Paztuh Mike’s latest single, It’s About Us, is a wake-up call for urban communities across America. The message is clear–and powerful: Quit blaming the “white man” for our problems. Instead, let’s use our energy to solve the ills in our own neighborhoods.
From the opening line, It’s About Us spotlights the destruction happening everyday in cities throughout the country.
All across the nation
We kill each other every day
Do we even care about us
We always put the blame
On everybody else but ourselves
So how can we ever change us
Every city, every state, we kill each other every day
Do we even care about us…
Paztuh Mike has earned a reputation for producing songs that address real-life, current issues. It’s About Us is no different. It comes at a time when racial woes have been front and center most of the year. But, for Paztuh Mike, this divide is nothing new.
His work in urban communities—through his nonprofit, Men Standing Positive—let’s him hear firsthand the racial tension and distrust some blacks have toward white people. And he knows it’s not all imaginary. He acknowledges, from his own experience, that certain systems and attitudes exist to keep blacks and lower income individuals from advancing. But he doesn’t want that to be the focus.
“Whenever I hit the streets, I hear so much blame on ‘the white man’,” Paztuh Mike says. “It’s a victim mentality. Nothing is my fault. So, a lot of times when I step in and say, ‘Hey, man. You can do better, but you’re gonna have to change your mind.’, I’m seen as the bad guy who’s attacking people. But I’m not attacking. I’m just letting folks know, ‘You’re not a victim. You’re not oppressed. You have what it takes to overcome.’”
His latest single, It’s About Us, strikes that same tone. On one hand, the lyrics paint a picture of the self destruction Paztuh Mike witnesses in the communities MSP serves. A path he once was headed down himself. At the same time, the song signals hope—hope that racial unity and trust in God will ultimately make a better way.
“The No. 1 enemy of change is blame,” Paztuh Mike says. “I want my music and my one-one interaction with people to change mindsets. But to do that, we’ve got to quit pointing fingers. We’ve got to stop killing each other. Burning down our own businesses. If we help each other instead of hurting each other, we can begin to shift the mindset from victim to victor. We really can succeed. But it starts with us. It’s about us.”
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