"I believe" by Riyaz Mangia
I believe that men should lower their gaze and maintain their modesty,
I believe that women should cover themselves up and dress properly,
I believe in wisdom generosity and piety,
I believe in freedom of speech and equality.
I believe in honesty and loyalty and neglect the ideology of pride and royalty.
These lyrics are real coz they come straight from the heart I take lyricism a privilege and I consider it as an art,
I believe Martin Luther King when he said "I have a dream",
I believe that we will be victorious like the days of the great sultan salahudeen,
I believe that men and women should look at the heart and soul,
rather than the outer appearance from head to toe,
I believe that the political and legal system in which the world operates around will eventually break,
I believe that people in this world are fake,
I believe that some people are real and see through the bull**** and the lies,
I believe the angels take our prayers to the almighty in the heavenly skies,
I believe that one should stay pure,
I believe for every disease there is a cure,
I believe that the disabled and the terminally ill are already in paradise,
I believe in heaven and hell and the after life.
I believe that woman's heart should make you smile,
I believe that women shouldn't take there beauty as an advantage,
And I believe people shouldn't take compliments for granted,
I believe a man shouldn't lay a finger on his woman,
And I believe that she shouldn't provoke him,
I believe married men shouldn't take advantage of young girls,
I believe that punishment will befall them in this world
I believe that women should be treated like queens by their husband,
I believe that men should be treated like kings by their wife,
I believe that you shouldn't have a vision of how you want to live your life.
I believe in freedom and peace will come to palestine,
I believe this system we will eventually defeat,
I believe that if we believe we can achieve,
If we've achieved then its all coz we've believed,
So all u gotta so is just believe, because I believe.
by Riyaz Mangia aka Poet Razette
Saturday 31 July 2010
Sunday 25 July 2010
The Story of Sara... in the heart of Afghanistan
Sara was going to scream in something more powerful and potent then pain.
Then she experienced a dream, lost consciousness, the cousin of death, call it what you will.
In this lost land she sat there still,
Writing, only seven about an Afghan princess,
Her own life, ravaged by incest,
But she still felt blessed to see the fruit blossom
Poor mother was still serving a life’s debt
Time dictated by war, post soviet,
Pre-Taliban, but still times were rough
Cursed with tragic optimism, still it was tough
Still Sara played everyday,
Climbing tree’s whilst father was out fishing
The clouds were mountains
And the shooting stars were for wishing
One odd, dark day,
Quite cold for Kandahar,
An old bearded man was seen from afar
As he arrived it looked like the death of laughter
His skin looked wrinkled, eyes were sinister,
But to the people he was the village minister
Ordering the immediate circumcision,
Not male, female and related it to religion
A false pretence, a sheer fallacy
But know one dared say it in public you see
Men like the minister had severe insecurities
He had constant power deficiency
The old man’s logic was law,
But in private many questioned what for?
Tribal and cultural heritage was at the core
Along with its justification which went like this:
“If you wrong the wrongdoers
Punishing you is just
And if he rapes you,
He has a right to fulfil his lust”
Sara was scared, but stepped up with courage
Mother was scared too but father too impoverished
A shooting star came and Sara wished
Staring at the mountainous clouds
But her soul felt finished.
The incision was made,
But it took too long
So much agony so her mother sang Sara a song
Everything so unnatural, all of it so wrong
Suddenly life’s cruel twists came to be
Young, beautiful Sara was never free
So much blood, 7 years since her birth
Young sweet Sara returned to the earth.
Sara didn’t wake up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law
Then she experienced a dream, lost consciousness, the cousin of death, call it what you will.
In this lost land she sat there still,
Writing, only seven about an Afghan princess,
Her own life, ravaged by incest,
But she still felt blessed to see the fruit blossom
Poor mother was still serving a life’s debt
Time dictated by war, post soviet,
Pre-Taliban, but still times were rough
Cursed with tragic optimism, still it was tough
Still Sara played everyday,
Climbing tree’s whilst father was out fishing
The clouds were mountains
And the shooting stars were for wishing
One odd, dark day,
Quite cold for Kandahar,
An old bearded man was seen from afar
As he arrived it looked like the death of laughter
His skin looked wrinkled, eyes were sinister,
But to the people he was the village minister
Ordering the immediate circumcision,
Not male, female and related it to religion
A false pretence, a sheer fallacy
But know one dared say it in public you see
Men like the minister had severe insecurities
He had constant power deficiency
The old man’s logic was law,
But in private many questioned what for?
