Lyrics

verse 1:
Crushed linen sweats in the arm chair/
I’m laid back, mind focused on Acts, yeah I’m calm here/
Dim lights flicker, sipping a mean wet/
Soft horns from a background jazz tune, the scene’s set/
Stressed off the spoken…notion/
That either you a pawn uncle tom or your English is broken/
They say that acquiescing is the question/
I’m guessing, many switch back & forth just to get a profession/
You one way in front of your colleagues, the sham’s up/
While losing credibility in front of your fam, bruh/
Conclusion? Confused and delusions/
From the illusion of diversity and equity inclusion/
Perusing through your closet, to pick what you adorned in/
To make sure that your dress code is conforming/
Sworn in political rivals in intervals/
But cant relate to your talking points in your interviews/
Cynical material, you turned down your stereo/
Neighbors pretend they like you, they just wanna get rid of you/
Uuhhnn…like you a bad cough or something/
You appeasing them and they don't really offer nothing/
Fronting for your clients, even though they biased/
And if you’re not compliant, outcomes are undesired/
So we try it in private, that’s how they keep us quiet/
To a degree, we all do it, but for us it’s required/ (c’mon)


hook:
Blackness makes us unsettled/
We cover up for y'all/
You talk and act ghetto/
We switch it for y'all/
It’s code switching (code switching)

Laugh and joke to get by/
We cover up for y'all/
Don’t say “woke” or “D.E.I”/
We switch it for y'all/
yeah…it’s code switching (code switching)

verse 2:
The fact is, what I talked about in the first place/
Is that Blackness is not allowed in the workplace/
You act if they gon' react to your hurt face/
Redacted dialects, ashamed of your birthplace/
Cultural identity denied, you pretend to be/
A lie, just to prove you not a threat to the enemy/
Authenticity challenged from condescending chauvinists/
Different standards of what’s considered appropriate/
Condolences when they make fun of your soulfulness/
And if you seek equality, they call you a socialist/
Emotionless is how you react when they stare at you/
No support for openness, they just cut your parachute/
Don’t try to explain it; racialized language/
In dominate arrangements, they put you in anguish/
Strangers easily suggest you could use help/
But you do it for protection, denying your true self/
Soon, you assume this weight you can take/
It’s like covering lacerated wounds with a band aid/
Translate, to give a dap, pound or a handshake/
This mandate on how we navigate the landscape/
The dilemma of recalling the self-damage you causing/
I’s you dotting up, T’s you crossing/
Scoffing; we experience it often/
Uncover? cover up? yo the ish is exhausting!/