“Negro Drama” [Black Drama] lyrics translated to English by Luísa Pessoa. This translation was used in the international version of the video below, which promoted the manifesto “As Long There is Racism, There Will Be No Democracy“, from the Black Coalition of Rights, Brazil. The video was directed by João Wainer. “Negro Drama” is a song by Racionais MC’s, but, in this version, it is performed by Seu Jorge.
NEGRO DRAMA from TX on Vimeo.
Black drama! He tries, but can’t see a thing
but a star, far away, half shining
He feels the drama, the pressure, the expense
in love, in hate, the insane revenge
Black drama! I know who’s plotting and who’s my friend
The trauma I carry so I won’t be another fucked black man
The drama from jails and slums
Blood, siren, cries, candles, tombs
Passengers from Brazil, São Paulo, the agony
of those who survive the orders and cowardice
Outskirts, alleys, railroad flats
Bet you’re thinking: I have nothing to do with that
Since the beginning, in search of gold and silver,
Watch who dies and then how the killer
gets the merit and the uniform that harms
Seeing the poor in jail or dead became cultural
Stories, records, documents
This is no tale, fable, myth or legend
We’ve always heard: blacks won’t have their turn
So, look at that castle, brother, you’ve built it, scum
My friends from the battle are my comrades
I was flesh, now I’m the fucking blade
Cheers, a toast to me
I’m an example of glories, pathways and victories,
Money takes the man out of misery
But can’t erase the slum inside him
Few are those who enter the field to win
The soul keeps what the mind tries to forget
I look back and see the long path I’ve walked,
and who was by my side, and who kept out of sight
Stylish black drama
To be, you have to be, no fear
Between the trigger and the storm
Always proving I’m a man, not a scorn
May God protect me, I know he’s not impartial
He watches the rich, but loves the ghetto
I wear black, inside and outside
Warrior, poet, between memory and time
On this path, I see euros, karats and bills
And I say: Bro, don’t die, but don’t kill
The clock doesn’t wait, see how it goes
This path is full of mortars, it’s poisonous
Nightmare is a compliment
For those who live at war, peace never came
My people have cold sweats even when it’s hot
I saw a black kid, his notebook was a glock
Black drama
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