Tribal and cultural heritage was at the core
Along with its justification which went like this:
“If you wrong the wrongdoers
Punishing you is just
And if he rapes you,
He has a right to fulfil his lust”
Sara was scared, but stepped up with courage
Mother was scared too but father too impoverished
A shooting star came and Sara wished
Staring at the mountainous clouds
But her soul felt finished.
The incision was made,
But it took too long
So much agony so her mother sang Sara a song
Everything so unnatural, all of it so wrong
Suddenly life’s cruel twists came to be
Young, beautiful Sara was never free
So much blood, 7 years since her birth
Young sweet Sara returned to the earth.
Sara didn’t wake up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law
Friday 9 July 2010
The American McDream
The American McDream
Across the Vast mountainous plains lied a boy named Rocky,
The beautifully engrossing forests and calm blue sky catch the eye.
The vast desert and the canyons galore, often gives you the sense of grandeur,
But delusions of the mind lead to downfall. This is America.
Rocky, Native by appearance and works in a fast food joint,
Often he questions ‘what’s the point?’ as he refills the dips,
Before taking another order of Fillet O Fish and Chips.
As He attaches the kissable bun to the artificial cheese
His rough, armoured skin he scratches, lights the matches
Before explaining the past like he was opening the latch to a sealed soul,
‘Our history is Centauries old’ as we huddled from the cold
As a tragic story of human belligerence was told:
‘His ancestors were not American Citizens before 1924,
No, they weren’t because Columbus found them,
To him they owe a lot including bringing epidemic disease,’
Says Soft spoken Rocky in the ice cold breeze.
History’s horrifically manipulated historiography meant truth was a lie,
The Europeans Massacred to ‘civilise us.’ Nothing new there
Ironically society there and here is now almost equal and fair
As I almost feared Rocky’s cold as ice stare
Indian wars, tales of slavery the so called birth of the ‘New nation’
Death, sorrow, submission in contradiction to European elation
Whispers of reparation is equating gold for the soul,
As the constitution prescribed freedom but then human’s were also bought and sold.
Assimilation or isolation the choice was very clear,
Coerced cohesion causes catastrophic fear
Now wandering like ‘a tree without its roots’
A product consumed to work for the American McDream
And funnily enough they aren't 'loving it'
But alas for the Native American, ‘Democracy beckoned’
And the Victors do not play nice to those who come second
Because ‘Civilisation’ he explained was about working in McDonalds.
And ‘Freedom’ he said is being able to order a Big Mac.
By Mohamed-Zain Dada
Across the Vast mountainous plains lied a boy named Rocky,
The beautifully engrossing forests and calm blue sky catch the eye.
The vast desert and the canyons galore, often gives you the sense of grandeur,
But delusions of the mind lead to downfall. This is America.
Rocky, Native by appearance and works in a fast food joint,
Often he questions ‘what’s the point?’ as he refills the dips,
Before taking another order of Fillet O Fish and Chips.
As He attaches the kissable bun to the artificial cheese
His rough, armoured skin he scratches, lights the matches
Before explaining the past like he was opening the latch to a sealed soul,
‘Our history is Centauries old’ as we huddled from the cold
As a tragic story of human belligerence was told:
‘His ancestors were not American Citizens before 1924,
No, they weren’t because Columbus found them,
To him they owe a lot including bringing epidemic disease,’
Says Soft spoken Rocky in the ice cold breeze.
History’s horrifically manipulated historiography meant truth was a lie,
The Europeans Massacred to ‘civilise us.’ Nothing new there
Ironically society there and here is now almost equal and fair
As I almost feared Rocky’s cold as ice stare
Indian wars, tales of slavery the so called birth of the ‘New nation’
Death, sorrow, submission in contradiction to European elation
Whispers of reparation is equating gold for the soul,
As the constitution prescribed freedom but then human’s were also bought and sold.
