“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!