I’m the brown kid Living in white America My skin ain’t fair But if you care, you’ll judge me on my character
The brown kid living in white America The shame is I expect to be affected by xenophobic criteria The brown kid living in white America My doppelgänger featured in the news usually causes mass hysteria
Brown kid in white America Not easy as that seems It’s no extremes But it’s everything in between
Who’s willing to foot the bill for my American dream Nuance gets lost, that’s the cost of how we talk in extremes Black and white havoc is the static of my darkest of dreams False dichotomies often mean that I get lost in between
See, I’m the middle ground, middle child, I get left undiscussed Radiant shade of grey but I get left off the brush The brown sheep, though I’ve been walking the midst of the white flock Wrong piece, though I’ve been trying to tick to the right clock
5th generation, still look brown from outta town My proper noun is my crown but the blood still drowns down That big screen ain’t ever seemed like a mirror to me Cause brown ain’t the color of fame and that’s just as clear as can be
But I never chose these circumstances, that was part of my hand And my grandfather left everything to give me a chance He left me with roots that I don’t feel until I’m trimming my weeds I feel like I gotta pick a side, like it’s only extremes
But I’m not black and I’m not white, see I’m that coffee with cream I’m the face of the race displaced and I’m caught in the in-between I want acceptance but I’m two hues too far from the mean White according to that law but I feel as far as can be
Cause I get the worst of both worlds, you see, I’m white on the pages But a TSA agent would never claim it, I get impatient When I see them eyes linger, can somebody please explain How I get treated like the other, but somehow I’m still “caucasian”
Like… man I’m a good dude, it’s just a skin tone If being brown is the problem, I’ve always been wrong And if that keeps me from my dreams, et it be, then they been gone But being proud of who I am, that’s not something I skimp on
See I’m the brown kid in white America Ooo that’s not as easy as it seems, no it’s never been Forever been the brown kid in white America Ooo that’s not as easy as it seems, no it’s never been
Forever been the grown kid living mischaracterized Sometimes I feel I gotta prove I’ve been Americanized Gotta see my homeland through American eyes But I refuse to lose my roots, that’s where my character lies
I’m a later iteration of American dreaming And I’ve been fiending for a reason why I can’t be on screen And it seems that I’m not a piece of the puzzle that they been scheming I don’t market well enough, this shade is never in season
Unless I play a role that brings stereotypes to life If I mortgage my ethnic soul, they’ll carry my life to heights Bury my rights tonight, and live very alike the white Then there’s a small chance, in the right circumstance, that I’ll be alright
But still the brown kid in white America Ooo that’s not as easy as it seems, no it’s never been Forever been the brown kid in white America Ooo that’s not as easy as it seems, no it’s never been
Forever been the brown kid in White America I’m aware that my skin ain’t fair But if you care, you’ll judge me on my character
The brown kid in white America The shame is I expect to be affected by xenophobic criteria The brown kid in white America My doppelgänger featured in the news usually causes mass hysteria
Brown kid in white America Not as easy as that seems It’s no extremes, but it’s everything in between When you’re the brown kid in white America