Why can’t you believe that I deserve it all?

Is it because I am young, I am black? Because I’ve answered the call?

You claim success is colorblind, that any can achieve,

It doesn’t matter how you look or talk, as long as you believe!

Success requires hard work, you’ve warned from the earliest days

To be a mover or a shaker, you’ve got to make waves

Be water, adapt, and accept helpful criticism

Encourage positivity and shun nihilism

So I’ve done all of this, and more than you asked

I’ve dedicated myself to completing the task!

For I was born into nothingness, and struggled my fair share

Needing money here and there, but finding it nowhere

I’ve endured the laughter, the racism, the doubt and the pain

I was always “too fat”, “too dark”, you think I bring my race “shame”

But as awards came and went

The more time together we spent

The “friends” grew and so did my stature

The colleges called and the money came soon after

You begrudgingly claimed my fame was fake

Perpetuating hate, as if money were at stake

Then I began to wonder, is it jealousy or more?

You couldn’t check my skin coat at the door

Why can’t you see that success is blind?

My success is powerful; I’ve put in work over time!

You are my friend, my enemy, and even my guardian sometimes

You are my instructor, my boss, and even those behind me in line

Why can’t you believe that I deserve the success?

Does a minority managing to make it manufacture stress?

Why can’t you believe that I deserve it all?

Is it because I am young, I am black? Because I’ve answered the call?

You claim success is colorblind, that any can achieve,

It doesn’t matter how you look or talk, as long as you believe!

Success requires hard work, you’ve warned from the earliest days

To be a mover or a shaker, you’ve got to make waves

Be water, adapt, and accept helpful criticism

Encourage positivity and shun nihilism

So I’ve done all of this, and more than you asked

I’ve dedicated myself to completing the task!

For I was born into nothingness, and struggled my fair share

Needing money here and there, but finding it nowhere

I’ve endured the laughter, the racism, the doubt and the pain

I was always “too fat”, “too dark”, you think I bring my race “shame”

But as awards came and went

The more time together we spent

The “friends” grew and so did my stature

The colleges called and the money came soon after

You begrudgingly claimed my fame was fake

Perpetuating hate, as if money were at stake

Then I began to wonder, is it jealousy or more?

You couldn’t check my skin coat at the door

Why can’t you see that success is blind?

My success is powerful; I’ve put in work over time!

You are my friend, my enemy, and even my guardian sometimes

You are my instructor, my boss, and even those behind me in line

Why can’t you believe that I deserve the success?

Does a minority managing to make it manufacture stress?