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Save The Village (prod by Dre​-​T)

by Paul Willis

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about

They can try to ban our books and erase our history, but our culture can't be stopped. Our history and cultural legacy has always been passed on through the word and through the drums. This song seeks to bridge generations by giving an ethnic studies lesson in Hip Hop form.

lyrics

We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help
We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help

Our community has mastered the art of war
Destroy the house using tools that were built for war
Never wanted to be equal, man I wanted more
I sacrifice cause this marathon is par the course
Our legacy never toppled, just understated
The history of the world was one of our creation
The root of white supremacy is colonization
But we were free at the bottom of the slaveship
We rebelled in Brazil and islands like Haiti
They tried to break my spirit, but couldn't make me
We came from the Yoruba, Igbo and Fulani
And the strength of EverybodyLoveEverybody
I couldn't wait for Superman because he loved to play Clark
Couldn't do the right thing cause we too dark
Gotta protect our own, at home and the school yard
We've suffered pain and let it go too long

We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help
We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help

I shouldn't have to fight for my right to live
You shouldn't take a breathe that wasn't yours to give
Upset the set up, that's politics
Everything ain't a fact, it hardly is
It's time to tap back into the motherland
You feel the spirit and the longing to understand
It's never been about who has had the upperhand
You can still hold power when you're undermanned
That's lessons from guerillas and zapatistas
That's tribal history you'll never get from white teachers
Pyramids that look like me and my features
Lick off the nose but ya can't kill the ideas
The statues been Black, the fossils been Black
Even schools in Timbuktu been Black, and that's facts
I'd tell you about your Jesus, but you'd deny it
Ignore the truth and you wonder why we riot

We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help
We don't need you, We can save ourselves
We gon save the village, we don't need yo help

credits

released March 4, 2024
Lyrics written and performed by Paul Willis (@paulwillisishiphop)
Music produced by Dre-T (@officialdret)
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Patrick "Big Patty" Bullard (@southdouble06)

license

all rights reserved

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about

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Paul Willis Sacramento, California

Paul Willis is a Hip Hop Teaching Artist who is currently writing a book, album, and curriculum about Hip Hop Leadership.

Check out his album Wonderland (Teacher's Edition) and his latest singles New Balance and The Beauty.

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