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🎤 "Gi Wi Back: From Flag to Future"
A National Declaration by Fabian
I. THE FLAG DIFFERENT
Look 'pon di flag.
Jamaica flag.
Yuh see it?
Black. Green. Gold.
No red, no white, no blue —
We nuh follow dem colour code.
Dis flag?
It nuh beg fi validation.
It stand up like wi granny spine —
Bent but never broken.
Black fi di people — solid, rooted, strong
Green fi di land — wi blessed earth, ever fresh
Gold fi di sun — wi light, wi pride, wi vision
It nuh bend.
It nuh wave soft.
It wave like warning.
It wave like lion tail before roar.
Because we never ask fi place —
We create
II. DEM CREEP IN SLOW — FOREIGN HAND
But while di flag a fly high,
Dem creep in low.
Not wid guns or chains.
Wid contracts and loans.
Dem nuh kick dung door,
Dem just buy out key.
Port sell.
Land gone.
Rivers signed off
Like dem own fi centuries.
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Mi seh...
Dem call it “development” —
Mi call it robbery inna broad daylight.
Dem build hotel
But mi cyaa bathe pon mi own beach.
Dem import rice
While mi farmer cyaan sell a grain inna market.
Dem tek wi ganja, bottle it,
Call it “organic wellness” —
While Rastaman still face court case.
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A wah dis?
This a foreign invasion
Inna modern clothes.
Wid bank smile,
Embassy handshake,
And IMF spreadsheet
Wah look like trap more time.
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So mi seh:
Gi wi dem back.
Mi nah whisper it — mi a demand it.
Gi wi back di land dem fence off.
Gi wi back di coast,
Gi wi back di market stalls,
Gi wi back wi roast fish pon bamboo wall.
Gi wi back di culture.
Before unu export it
And remix it widout wi name in di credits.
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III. WE REMEMBER WHO WE IS
But hear mi now —
Dis nah end in defeat.
Because Jamaicans remember.
Mi seh:
We remember Nanny,
Pon hilltop wid powder horn and plan.
We remember Bogle,
Walking barefoot fi justice.
We remember Garvey,
Saying: “Rise ye mighty race.”
And now di youth dem a rise again.
In Kingston.
In Portmore.
Inna Bronx.
Inna Brixton.
A new drum a beat,
A new fire a light.
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Di farmers a plant roots fi more than food —
Dem planting independence.
Di DJs a drop lyrics like scripture.
Di vendors a sell history wid every breadfruit.
Di gyal dem a wake up — royal again.
Di man dem a organize — sharp again.
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Dis a nuh dream.
Dis a revival.
Dis a Wi Time.
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IV. WI A NEW WORLD POWER
Mi seh again —
Jamaica nah small.
We just compact.
Compact like fire in coal stove.
Compact like truth in proverb.
Mi seh:
We a world power inna Caribbean accent.
You see di vibes?
Export that.
You see di food?
Goldmine that.
You see di language?
It richer than Oxford Dictionary.
We coding apps in patois.
We using bush fi cure what pharmacy cyaan fix.
We tun banana tree into wi ministry.
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Di government? Wi a tek dat serious now.
From bottom up.
From inner-city to parliament.
Nah more puppet show.
Time fi leadership
Wey nuh sell out wi nation
Fi plane ticket and photo opp.
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V. THE FINAL CALL
So mi seh:
Gi wi dem back.
Gi wi wi land.
Wi culture.
Wi rights.
Wi youth.
Gi wi back wi spirit
Wey unu try water down
Wid foreign dreams and fast food.
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But hear dis part now...
We nah just reclaim —
We a reign.
We nah just beg
Fi what was ours.
We a build
Wah dem never imagine.
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So when yuh hear mi seh:
“Gi wi dem back…”
Know seh di fire behind it
Come from Maroon blood.
And if yuh nuh gi wi back —
Yuh soon find out
How water walk
Go a pumpkin
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Jamaica nuh beg fi crown.
Jamaica born fi lead.
From di flag
To di fight
To di future —
This is our jamaica
Likkle but we Talawah.
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🇯🇲
Respectfully. Authentically. Unapologetically —
By Fabian Stennett.
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