Assimilation or isolation the choice was very clear,
Coerced cohesion causes catastrophic fear
Now wandering like ‘a tree without its roots’
A product consumed to work for the American McDream
And funnily enough they aren't 'loving it'
But alas for the Native American, ‘Democracy beckoned’
And the Victors do not play nice to those who come second
Because ‘Civilisation’ he explained was about working in McDonalds.
And ‘Freedom’ he said is being able to order a Big Mac.
By Mohamed-Zain Dada
The rehabilitation of Martin Atchet
Another young poet and upcoming MC - Crucial
The rehabilitation of Martin Atchet
As I come out of the quiet storm
Building up on broke down form
the induction into hell I hear the cries and mourns
watching the clocks is making me ill
against the wall semi conscious 'bout to fall with no boxing skills.
The truth had me up against my own mind a couple times
and in everyone you find a bit of cheat and lies!
so the truth eventually dies...
like Revolutionary leaders that end up getting crucified.
heavenly proof the truth sets you free in to the open
and then kills you in the same breath leaving you broken inside
you find nothing until you open your eyes
I ain't talking 'bout the 2 on your face I'm talking 'bout the one in your mind,
the one in your brain
and I can't contemplate all that’s going down in this world
it's just all the same day after day
Too much patience that’s why I prey
too impatient to rest so I jus stay awake
hardly sleep 'cause I heard sleep is the cousin of death
I hold thoughts deep, real deep within my breath
and the way it speaks is lighter in a sense
that it makes me want to put my heart in until the time it ends.
The rhyme, itself, has no ending to the meaning
interpretations are infinite reach for the sky lifting' the ceiling
and thats how the truth made me feel when I heard it
so now I spit so the people can hear it
But I can't really fathom all of this that's starting' to happen
close my eyes and I see visions: the splitting of atom
the puppet master's still controlling the system
conducting the string quartet we the people are the instruments
there playing us...
you need to let ur conscious absorb this sit back
this is the ugly truth u didnt want gift wrapped
.........................
Poetry by Usman Mirza aka Crucial
Usman is also an MC by the name of Crucial from Neasden and is due to release his first mixtape this summer
The rehabilitation of Martin Atchet
As I come out of the quiet storm
Building up on broke down form
the induction into hell I hear the cries and mourns
watching the clocks is making me ill
against the wall semi conscious 'bout to fall with no boxing skills.
The truth had me up against my own mind a couple times
and in everyone you find a bit of cheat and lies!
so the truth eventually dies...
like Revolutionary leaders that end up getting crucified.
heavenly proof the truth sets you free in to the open
and then kills you in the same breath leaving you broken inside
you find nothing until you open your eyes
I ain't talking 'bout the 2 on your face I'm talking 'bout the one in your mind,
the one in your brain
and I can't contemplate all that’s going down in this world
it's just all the same day after day
Too much patience that’s why I prey
too impatient to rest so I jus stay awake
hardly sleep 'cause I heard sleep is the cousin of death
I hold thoughts deep, real deep within my breath
and the way it speaks is lighter in a sense
that it makes me want to put my heart in until the time it ends.
The rhyme, itself, has no ending to the meaning
interpretations are infinite reach for the sky lifting' the ceiling
and thats how the truth made me feel when I heard it
so now I spit so the people can hear it
But I can't really fathom all of this that's starting' to happen
close my eyes and I see visions: the splitting of atom
the puppet master's still controlling the system
conducting the string quartet we the people are the instruments
there playing us...
you need to let ur conscious absorb this sit back
this is the ugly truth u didnt want gift wrapped
.........................
Poetry by Usman Mirza aka Crucial
Usman is also an MC by the name of Crucial from Neasden and is due to release his first mixtape this summer
2 cents
Our first poet and MC Hypothesis sends us an exclusive poem!
