ANTIBODIES//Shots
(Or, A Critical Race Theory Analysis of Infection Endemicity Using Purposive Sampling)
From the Upon the Body collection: Poems of/to a Black Social Epi in the Time of COVID
Today, 4/19, is illmatic day. In honor of the greatest rap album in the history of these ears, some COVID19 bars in homage, set to “Represent.” With a purposive sample of music and research connecting the myriad, interlocking ways in which structural inequality, public health police powers, and police violence land upon our bodies: Don’t be anti-body, be an antibody.
And don’t forget, “my poetry’s deep, I never fell.”
ANTIBODIES//Shots
[Straight up, shit is real]
…and any day
could be your last when you’re essential;
working-class hands
keep the beat, instrumental;
more than instruments
our intellect is influential;
are we still in this together
come November and the rent’s due?
Lookin’ for a Change,
found a quarter in the cushion;
kickin’ it with Curtis,
told me Keep on Pushin’;
Brown Babies need food,
I’ma keep on cookin’;
they keep on shootin’,
I’ma keep on lookin’…
And they shootin’…
No bandanas
on the face of the Shook,
Ones in a pocket,
wallet Commonly mistook;
Nina said Please
but our pleas are overlooked;
hotels shutting down,
DCs overbooked.
Cruisin’ in a six…
to buy food for the fam;
pulled down by the river,
so we kneel next to Sam;
brown liquor on the pave,
ICE Cube in the hands
Of a lady named America,
Working on her tan.
It’s Alright if we Hussle
and keep working the mop;
counterclockwise,
true sign of a Boss;
so much Sauce
gets dripped in a stop
made from the same fruit
that the poplars drop.
Now on the count of three…
look out for the one time;
the Math don’t lie,
it’s not happening one time;
it’s a cold, Cold World,
but it’s hot in the Sunshine;
got N-95 problems —
who they got on the frontlines?
Flash!
Keep your hands on the dash;
keep your mouth shut,
and don’t move too fast;
don’t reach for your phone,
don’t remove your mask;
they said they got calls
you took 1200 cash.
And They shootin’…
#TimeIsillmatic
#OneTimeForYourMindFrontLines
#TheRealAntiBodies
#Represent
