Yo I don't even know what the vibe is kid
All these different things seperatin us
It got me walkin this fence man
and I don't even know what side I'ma fall on be
Can't see it
Well I'm a zebra y'all
("Half Puerto Rican, half black, but you don't speak Spanish")
Don't call me zebra y'all
("Half Puerto Rican, half black...")
Now how old are you?
About six, on my BMX, doin tricks
Back to Middlesex with a couple of poor white trashy brats
Everything was coochie crunch till it was time for lunch
They said to wait in the back, they said that Pops ain't like black
See where I was the population's mostly white
Ain't it?
They want to see you jiggaboo with your
face painted
Be brought home by one of their daughters and their fathers
fainted
They want to see you a failure so I never
became it
Light-skinned, showed them lead, curly-headed
Called me names, I was different, I was gifted, they made me ashamed
Found out that I'm a different shade when I'm in the second grade
Abe Lincoln's play, they want me to portray a slave
My momma's face went pale she looked like she wanted to puke
Now that I know the truth I'd rather play John Wilkes Booth
Although my family came and bitched and in the play my role was switched
My grandma told me I was fixed my problems wasn't fixed
My family seen my views of the world distort
Moms last resort, she decided we would move to Newark
I took a deep breath leaving everything I knew behind
The country air the green grass and my piece of mind
Harassed by white cops on our way we're pulled out our car
Mistook my mom for Joanne Chessimar (?) now I'm really scarred
<<Chorus>>
What am I, I'm confused, can't decide
What am I who am I what am I
Black or white, I can't identify
What am I who am I what am I
I'm confused, can't decide
What am I who am I what am I
Black or white, I can't identify
What am I who am I what am I
Culture shock, Newark's a far cry from Middlesex
Broadly called projects, black eyes, regrets
Torn lives, I've never seen so many people depressed
My mental gets molested, physical takes violent threats
Stress, walkin home from school's like a terrorist test
I learned blacks could be racist too, somehow still I felt I was blessed
Even my teachers called me half-breeds and all of that
I was scared of livin here but also scared of movin back
See where I was before I was the darkest thing they ever saw