I'm a reflection of the community.

Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots.

Of course I'm going to say 'I'm a thug,' that's because I came from the gutter and I'm still here!

I am society's child. This is how they made me and now I'm sayin' what's on my mind and they don't want that. This is what you made me, America.

I'm 23 years old. I might just be my mother's child, but in all reality, I'm everybody's child. Nobody raised me; I was raised in this society.

Africans of my generation-and even today-generally have both an English and an African name. Whites were either unable or unwilling to pronounce an African name, and considered it uncivilized to have one. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why she bestowed this particular name upon me I have no idea. Perhaps it had something to do with the great British sea captain Lord Nelson, but that would be only a guess.