Ibiza they thrum to the 4-4s & boom
birthed in Chi-Town & Mo-town warehouses
machine sounds rhythms smuggled on hambone on ships
funk that rode in our hips
techno the grandson heartbeat of disco
needle skip the next rebellion is Brazilian
b-boys call parana e parana e, parana
Zion-bound war-ready they break free
bush meeting is block party
music is black
though they dogwhistle urban sneer inner city
Sister Rosetta & Jimi
means it's been ours take all into your ears
rock & roll was rhythm & blues was race music
which said on the very face of it
this is your little corner
our back of the record shop
but we sampled & shared laughs
ate well grew big grew loud until
nothing could hold our voices
until nothing could hold us
grew beautiful & still sing