Gabriel Teodros & SoulChef - Domestic Imperialism Lyrics

It feels like we all in a war with time
Cities toss and turn with us on their spine
It's been dark for months, you barely feel the sun
Through the brick cold hearts that surrounded us
The ancients be with you, but you don't notice em
I am a vilified species and I don't run
Bombed buildings with ghosts, I'm at home with em
They tell stories of a world that I've grown within
And it's changing quick, between coffee sips
Of gentrified beans in this place I live
Or this place I lived, all of the soul I give
That survivors grit made people flock to it
They complain about changes after they move in
But they could go back, we got nowhere now
My Grandmother's house is a hole in the ground
And it'll be a high-priced high-rise no doubt

I just made a couple songs about where I'm from
I know they sound dope, but it don't mean come
When you move in, somebody else moves out
And I can't afford my city if I leave this house
The place that raised me, neighborhoods that made me
I walk around and don't recognize em lately
The price goes up, we all get pushed out
It's gonna hurt when we finally gotta leave this house

I can't afford my home, they can't afford my soul
We both stand in the rubble like where do we go?
One of us must be from another world
Maybe aliens came with these cranes to work
Cuz they litter the sky to rearrange the earth
And it has warmed up some since they came for sure
But we know about greed and of industry
How the colonizers came and claimed history
We repeat it so much and so intimately
It's like we are all born into bodies with disease
Art is more than a form of our therapy
But Barnes told me to watch out for the 3 P's
They'll try to change the Purpose, of what you do
To discard the People, they can replace you
And then take the Place, gentrification's through
Now look where we live, what did Hip-Hop do?

I just made a couple songs about where I'm from
I know they sound dope, but it don't mean come
When you move in, somebody else moves out
And we can't afford our city if we leave this house
You could look, listen, but don't move in
Spend money with the Mom & Pop businesses
But when you move in, somebody else moves out
And we can't afford our city if we leave this house

Mark Gonzales said we need new language to describe what's happening to us
Gentrification is just too nice of a word
This isn't gentle
This is domestic imperialism
And it hurts