privilege
mama never taught me
how to speak her tongue
never estimated
the damage done
for i never grasped the wisdom
of the speeches shared
never could speak to my uncle
papa was my kunta kinte kind of king
planted our ancestry (tree)
within
growing and blossoming
on foreign soil
never to the sun
from back home
can i ever be a sun (son)
from back home
nd’umurundi
ntimpirangeza as a blessing
and curse
13 letters
of indigenous word
spelling it out
while i am laughed at
cold
say my name
say my name
say my name
bordeaux red booklet
tells just half my tale
ink ain’t autobiographical
stamp at the border
approved
real quick
airlifted to safety
when crisis hits
privilige some kind of privilege
privlige devious privilege
privilege what kind of privilege
nd’umurundi
//
what the hell is going on
so i’m guessing you can relate
so you see the thing is
i mean i said i was born and raised in germany
the first time i went back to burundi on my own
which - burundi - is a very troubled country
we’re trying, but, you know, small small as they say in ghana
and
so the first time i went back to burundi all by myself
i lived with my uncle, his wifey, his four beautiful children, nanny
my mom said: ok look, first thing you’re gonna do when you
arrive in burundi
you’re gonna go to the german embassy
and you’re gonna let them know you’re there
momma why?
she’s like well, you know just in case
with burundi you never really know
so if s**t hits the fan
the german embassy knows where you are
and they can come and get you
and i’m like ok so i’m just gonna wave goodbye to my uncle, to my small cousin nico
and just go
what happens to them?
rather what if something happens to them?
do you understand?
privilege.. hm
song || produced by betina quest, mix+master rvdical the kid, lyrics+music betina quest
backing vocals betina quest + eli a free, synthesizer betina quest
image || tommy wá, set design/concept betina quest