Black Krishna

.

See, I been around the world
But I always come home,
'Cause I know the only girls,
Momma wants-me-to-bone,
I'm stuck in a time warp,
My culture's a vulture,
Picks at my brains,
Makes my soul, an-old-sculpture,
So I rob and steal,
Thief, some some brown-juice,
My personality's split,
My ace is a deuce,
So I let loose,
Pick and choose,
Never lose,
Hit the folks sat-sang,
Then hit the club, getting boozed!
Then I know I gotta lie,
Don't even gotta try,
Practice makes perfect,
And I know-you-know why—
Momz'll die;
And Dad'll just shake his head,
I'm not a real doctor, ha— I'm still pre-med!
I'm no engineer, too much love for the beer,
My crazy threads—
Got the whole fam’ thinkin' queer,
The end is near,
The solution: revolution!
A new breed is coming: a brown-evolution!
Dilution, of my past, is the last,
I was chillin’ with whitey,
'Cause his lane's looking-fast,
The black guys were tough,
The badass-in-the-caste,
So I stole from hip-hop:
Mobb Deep and Everlast,
At last,
I've got the answer, no doubt,
Hear me shout:
My existential vibe's got clout!
At last,
I've got the answer, no doubt,
Hear me shout:
My existential vibe's got clout…

Why?

(chorus)

‘Cause—

I be the Black Krishna,
God on this earth,
I'm raised 5000 years,
Before, my first birth,
In this land of freedom,
The formula don't work,
So, I'm'a drink and smoke,
Until they burn me to earth...

(x2)

Oh shit!
I can’t write this shit down?
Get mad uncles sayin':
“What's up with this clown?”
Sometimes I trip,
And have the shit get me down,
Sometimes I wonder:
Am I really down with the brown?
See—
I know what to do, the recipe is set,
Lace a condo in 'ssauga,
Get occupied like-Tibet,
At 28,
Meet a nice desi-honey,
Take India’s best, no more Playboy bunnies!
She better have a dot,
Like she's marked for death,
She better have a hint of curry—
On her-breath,
I know the deal:
She ain't fuckin' with the pill,
And I ain't splittin' the posts,
'Til I'm, climbin' the hill!
So—
Get, set-up,
It's best, that you get met-up—
Many mom’s, gettin' all they sari's—
Straight wet-up!
It's your life…
And they know for you, what's right!
“You're still my little boy, no matter what you do at nite!”
You can hang with white girls,
See a movie in groups,
But I don't wanna hear,
You gettin' brains in her coupe!
You got a job now,
So what the hell comes next?
Why waste your time,
Writing meaningless cheques?
Get a new vest,
To match your Kurtha, and turban,
Day-after-next,
You can go back to rockin' urban,
We’re gonna hook-up,
All your friends and fam,
Get 500 peeps, for the baddest brown jam!
You wanna elope, and save 40-grand,
But the law's been passed,
With momz shtrong pimp-hand!

Then again...

(chorus)

I be the Black Krishna,
God on this earth,
I'm raised 5000 years,
Before, my first birth,
In this land of freedom,
The formula don't work,
So, I'm'a drink and smoke,
Until they burn me to earth...

(x2)

BONUS: 3rd Verse

On identity, an eternally young G,
Had the shit all figured,
At the age of twenty-three,
Then 24 hit, and I'm all done school,
Got a jobby-job,
‘Cause mom don't raise no fools,
Cool out on my own,
Hooked up with my homiez,
Got a house where we chilled,
Chased girls on the lonely,
I know Meat is Murder, but steak taste great,
And my whole life,
Mom served curried V8!
And now I date—
Well—
I kinda started sooner,
But now I gotta place where I can cuddle-and-spoon-her!
But the long brown shadow is still being caste,
And being Brahmin:
I really shouldn't tap that ass!
But I been back home,
I done seen my past,
Seen on the sides of temples,
Big-titty girls shakin' ass!
Go check the ROM,
Those days was a blast,
The Kama Sutra,
The only book-read-in-class!
A sexual culture,
'Til the Brits came en-masse,
Took us porch-monkey savages—
And busted-our-ass!
At last—
The future's here, make amends,
Come up for air slow,
Or gonna get the bends,
We move forward,
Or the culture’s gonna die,
I’ll do what I want, or let sleeping dogs lie,
I can start to forgive, or I can start to forget,
I can start to embrace, or I can just let it get—

Gone!!!

