Shihan - "Sick And Tired"

"I wanna drop-kick minorities who vote Republican..."

- DeeKay

Sarah Jones - Your Revolution

Sarah Jones' Def Poetry take on Gil Scott-Heron's famous poem, taking on Hip-Hop's most well-known misogynistic lyrics.

- DeeKay

Gil Scott-Heron - "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"

"You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
About a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution WILL put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live."

Gil Scott-Heron is a legendary African-American poet, musician and spoken-word artist, whose work was a massive influence on modern-day genres ranging from Hip-Hop to Neo-Soul. Ask your favourite rapper. Unless his name is Soulja Boy.

- DeeKay

Poetri - "Money"

- Anarki

Black Ice

"Imagine"



"Lone Solider"



"The Ugly Show"



"...And them batallions from the Bayou,
That don't know what they're over there fighting for,
What the fuck can you possibly say to them,
When they learn their parents died,
Casualties of the war on poverty,
Waiting for help outside a fucking stadium..."

Probably my favourite Def Poet.

- DeeKay

Muhammad Ali - "Impossible is Nothing"

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men,
who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.

Is this another inspirational quote from the greatest boxer of all time, or a well crafted piece of poetry?

- Invicted Shaheen

Poetri - "Krispy Kreme"

This is not the most eloquent poem, but I feel this brother! This one hit home...

- Anarki

We Write The Lyrics forum launched!

You might've noticed a new homepage when visiting We Write The Lyrics, where you're offered the option of visiting the blog (which is where you are now!) or the forum.

After weeks of hard work, toil and late nights, we're proud to announce the launch of the We Write The Lyrics online forum. Our aim is to build a vast online community of the next generation of urban poets and writers, so get involved! Members can post up their own work and have it critiqued and viewed, as well as comment on other members' posts, interact with like-minded artist and generally draw inspiration from the abudance of talent that will be showcasing their skills on the boards.

The forum is located here, and readers can join up and start posting now!

Daniel Beaty - "Knock Knock"

Powerful.

- DeeKay

Amir Sulaiman - "Danger"

"I am not dangerous, I am danger,
I am not angry, I am anger...
I am David, with a slingshot and a rock, and if David lived today,
He'd have a molitov cocktail and a glock,
So down with Goliath, I say down with Goaliath..."

- DeeKay