2 Cents
By Hypothesis (Samiul Rahman)
Ready aim fire
Put this through the wire
My words bounce back like I’m preaching to a Choir
An open book spoken word open hook broken nerves
Token look smoking herbs,
Grass is greener on the other side hoping verbs
Don’t take affirmative action
While the full stop period still lacks attraction,
Compound syllabuls blown into fragments
Punctuation situation every time I get too patient
Sickest with the incubation
Premature nouns that sound profound
Pound for pound I’m going ounce for ounce
Levitate it off the ground then I bounce it down
A question for the masses
Every time I capture
Exclamation chapters
Pages of phrases hidden between brackets
Can you comprehend the tenses that I packet
Food for thought no preservatives added
I need to state
Conjunctions that are made
So many send me coal in to trade
The winter for the heat hoodwinked and betrayed
Picture what I see when I put ink on a page
I quote commas like Im bringing grammar to life
Pause for a second then like a hammer it strikes
Nail on the head
Your missions are pointless like brail for the deaf
Slash ale on the breath that you fail to reject
I succeed in proposing, prepositional plurals
Go against the grain like Im living in the rural
Obama brought change not enough for a Euro
Human life beside hyphens subject to Zero
Objective adjectives blood paints a mural
So crystal clear like a conflict diamond possessive hypocrisy
I don’t want to go above heads like apostrophes
Only my two cents
On a train of thought
Flipped across the track to cause the brain to spark
Two cents
Words hit like bullets
A million in the chamber let my brain pull it
Two cents
The word is born
And I will spit it until it hurts and these words are gone
Hypothesis is an MC hailing from New York City, Queens. He is now working with other MC's in London to make his first mixtape
2 Cents
By Hypothesis (Samiul Rahman)
Ready aim fire
Put this through the wire
My words bounce back like I’m preaching to a Choir
An open book spoken word open hook broken nerves
Token look smoking herbs,
Grass is greener on the other side hoping verbs
Don’t take affirmative action
While the full stop period still lacks attraction,
Compound syllabuls blown into fragments
Punctuation situation every time I get too patient
Sickest with the incubation
Premature nouns that sound profound
Pound for pound I’m going ounce for ounce
Levitate it off the ground then I bounce it down
A question for the masses
Every time I capture
Exclamation chapters
Pages of phrases hidden between brackets
Can you comprehend the tenses that I packet
Food for thought no preservatives added
I need to state
Conjunctions that are made
So many send me coal in to trade
The winter for the heat hoodwinked and betrayed
Picture what I see when I put ink on a page
I quote commas like Im bringing grammar to life
Pause for a second then like a hammer it strikes
Nail on the head
Your missions are pointless like brail for the deaf
Slash ale on the breath that you fail to reject
I succeed in proposing, prepositional plurals
Go against the grain like Im living in the rural
Obama brought change not enough for a Euro
Human life beside hyphens subject to Zero
Objective adjectives blood paints a mural
So crystal clear like a conflict diamond possessive hypocrisy
I don’t want to go above heads like apostrophes
Only my two cents
On a train of thought
Flipped across the track to cause the brain to spark
Two cents
Words hit like bullets
A million in the chamber let my brain pull it
Two cents
The word is born
And I will spit it until it hurts and these words are gone
Hypothesis is an MC hailing from New York City, Queens. He is now working with other MC's in London to make his first mixtape
Wednesday 7 July 2010
THE POETIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECT
Our Manifesto...
The Poetic Empowerment Project aims to bring self confidence to the youth whilst allowing them to articulate their frustrations, emotions and creativity through the art of wordplay. Furthermore the P.E.P aims to empower the youth regardless of race, religion or creed. The young people involved in the project will also come out of it acknowledging and implementing the famous idiom that in fact 'the pen is mightier then the sword.' The P.E.P whilst also giving the youth a chance to express themselves will also target important youth issues at the same time. Issues such as 'knife crimes' will be addressed as well as 'extremism' and 'loneliness' etc.
All these issues will be listed and targeted in workshops separately and we hope to include at least one famous poet or spoken word artists or even rappers. Anyone who is respected by the youth thus creating a healthy, mutual environment. So rather then the local MP speaking we would prefer to choose the local MC! However we do want politicians to work closely with the project to help build a relationship of respect with the local youth.
I have articulated some of these points on the Barnet Times, the link is below:
http://www.times-series.co.uk/blogs/8223323.Poetic_Empowerment/
Copy and Paste the above link into the address bar to access it!
Activities and Workshops
The implementation of activities and workshops is solely dependent on whether the P.E.P receives funding or not. However the core of the P.E.P will be poetry circles which will be circulated and held on our website:
www.PoeticEmpowerment.blogspot.com and will also be advertised on social networking sites to encourage young people to get involved!
