“Rise Up” by Komplex Kai A Call To Native Americans To Go On Warpath

Mix oil with water then drink it. Hey, what could possibly go wrong? Well according to the owners of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and a newly elected president of the United States absolutely nothing. According to scientists, environmentalists and the inhabitants of the land the pipeline will go through it would be a disaster waiting to happen. According to many security specialists it could be an easy and readily available terrorist target. When a terrorist could wreak an almost equal amount of immediate and long term damage with a single stick of dynamite as they could with a dirty bomb then why bother to go to all the trouble, expense, risk and technical training required to use and handle nuclear materials. According to Komplex Kai, a Native American musician and member of the Tulalip tribes, it would surely lead to more woe and trouble for a people who have suffered more than their fair share of that at the hands of the white European settlers who were welcomed to this land by those original indigenous natives with open arms.

“Rise Up” was written and recorded by Komplex Kai a month before Donald Trump officially took office. Worried that the new president would carry out campaign promises in 2017 to lift the ban on continued construction on both the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines that the former president initiated in 2015 the Washington State rapper set his words to music as a battle cry warning to the world.

“Rise Up” foretells the threats that Komplex Kai saw coming not only to the environment, the health, the livelihood, the well being and welfare of his fellow tribesmen, but also as a threat of the continuing erosion of human rights for those living in this country. When basic rights are only for the privileged few then only the privileged will prevail. I’ve listened to his performance again and again and what I hear is the sad, sad truth being told in every line. I encourage anyone reading this to listen here for yourself, and make up your own mind:

(below are the lyrics for this song).

RISE UP

By Komplex Kai

It’s a war zone it’s too far gone that is their home it should be left alone

Flying drones – look at what is shown, law enforcement clones taking violent tones

Rubber bullets thrown, it’s time to dethrone all these corporations let’s show some backbone

When the attack’s on, let’s get our attack on

If we have to without asking

 

This is the point they let it get to man this is to official and it’s what they pursue

Probably resort to missile if that have to we can’t be to dismissive, be ready for round two And round three, man that’s the system

If history’s an indication, we can’t trust their information

Let’s be ready just in case there’s some kind of cancellation

Probably after inauguration I’d expect some altercation word from government

Is something that I lost me faith in

 

It’s a lifelong fight there’s no debating

Full of ghettos and reservations

They pulling triggers with no hesitation

Life with no preservation

Then they blame the education

Then they blame how we getting paper

Then they twist this, the facts to pin us

How the f**k we supposed to react? They kill us

It’s not surprising that we keep on dying

What do you expect from the people lying?

You think now we can finally trust’em?

Five hundred years of blindly busting

They don’t care about the victims or their

Family that’s the systems order

Try to paint us as insubordinates

Do they address it? Kinda, sorta

I’m just writing rhymes I bet you

For just that they could probably arrest you

They don’t like when they can’t oppress you

They don’t like when you press an issue

So for that I press the issue

Of the power you been blessed to misuse

Innocent lives that we lost to pistols

May God forgive you

 

Then they wonder what cause the hatred

No respect they weren’t taught the basics

Or wonder why we constantly talking races

Stats don’t lie on a regular basis

The family tree just lost another

Lost a sister lost a brother

Lost a father lost a mother

Lost a auntie lost a uncle

Lost a wife a lost a husband

Lost a friend or lost a cousin

Black white brown Christian or Muslim

Melting pot with lots of suffering

 

This sh*t that I’m spitting is not assumption

Only get worse since they let Trump in

Call it purging call it call it hunting

To cause a diversion gotta call it something

Yeah man this sh*t is nuts retiring till we giving up

Don’t give me that shit about getting up about equality about kissing up

Or how everybody on an even plain that’s how a cop cops out man it ain’t the same

And if you make a statement they say he’s insane

Say we need a change they think they need to tame

They start aiming brains when they release the chains

It’s like an impossibility to ease the pain but

We seen this sh*t with our dad in cuffs when I heard the story wasn’t adding up

But when I got older same story toss me in this category

They think I’m lying like a dad on Maury

Start using words like mandatory

Must be illegal to be a skin penalty probably three to ten

Matter fact probably longer sh*t more like life ask Leonard Peltier if he’ll be free again

 

No justice ain’t no peace, gotta pack a piece in these mangled streets

Rappers wanna brag about their fake gold teeth

While citizens getting sent their permanent sleep

That’s affirmative beef or reaffirming the grief or confirming the belief we have no purpose to breathe

These streets like TNT, ready to blow any SEC

So sick of saying R.I.P injustice as far I see

This land is their land yeah and they got it in a robbery

Put the flag up and call’em colonies and what’s happening today is appalling me

 

Who the f**k you kidding, democracy?

Maybe if you say it ironically

I understand to take a stand we’re supposed hand and hand

But it’s hard in a life that’s supply and demand so pardon my tone but why the f**k should I stand?

The right time no pipeline, gotta think about sh*t with the right mind

Was it a white lash is it white time should I still only dine with my kind?

I don’t know dawg not in my mind but it seem that way on my timeline

Just a bunch a sh*t I can’t co-sign, looking at graves as a gold mine

Real gangstas don’t throw signs, they minds as sharp as porcupines

They run the world from behind the scenes, while authorizing war crimes

Keep you in the dark and get more shine, while they bagging bodies like pork rinds

If you stay confined you get more blind so stay awake opine

You get one life you get one chance the b*tch only stays for one dance

So make sure you pick the right stance the important sh*t you can’t finance

They push hard, fight back; fight till you get your life back

Middle finger up, who don’t like that, it’s about time we take our rights back

Rise Up! Rise Up!