But I can't say yes or no,
I can't say the rules, don't apply to me, yo,
I can't say where I'm from, don't affect where I go,
Call me an untouchable,
Or outcaste, for sho',
But my legacy is formed,
It stains, my ripped genes,
I'll fight for my ends,
And form, my own means,
I'll be my own man,
For whatever it's worth,
I'll stake my own claim,
In my time on this earth...

Why?

(chorus)

‘Cause—

I be the Black Krishna,
God on this earth,
I'm raised 5000 years,
Before, my first birth,
In this land of freedom,
The formula don't work,
So, I'm'a drink and smoke,
Until they burn me to earth...

(x2)

Black Krishna
May 13, 2003
blackkrishna@gmail.com

BONUS LYRICS

I be the brown Jay-Z, not the King of New York,
Call me V-Jay-Z, I used to rock it at York,
Not a muslim, so I'm really down with pork,
I shovel bacon in my face with a big-ass fork,
But wait, I'm a Hindu, by birth anyways,
But I ain't down for rituals that last many days,
I'm all about the spiritual, and feel no ways,
I ain't fuckin' no body, but I know crime pays,
On rainy days, I'll just kick-it and blaze,
Have my head fucked up like I'm caught in a maze,
And laze, my genius slowly eroded,
It's like a gun to my head, and it's cocked and loaded,
But I gotta maintain, before my style's outmoded,
Or make liars out of peeps, who had great things boded,
I'm getting cash-money just to pay the bills,
But I feel like blowin' a wad on Purple Pills,
Many ills, 'cause many vices bring thrills,
Got a pack of death cards, for my brain cell kills...

BONUS INTERVIEW

December 16, 2003

On Black Krishna - 10 questions with Black Krishna

1. Why did you write this?

I wrote it one morning as a personal catharsis, and then put it out to let young brown people, the slang term I use to refer to those of East-Indian origin, better understand the pressures of following a traditional plan for growing up that may not be right for them.

2. Are you worried about a backlash?

Sure, but only for the wrong reasons. I know people will instinctively have a negative reaction, but that's what happens when you question tradition. I think all traditions need to be questioned periodically to make sure they're still relevant, then update them if need be. Still, I haven't let my parents read it yet.

3. Are your parents pushing you in this direction?

Sort of, but with nowhere near the fervour of some of my friend’s folks. I am basically aggressively socially re-engineering them, or "cooling them out" as we get older, and they've really always been supportive of anything I did. I realized that when brown parents are pushing in this direction they forget their kids are individuals, and are mainly focused on keeping up with their friend’s families. They gain status by saying "my kid's a doctor" or "he makes $75,000 a year", and lose status with questions like "oh, she's not married yet?" or "why won't she live at home until she's married?" They see a formula for success to compare to, and that doesn't take into account individual needs.

4. Do young women have it worse?

Most definitely, and that's a result of how their parents were raised. In India, for women marriage was sold as the key to happiness, that's when life really begins and other aspirations are secondary. Here in this country, and even now in India, there are so many more options that can bring happiness, and rushing into marriage as many do only leads to perpetual unhappiness, or the "quickie divorces" we've seen here within two years of marriage. All the women I know who are brown and in their mid to late 20's describe an almost crippling pressure, a real drain on their happiness, because they know their parents can't be happy until they "settle down". Hopefully they'll find the right person, and many want to settle down anyway, however many are also compelled to choose "good enough". Parents don't understand that when you're likely going to live until your 80's or 90's, "good enough" sounds like a terrible compromise to live 50-plus years with, and grow old as soulmates with.