The P.E.P will have an annual Charity Poetry Slam at the end of the year using the young poets in our project to express their poems on stage in front of an audience. We also plan to book one poet to perform as the headline act. All the money raised from this Poetry Slam will go to charity. However the young poets will not be forced into performing and can create their own type of performance using video’s or pre-recorded spoken word segments.
Aims and outcomes
By the end of the year we hope to:
Have at least one group of young poets to start off the project headed and chaired by mentors and Poetic Leaders
Have at least one workshop with the youth trying to tackle issues which concern them
Organise our first Charity Poetry Slam with the local MP speaking, a local poet or rapper perform and of course have our young poets express their art to the audience if they want to.
The aims outlined above are both attainable and realistic
The outcomes of the project are as follows:
To create a better more rational population of young people who are empowered with the knowledge that the 'pen is mightier then the sword.'
The above outcome will hopeful eradicate problems like knife crime to radical extremism
To give the youth self-confidence and treat one another with respect. Also crucially to give the youth the oral skills to deal with parents in a respectful manner thus leading to a more healthy family life.
Most importantly let the youth enjoy their work and give them full artistic control in terms of how they want to present their poetry. Each young person will have their own creative means to an ends.
.....................................................................................
The Poetic Empowerment Project requires volunteer's to help in anyway possible, if you are interested please contact:
mohamedzaind@googlemail.com
Thank you for reading our manifesto.
The Poetic Empowerment Project aims to bring self confidence to the youth whilst allowing them to articulate their frustrations, emotions and creativity through the art of wordplay. Furthermore the P.E.P aims to empower the youth regardless of race, religion or creed. The young people involved in the project will also come out of it acknowledging and implementing the famous idiom that in fact 'the pen is mightier then the sword.' The P.E.P whilst also giving the youth a chance to express themselves will also target important youth issues at the same time. Issues such as 'knife crimes' will be addressed as well as 'extremism' and 'loneliness' etc.
All these issues will be listed and targeted in workshops separately and we hope to include at least one famous poet or spoken word artists or even rappers. Anyone who is respected by the youth thus creating a healthy, mutual environment. So rather then the local MP speaking we would prefer to choose the local MC! However we do want politicians to work closely with the project to help build a relationship of respect with the local youth.
I have articulated some of these points on the Barnet Times, the link is below:
http://www.times-series.co.uk/blogs/8223323.Poetic_Empowerment/
Copy and Paste the above link into the address bar to access it!
Activities and Workshops
The implementation of activities and workshops is solely dependent on whether the P.E.P receives funding or not. However the core of the P.E.P will be poetry circles which will be circulated and held on our website:
www.PoeticEmpowerment.blogspot.com and will also be advertised on social networking sites to encourage young people to get involved!
The P.E.P will have an annual Charity Poetry Slam at the end of the year using the young poets in our project to express their poems on stage in front of an audience. We also plan to book one poet to perform as the headline act. All the money raised from this Poetry Slam will go to charity. However the young poets will not be forced into performing and can create their own type of performance using video’s or pre-recorded spoken word segments.
Aims and outcomes
By the end of the year we hope to:
Have at least one group of young poets to start off the project headed and chaired by mentors and Poetic Leaders
Have at least one workshop with the youth trying to tackle issues which concern them
Organise our first Charity Poetry Slam with the local MP speaking, a local poet or rapper perform and of course have our young poets express their art to the audience if they want to.
The aims outlined above are both attainable and realistic
The outcomes of the project are as follows:
To create a better more rational population of young people who are empowered with the knowledge that the 'pen is mightier then the sword.'
The above outcome will hopeful eradicate problems like knife crime to radical extremism
To give the youth self-confidence and treat one another with respect. Also crucially to give the youth the oral skills to deal with parents in a respectful manner thus leading to a more healthy family life.
Most importantly let the youth enjoy their work and give them full artistic control in terms of how they want to present their poetry. Each young person will have their own creative means to an ends.
.....................................................................................
The Poetic Empowerment Project requires volunteer's to help in anyway possible, if you are interested please contact:
mohamedzaind@googlemail.com
Thank you for reading our manifesto.
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