Answer Anyway
Mark G Lv 2 · Writer
Hip-Hop / Rap, English. Made with AI in VYRS.
Started from: “Growing up between two cultures, and finally owning both”
Intro
They ask me where I'm from, I answer anyway
Verse 1
Mama packed my lunch in foil, kids would hold their nose I ate it in the stairwell where the janitor's radio goes Teacher said my name like she was stepping over glass So I shaved it to a nickname just to get through class Two tongues in my mouth, I was fluent in the pause Too loud for the aunties, too foreign for the cause Grandma's prayers in the kitchen, hip-hop in my headphones I was building me a house out of two different stones
Pre-Chorus
Every form had one box, I was told to pick So I broke the pencil, made the splinter stick
Chorus
Hyphen in my name, I made the hyphen a blade Cut through every question that they threw in my face Both sides in my veins, I don't trade, I don't fade Where I'm from? Both. I'll answer anyway
Verse 2
Flew back for a funeral, cousins called me "the tourist" Accent in my vowels like a stain on the purest Landed back at customs, man looked twice at the photo Same face, two passports, I'm the riddle, not the logo Now I'm rapping in the half-tongue, mixing up the grammar Mama in the front row, filming shaky on the camera Every word they laughed at turned to hooks that pay the rent The pause I used to hide in is the beat that I invent
Pre-Chorus
Every form had one box, I was told to pick So I broke the pencil, made the splinter stick
Chorus
Hyphen in my name, I made the hyphen a blade Cut through every question that they threw in my face Both sides in my veins, I don't trade, I don't fade Where I'm from? Both. I'll answer anyway
Bridge
Little me in the stairwell, eat it slow, eat it proud Say your whole name, girl, and say it out loud Not half of this, not half of that I'm double, and I'm never giving either back
Chorus
Hyphen in my name, I made the hyphen a blade Cut through every question that they threw in my face Both sides in my veins, I don't trade, I don't fade Where I'm from? Both. I'll answer anyway
Outro
Spell it right this time Both. Every time
About Mark G
Mark G is a producer and DJ whose work centres on oldskool vinyl. Both behind the decks and in the studio, Mark G draws on that oldskool vinyl foundation, carrying it through their DJ sets and their productions alike.