by Afro DZ ak
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean that I’m mixed up
Inherently confused or I need to be fixed up
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m a mule
So don’t call me ‘mulatto,’ thinkin it’s cool
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m adopted
Yes, she’s white, and yes, she’s my biological mama
But whether or not I was adopted, you ain’t got the right
To stare or make comments cause my mother is white
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m ‘not Black’
Cuz the concept we can have only one identity is wack
And I stand proudly with all my people of color
Painting broad concepts of ‘sister’ and ‘brother’
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m ill-conceived
As words like ‘miscegenation’ would have you believe
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m ashamed
Cuz the ‘race’ of my mom and my dad ain’t the same
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean I’m predictable
So sayin ‘mixed people all do this’ or ‘mixed people are all like that’ is despicable
Just Cause I’m Mixed, and I rock a big fro
Don’t mean I’m Maxwell, Lenny Kravitz, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, or ‘that guy in that commercial for jeans, beer, or cologne’
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean that I’m ‘Other’
Miscellaneous, Oreo, or the ‘half & half brother’
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean racism has ended
As some ignorant conservative politicians have pretended
Just Cause I’m Mixed, that don’t mean that I’m perfect
Like some kind of ‘hybrid vigor’ has made my genes superior to mere earthlings
Cuz being Multiracial is a blessing and a curse
It’s better and it’s worse, it’s last and it’s first
It’s nothing and it’s everything, it’s yin and it’s yang
It’s the apocalypse, the creation, and the big bang
It’s a subject that inspires me to write
It’s a commonality which has helped me unite
With other Mixed people who can relate all across the earth
But being Mixed does not define my personal worth
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Afro DZ ak is a multi-instrumentalist MC who uses music, hip-hop and spoken-word poetry to promote positive social change. An on-stage triple threat, Afro DZ ak wields a mighty trumpet, plays keys, and rhymes on the mic. His debut solo album Elevation was released through Gnawledge Records in 2008.
