Broken

The youth make us hopeful – the power, the passion, the energy, the vision, the drive. They can see a changed world, in ways that sometimes older generations are too skeptical to even attempt.

Youth like Xiuhtezcatl. He is a veteran – an odd thing to say about someone in their early twenties, but still a veteran – on the radar for his desire to change the world for more than a decade now. He wants you to believe that the world can be changed.

Broken is a reminder to you, to his peers, to all of us, that there is still time.

To break free was never my choice
Walked broken streets
Expectations overpowered my voice
I pray my greatness won’t die with me
I’m praying my greatness won’t die with me
And I’m losing myself
I feel like I’ve got something to prove to myself
Too long fulfilling expectations, got my truth overwhelmed
Scales broken, the world is ending, and you’re choosing your wealth

While the walls fall and the world burns
Seas rise, and the clock turns
And the earth fighting back with hurricanes
And the earthquakes and the pouring rain
This is for every life lost
For the legacy of Standing Rock
For the sacred land that we desecrate
The trauma my people still carry today
For the suicide of our youth
Who still suffer from being colonized
Watched the bombs drop and the bullets fly
We steady ignoring the Earth’s cry
Passed too many tipping points
And it’s not enough, running out of time

And the walls fall

How could you be a witness to the end and not act?
Can’t you see the world is broken?
Every person on the planet part of something bigger than us
We have all been chosen
As the generation of humanity that determines
What kind of world will we pass down to our children?
I’m uncertain
How will you look your child in the eyes and tell them
Their future wasn’t worth fighting for?
Could’ve done more but didn’t listen
Didn’t wake up, didn’t speak up
Didn’t fight back when there was still time
Everything we love is what we must protect in the final moments
While there’s still time

And there is still time

I believe

There is still time

The 11th hour man we living in
Drowning in the sea of hopelessness
I’ve carried this weight my entire life, and it’s too much
Feel like giving in
We standing still at a precipice
I believe that our legacy will be more than this
The apathy is so poisonous, and it’s killin’ us
Diversity is resilient
Can’t let our differences divide us
Gotta recognize that the change we want in the world has to start inside us
We have a lot to heal from
The world needs to change
Fight for what we love, start healing the world's hate
Build beauty from the ashes after the world breaks
It’s in the hands of the youth now
We leading the way

We leading the way

You see, we’re born and we die, I’m done trying to escape it
I learned from my momma that this life is what you make it
If happiness is a choice, it’s up to you to choose it
If my power is in my voice, then I’m bound to learn to use it
Breakdowns lead to breakthroughs
Move through the challenges, flow where the current takes you
I’m grateful to be young and this passionate
In my heart, part of me has always been an activist
That’s why I wrote this record, so you could understand
Music made me believe in the person I am
No masks, no acting, no gimmicks
This is what it looks like to live life with no limits
This art is my resistance
I like my revolution with rhythm
A melody and a breakbeat, so people will listen
This is for every broken soul that’s felt like giving up
I pray this music and these words can play a part to lift you up
A people’s champion, show the people all that they can be
This journey’s always been ‘bout so much more than being happy

Yes I’m broken, the world is, too, that’s how it is
But things have to fall apart to be reborn as more than this
I believe that the world can be more than what it is
I believe all the loss we’ve felt will teach us how to give
I look back at our ancestors and how they used to live
In balance with the planet, man, that’s how we’ve got to live
With love being the compass that guides the way
Leads us home
I believe the brighter days are on their way
We’ve gotta hope
With love being the compass that guides the way
And leads us home
I believe the brighter days are on their way
We’ve gotta hope

I believe

There is still

Time