By Button Poetry
.
.
Yaw Kyeremateng, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:01
questions my accent has to answer in
00:04
order to survive huh what say that again
00:10
um can you say slowly and enunciate hmm
00:14
one more time I’m sorry all right
00:16
bro just spell it dude are even speaking
00:19
English so let me get this straight
00:22
my own bread homemade Ghanaian accent is
00:25
to foreign for your ethnocentric taste
00:28
you’ve been imitating Forrest Whitaker
00:31
talking about the kid will now have the
00:33
strength of the blade Penta stripped
00:35
away but all of a sudden you can
00:38
navigate a conversation with me okay I
00:42
get it
00:43
we pronounce it differently you say
00:45
vibrate I say I vibrate you say
00:48
hippopotamus I say hippopotamus I say
00:52
inevitable you say enough enough and
00:55
Annette Annette was in and in the more
00:57
fucked some things are just hard to say
00:59
and it’s not like I can’t speak English
01:03
clearly I can but every time I
01:07
articulate for white American ears and
01:10
lose a portion of my ancestral will if
01:13
we’re being real I can’t understand shit
01:15
you say but I have learned I have
01:21
learned to go choice for your
01:22
convenience this is how I survive
01:25
it is a tool meant to keep me safe in
01:27
this country you know I go back home
01:30
occasionally to stay connected to my
01:31
roots but my family does not seem to
01:33
recognize me I like to think it’s
01:35
because I’ve been gone for too long but
01:38
the truth is I have toyed with my West
01:41
African accent so much that I become
01:43
invisible to my own people and still
01:46
here in America people hide behind those
01:49
smiles huffing and puffing about the way
01:51
I sound wondering if my accent is forged
01:54
if I try about wash it to sound more
01:57
African you think this sexy saucy juice
02:00
hold tone inflection can be distorted my
02:04
asset is the realest thing about me it
02:06
has more than survived been burned alive
02:09
struggle its way through
02:11
yet still migrated limped on every
02:14
college sidewalk but still graduated
02:17
joint speech and debate traveled all
02:19
over the country slayed every single
02:22
tournament my accent fall in love and
02:25
five different languages of Papa diamond
02:28
chain injury valuable time I said tell
02:30
about you make us in madam on a move via
02:33
dummy have to tell them were my love
02:34
come sleep next to me my asset is I’m
02:37
open not full of endless possibilities
02:40
it is why when you speak I try my
02:44
hardest to listen to understand to taste
02:49
the salt in your accent so why do you
02:52
refuse to taste the sweetness in mine
02:55
[Applause]
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want a deeper connection with our community, please join us as a Premium Member today.
Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video
The post Yaw Kyeremateng – Accent [Video] appeared first on The Good Men Project.
By Button Poetry
.
.
Yaw Kyeremateng, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:01
questions my accent has to answer in
00:04
order to survive huh what say that again
00:10
um can you say slowly and enunciate hmm
00:14
one more time I’m sorry all right
00:16
bro just spell it dude are even speaking
00:19
English so let me get this straight
00:22
my own bread homemade Ghanaian accent is
00:25
to foreign for your ethnocentric taste
00:28
you’ve been imitating Forrest Whitaker
00:31
talking about the kid will now have the
00:33
strength of the blade Penta stripped
00:35
away but all of a sudden you can
00:38
navigate a conversation with me okay I
00:42
get it
00:43
we pronounce it differently you say
00:45
vibrate I say I vibrate you say
00:48
hippopotamus I say hippopotamus I say
00:52
inevitable you say enough enough and
00:55
Annette Annette was in and in the more
00:57
fucked some things are just hard to say
00:59
and it’s not like I can’t speak English
01:03
clearly I can but every time I
01:07
articulate for white American ears and
01:10
lose a portion of my ancestral will if
01:13
we’re being real I can’t understand shit
01:15
you say but I have learned I have
01:21
learned to go choice for your
01:22
convenience this is how I survive
01:25
it is a tool meant to keep me safe in
01:27
this country you know I go back home
01:30
occasionally to stay connected to my
01:31
roots but my family does not seem to
01:33
recognize me I like to think it’s
01:35
because I’ve been gone for too long but
01:38
the truth is I have toyed with my West
01:41
African accent so much that I become
01:43
invisible to my own people and still
01:46
here in America people hide behind those
01:49
smiles huffing and puffing about the way
01:51
I sound wondering if my accent is forged
01:54
if I try about wash it to sound more
01:57
African you think this sexy saucy juice
02:00
hold tone inflection can be distorted my
02:04
asset is the realest thing about me it
02:06
has more than survived been burned alive
02:09
struggle its way through
02:11
yet still migrated limped on every
02:14
college sidewalk but still graduated
02:17
joint speech and debate traveled all
02:19
over the country slayed every single
02:22
tournament my accent fall in love and
02:25
five different languages of Papa diamond
02:28
chain injury valuable time I said tell
02:30
about you make us in madam on a move via
02:33
dummy have to tell them were my love
02:34
come sleep next to me my asset is I’m
02:37
open not full of endless possibilities
02:40
it is why when you speak I try my
02:44
hardest to listen to understand to taste
02:49
the salt in your accent so why do you
02:52
refuse to taste the sweetness in mine
02:55
[Applause]
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want a deeper connection with our community, please join us as a Premium Member today.
Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video
The post Yaw Kyeremateng – Accent [Video] appeared first on The Good Men Project.
Post a Comment