Akua Naru
Toni Morrison
[Intro]
Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon", the book was amazing to me in the way that it would—
My favorite novel by Toni Morrison is "Sula", 'cause I feel like—
I remember, in the book "Song of Solomon", one of my favorite books, there was a group of vigilantes called Seven Days, I believe they were called, and they—
My favorite Toni Morrison book is still "The Bluest Eyes"—because every time I read this book—
My favorite for Toni Morrison is [?]—
"Beloved"
My favorite by her would have to "Beloved"—
[?] drilled into the importance of [?]—
[?] book [?] and "The Mercy"—
My favorite Toni Morrison book is "The Bluest Eye"—
"Beloved"

[Verse 1: Akua Naru]
Used to wonder "Whose little girl am I?"
The fifth woman inside, bangin' Simona, Mama's old 45s
[?] score for "The Bluest Eye"
Kept they yearnin' low tide until Pecola bought that bird in the mine
Most vulnerable kind, black girl, lost and could find
In that double conscious outlined by Du Bois in his prime
Who heard us cry when the dawn told us black was a crime?
Arrest your walk with that sword in your spine
[?], tragic victim of time, [?] rewind the memory
Collective genetics took you to write that simile
Inscribe the cage, find joy through the pain
And Frankie Beverly, trapped in the maze, made n***as and slaves
Greeters and maids made to lay a made bed
Spread legs, sweeten Master's entertainment
Prescribed invisible lives till you reframed it
Denied the white gaze, another brush to paint with
[Chorus: Akua Naru]
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people?
One hand hold the pen (Uh)
One pen hold the people (One hand, one pen, uh)
How can one hand hold the pen (Uh, one hand)
One pen hold the people? (One pen, uh)
One hand hold the pen (Uh)
One pen hold the people (Uh, yo, uh, yo) (Toni Morrison)

[Verse 2: Akua Naru]
Now, though the world was three-fifths and fractured
We whole and main characters
Female protagonists, centralized blackness
That "Tar Baby", that "Jazz" riff that came after
That Shadrack horror when war left us shattered
A literary photograph capture born
Before the wounded, was you who knew the magic from the rain
The thunder, the blood, the delightful compassion
Showed us that bottom was the top, re-imagine, yes
See how you write with the hands of God
Layers, facades, calm, poised, Phylicia Rashad
Reading your storm over us all
Mother and daughter bonds, braided and torn
All the chaos, Sula watched the bird from the front yard
Mother of metaphor, the height of Zeus be your lexicon
"Song of Solomon" songs go on
A Pulitzer, Nobel Prize in human form
The livin', the dead, you honored us all
[Chorus: Akua Naru]
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people? (Toni, huh)
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Uh)
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people?
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Toni Morrison)
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people? (Uh)
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people?
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Toni Morrison)
Toni Morrison

[Bridge]
One hand, one pen, Toni Morrison, uh
One hand, one pen, the people (Toni Morrison)

[Interlude]
Toni Morrison is so important because her writing is a visualization into the depth of meaning of the black experience. She uses the rich mythology and metaphors of the African-American experience to anchor and enrich her personal imagery in the book. Her work demonstrates both the uniqueness and the universality of African-American life. Her work heals the disrupted ancestral energies, heals the torn ancestral soul, and reveals the beauty, vigor, pathos, and durability of African-American life and culture
[Chorus: Akua Naru]
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people? (Uh)
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Toni Morrison)
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people? (Toni Morrison)
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Toni Morrison)
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people?
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Uh)
How can one hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people? (Uh)
One hand hold the pen
One pen hold the people (Toni Morrison)

[Outro: Akua Naru]
Toni Morrison
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
Toni Morrison
Thank you