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

My Wise Country Cousin on Blak Folk an de 8 yr Blues…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
15 Jul 2015
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

With the clock ticking down on Barack Obama's presidency,
black America discovers it was a marriage of conveninece.
And not ours.

My Wise Country Cousin on Blak Folk an de 8 yr Blues…

by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

If you axe me, son, Blak folk got a bad case ob 8 yr Blues
Nuthin’ lak Leadbelly, B.B., Muddy— nuthin’ I can use:

“We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t in lub wit us
We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t in lub wit us
His mine on de Koch Bros., Buffit ,’in gawd we truss’

We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t lubbin us bak
We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t lubbin us bak
Way he treat us, sumtime, feel lak a sin to be bo’n blak

Wo’ crimnul cum creepin’ roun,’ ‘bout ebry fo’ years
Wo’ crimnul cum creepin’ roun,’ ‘bout ebry fo’ years
Res de time, he in de guardin wit Po-po, sippin’ beers

Got no time fo us, he busy chasin’ Al K. Duh, I. Sool
Got no time fo us, he busy chasin’ Al K. Duh, I. Sool—
Didn’t know betta, we swear he playin’ us fo’ de fool!

Knew our wo’ crimnul was no gud, runnin’ wit dat AG
Knew our wo’ crimnul was no gud, runnin’ wit dat AG
Dey should be stylin’ orange jump sootz, if you axe me

Dat ol’ AG boy jus’ wase all de freakwent-flyur mileage
Dat ol’ AG boy jus’ wase all de freakwent-flyur mileage
Flappin his flappers at funruls— cheesin’ liar smile-age…

He lak tits on a bull, sayin’ dat Dem big boyz too big to jail
He lak tits on a bull, sayin’ dat Dem big boyz too big to jail
But, he listenin’ to us conversate, an he be openin’ our mail!

We’s gonna leeb Dem no gud mens sum day, de lawd willin’…
We’s gonna leeb Dem no gud mens sum day, de lawd willin’…
Toozday, dey stay out all day an’ nite wit Dem drones, killin’

Feel lak we ben commun law, jes shackin’ up fo’ 8 long years
Feel lak we ben commun law, jes shackin’ up fo’ 8 long years
Dem men’s giffs: wo,’  fouclosur, poleez murdur, lies an’ tears…”

Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved

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


More Stories


  • War House hot spot: Infected West Wing
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    War House hot spot: Infected West Wing
    20 May 2020
    Infector-in-Chief, Boss Tweet, Refuses to mask his lie hole. He insists on leaving out his snout— Normally affixed to CEO posteriors.
  • Identity Politics and Elite Capture
     Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
    Identity Politics and Elite Capture
    20 May 2020
    The trouble is that identity politics is the victim of elite capture in the service of their own interests.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    20 May 2020
    This week a Democratic Party exit, the role of Democratic Party sheepdogs, and the racial fallout of the pandemic in Chicago were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Symposium on Sarah Haley’s "No Mercy Here" 
    Dan Berger
    BAR Book Forum: Symposium on Sarah Haley’s "No Mercy Here" 
    20 May 2020
    What Haley crafts about the lives of incarcerated women is astounding in its archival literacy, analytical sophistication, and authorial courage.
  • BAR Book Forum: Zakiyyah Iman Jackson’s “Becoming Human”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Zakiyyah Iman Jackson’s “Becoming Human”
    20 May 2020
    Black people are without the shelter of rights and protection, whether invited into or locked out of ‘the human.’”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us