I asked some friends and altered their answers into a rap with a little help from them.
Karu (BOY):
Yeah, now I'm 12 years old, but I'm gonna bring it to my school days for a second, you know, yo...
He's probably good at math, he probably aced the class,
He probably never kissed a girl, he probably smells of trash.
They saw him walking past the lockers, all the kids would laugh,
Any given chance, the kids would call him Ching Chongan.
But what if he was actually mad, and he was from Japan,
And what if actually that was me, I'm actually into rap.
My favorite thing is music, I'm bad at math,
But every day I come to class, and all the girls think I'm the coolest.
I have a friend, he's Cuban, my other friend is Jewish,
But giving all these labels to my friends is pretty useless.
We're all connected, every color, creed, race or sex,
The only way I gain perspective: if my judgment's laid to rest.
'Cause all we want is some respect, they put that on my name,
I'm balling every day to be the hottest in the game.
My skin and face will never change, that's just the way I'm made,
I know that every life is beautiful, I'll never be ashamed.
Me (GIRL):
My hair nappy, my skin golden,
My mom black, my dad white, so I don't know where to fit.
They say I'm mixed, but why I gotta be that or be this,
Can't they ask me about my dreams or where I plan to be next.
For real, I hate the fact they say I'm pretty for a black girl,
Always want to touch my hair, when I rock it natural.
And what is black anyway? I thought it was a color,
We come in many shades, unique and different from each other.
Chorus:
We're all beautiful, look up in the mirror, tell yourself that you're a star.
Never let somebody make you feel like you aren't perfect just the way you are.
Yeah, just the way you are.
Yo, I know this is a hard topic. Don't let other people define you. Be true to yourself. Never let 'em make you feel like you're not perfect just the way you are.
Amanda (GIRL):
Ivory complexion, but she didn’t notice,
At 9 years old, penning prose, man, that little poet
Knew her brothers were her brothers, couldn't really see color,
Until she saw the world, and the scope of it made her shudder.
Privilege handed out like grades on a test,
But only handed to humans with pale flesh?
Someone's right to achieve shouldn’t be stifled by greed,
Seeing systematic oppression made her fall to her knees.
Well, that girl grew up, and she started to teach,
To break the silence, break the cycle, kept her heart to the streets.
3 years later, still using art in her speak, still preaching peace,
That little poet was me.
Jamarkus (BOY):
And when they ask me where I'm from, I tell them that I'm from planet Earth,
The only place I've been since my mother gave me birth.
Government categorized society, made it worse,
Separated people all over the world taking their turf.
And if you ask me my race, I might run,
Obama ran for president, running is quite fun.
Either African-American, but Africa's not in America,
Or black, which is a color, and I'm not one.
But, but they tell me check one on applications,
Instead of race, you should judge me as a person.
Proud to be black, but play my race card smarter,
Race is a tool they used to divide and conquer.
Chorus:
We're all beautiful, look up in the mirror, tell yourself that you're a star.
Never let somebody make you feel like you aren't perfect just the way you are.
Yeah, just the way you are. Yeah, just the way you are.
Never let 'em make you feel like you're not perfect just the way you are, just the way you are.
Never let 'em make you feel like you're not perfect just the way you are.
Thank you for tuning in but i've got to tune out. BYE!
