chocolate rain...

Okay, in the past,I've checked out youtube.com when someone told me about a funny video, or when I was trying to share a funny video with someone else. I've also gone to youtube.com to hear a new song, or an old favorite (as you can tell from previous posts), or to check out a new dance. So, when I read about this guy with a frog voice singing about chocolate rain, I went on to check it out.

This guy, Tay Zonday, is an ageless (Is he 17 or 43?), skinny, Black guy singing in a bare studio with an extremely deep baritone. He is expressionless and has some quirky tendencies which you can view on the video. There are a lot of people writing about Tay Zonday on the internet. Some people think he's great and hilariously funny, without trying to be, which is even more funny. Other people think he's coonin' and really needs to stop the madness. Well, I looked at the video and was struck by his quirkiness, his voice, and yes, his appearance. But the song, Chocolate Rain, would not get out of my head!!! I played the video a second time and this time caught some of his lyrics...hey, he's talking about some serious societal ills/realities. This guy may seem like a joke, but listen to what he's saying...

Chocolate Rain
Some stay dry and others feel the pain
Chocolate Rain
A baby born will die before the sin
Chocolate Rain
The school books say it can't be here again
Chocolate Rain
The prisons make you wonder where it went
Chocolate Rain
Build a tent and say the world is dry
Chocolate Rain
Zoom the camera out and see the lie
Chocolate Rain
Forecast to be falling yesterday
Chocolate Rain
Only in the past is what they say
Chocolate Rain
Raised your neighborhood insurance rates
Chocolate Rain
Makes us happy livin' in a gate
Chocolate Rain
Made me cross the street the other day
Chocolate Rain
Made you turn your head the other way
(Chorus)Chocolate Rain
quickly crashing through your veins history
Chocolate Rain
Using you to fall back down again[Repeat]
Chocolate Rain
Seldom mentioned on the radio
Chocolate Rain
Its the fear your leaders call control
Chocolate Rain
Worse than swearing worse than calling names
Chocolate Rain
Say it publicly and you're insane
Chocolate Rain
No one wants to hear about it now
Chocolate Rain
Wish real hard it goes away somehow
Chocolate Rain
Makes the best of friends begin to fight
Chocolate Rain
But did they know each other in the light?
Chocolate Rain
Every February washed away
Chocolate Rain
Stays behind as colors celebrate
Chocolate Rain
The same crime has a higher price to pay
Chocolate Rain
The judge and jury swear it's not the face
(Chorus)
Chocolate Rain
Dirty secrets of economy
Chocolate Rain
Turns that body into GDP
Chocolate Rain
The bell curve blames the baby's DNA
Chocolate Rain
But test scores are how much the parents make
Chocolate Rain
Flippin' cars in France the other night
Chocolate Rain
Cleans the sewers out beneath Mumbai
Chocolate Rain
'Cross the world and back its all the same
Chocolate Rain
Angels cry and shake their heads in shame
Chocolate Rain
Lifts the ark of paradise in sin
Chocolate Rain
Which part do you think you're livin' in?
Chocolate Rain
More than marchin' more than passing law
Chocolate Rain
Remake how we got to where we are.

Tay Zonday is no Langston Hughes (but how many people are?), Amiri Baraka, or Maurice White (yes of EW&F), but his words cause us to stop, look, listen, and respond. Chocolate Rain talks of the daily experience of brown people around the world...

Now, choosing to post this poem/work as a song on youtube.com may seem like he's just out there for laughs. Is he really out there for laughs or is he spreading his message like wild fire to those who wouldn't have a conversation about it, read it in a book, or hear it at spoken word night? Is he crafty? Is he creatively getting out a message that sometimes hurts, stings, and makes us cry? Who's getting the last laugh? You decide...

Chocolate Rain...