Stereo. Type.
Before they lock you
in a stereotype
speak words so deep
they’re like burial rights
write lines that unite
every side of the fight
so when you speak
all they get is your
STEREO. TYPE.
See I don’t care about your lyrics
I mostly care about your spirit
our words are just vessels
to help our souls grow coherent
That’s why plastic conversations
just keep people in their places
boxes and cages
staying locked in a maze
These days
a raised eyebrow in suspicion
can draw a straight line to a conviction
A country so conditioned by racism
those most judged
by skin colour and appearance
end up filling up our prisons
And you’re pissed off
when a shock-jock
gets paid just to be a bigot
but our taxes have been paying for the same shit
since the beginning
They pigeon hole us into body types
traditional dress
sexual preference
or exotic sound bytes
and they use every media stereotype
to amplify their agenda
as their political stereo mic
So we’re stuck in the battle of the headlines
on the war of the magazine shelf
they’ve taught us
to see each other
as caricatures of our real selves
From Cronulla to the Herald
Channel 7 - the whole cartel
the media mafia's making sure
News Corp gets the sell
But the complexity of our lives
doesn’t fit in their headlines
so they need bite-sized pieces of our bodies
to feed on between dinner and bedtime
So when we see each other on the street
those headlines
in our head sets
become headnotes
become death stares
become death threats
become the next steps
towards our best friends’ necks
becoming breathless
To divide and conquer
we need a clear set of enemies
falsified identities combined with our short term memories
They poison our communities
to keep us preoccupied
so while we’re fighting each other
- more land gets occupied
More services are cut
Adani gets up
another open cut mine
another refugee gets stuck
That’s why we need to take back the narrative
speak our own languages
keep our identities multifaceted
don’t simplify it for their arrogance
You are not all savages
you are not all parodies to be used
as their front page embarrassments
So before they lock you
in a stereotype
speak words so deep
they’re like burial rights
write lines that unite
every side of the fight
so when we speak
all they get is our
STEREO. TYPE.