A roommate for 50 years?

Hmm...

I’d better think about this one...

5. But doesn't arranged marriage have a place?

Sure, or "arranged meetings" as is more commonplace. But as I told my mom, if I date someone that I'm introduced to by all her friends for a year and then break up, how much worse is that? I know of a family friend set up by our "community" who was leaving her 20's, and she forced her now-husband's hand after a month of dating by asking him to propose or it would be over because she had to get married soon and couldn't waste time. Now they spend most of their time in different cities while she has 2 kids. I don't see them as happy nor how I'd want to live with my wife, and I can't help but think there had to be resentment over how fast it happened. The bottom line is you can't just marry "anyone", it doesn't matter if their education and looks makes them "good enough". You have to make sure there's a real connection these days when you have the option.

6. Do you consider yourself Indian?

Sure, as long as it doesn't conflict with my individuality, otherwise I'll have to join another club or remain a free agent! (laughs) I think being Indian is more about recognizing the value of your heritage then copying it out-right, and I hope there's space for many different types of Indian rather than a formula for the perfect one. At least I'm putting that out there, but changing a billion minds won't be easy...

7. Do you feel your Western upbringing has impacted your values?

Oh absolutely, it was definitely a problem growing up without a lot of brown role-models and it still is today. Who's the most famous brown person today? Think quick. No guesses? It's Apu, the convenience store owner from the cartoon "The Simpson's". Or Gandhi, and he's been dead for 50 years. There's no international brown "sex-symbols" or Tom Cruise the way the Chinese have Jackie Chan, and even cute brown girls took a back seat to Chrissie from "Three's Company" when I was a kid, as the white blond girl was the ideal fantasy. Still, growing up in Toronto I had balance and took a look at both sides, and after rejecting Indian-culture for a while I've since realized that it has a lot to offer, and that brown girls are beautiful! (laughs) I guess "Western" values were always sold to me as freedom because Indian values were always restricting my behaviour, and even in India they're struggling to combine the two. I believe in (John Stuart) Mill's harm principle as a defining philosophy: don't restrict my behaviour unless I'm harming someone else. And besides, as I say in the song, I blame the British for slowing our liberal evolution, I think we would've been smart enough to figure this stuff out by now without their stifling influence. The problem now is it's "Western" vs. "Indian" culture, when it should just be about the best ideas for today.

8. So what should we keep of Indian culture?

I think you should keep whatever you want, just make sure it's right for you. I know there are people who want to be computer-programmers, though I couldn't imagine doing it. However, in India kids who don't get into IIT (the Indian Institute for Technology) are suicidal, and maybe they didn't get in because that wasn't meant for them. It's amazing what parents will force their kids to do while still loving them and creates crazy situations for the kids, and that's not necessarily Indian culture. Language, religion, history, art, music, movies, family, humour... there's lots of great stuff in our 5000 year history we can keep, and better yet evolve.

9. Why "Black" Krishna? Isn't that sacrilegious?

Yes and no, I remember Krishna being very "dark" in my old Indian-history Mahabarata comic books, heck he was “blue”! (laughs) But seriously, it's more of a play on me always being the "black sheep" of the family; my appreciation of "black" culture and hip-hop which I know is frowned upon by many Indians; and the idea of being the "anti-Indian" role model, which is really my reaction to what I see are the negative aspects of being Indian that we should change.

Not that I have the answer, but more like we shouldn't be afraid to question things and be ourselves, whoever we are.

10. What do you want people to take from this piece?

I guess I want them to understand that I went through my own struggles, and that I think it's okay for each of us to walk our own path. I think the only way to be happy is to be free, and if something is holding you back make sure it's for a good reason. I hope everyone can take something from this, and I've had friends of all races relate to it, but I'm hoping especially young and old brown people understand what I'm trying to say and talk about it, despite my use of "colourful" language that's meant in part to show my frustration. I think it's morally okay to be different and still be Indian, and hopefully we can all be as unique as God made us.

.

- Black Krishna)