#gentrefication

Source: The Conscious Tip

Washington, D.C., native Tarica June raps about gentrification in her neighborhood in her song ‘But Anyway’.

​Tarica June is a rapper native to Washington, D.C. focused on confronting issues involving empowerment and misogyny in hip hop from a female perspective. Her latest video depicts her visiting the rapidly changing areas in D.C. ​

Her song focuses on her personal experiences and life in her hometown. Check out some of the lyrics below: But anyway, this is third generation for me My parents and my grandparents all from DC So I feel like I notice things other folks can't see And like I represent things other folks can't be And I remember All Black on the green line And all the kids had jobs in the summertime Aay what you want about [ex-mayor Marion] Barry, but he cared for the poor And that ain't who these new fools working for I tell 'em, "That ain't who these new fools workin' for" They tryna kick us all out and just build more stores 

Source: Shareable

She hits on the issues that she sees that have been brought to her hometown such as a system that doesn’t focus on educating the youth, corporations that just want profit, and a neighborhood that struggles to coexist with it’s older residents. It seems like people are either focused on one side or the other, get the new ones out or get the old ones out. But you don’t see headlines that have to do with a community trying to achieve mixed income housing or working to coexist together, at least not often anyway. Well I'm getting peace of mind that you can't take from me So I feel I'm doing fine and as long as I love me I follow my own signs and the world can't judge me And anyway, I'm just speaking from my heart Even though the industry is tryna keep us apart Even though my enemies be steadily throwing darts I'mma make it to the end, man I said it from the start Her lyrics have some kick to them but at the end of the day they come from a good place. For one she’s trying to spread awareness of what’s going on instead of just kicking it under the carpet, and focuses on a message of empowerment and hope. As simple as this may sound one thing we can learn from Tarica is to express ourselves. If we want to communicate something let’s communicate.

- Ricardo J. Orellana

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