"Nobody" is a gripping single by Timothy Welbeck that chronicles the harrowing details of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in addition to the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant III. With the use of chilling piano chords, snapping snare drums, winding electric guitar riffs and remarkable guest appearances from Tomeka Carroll and Domonique Wilson, Timothy paints a vivid picture of the two tragedies, remarks on their unfortunate frequency, the unjust application of law and how hip-hop and urban culture contribute to the stereotyping of African American men. All proceeds from the sale of Nobody will go towards the creation of a scholarship at Morehouse College in the name of Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin.
lyrics
"Nobody"
(written by Timothy Welbeck)
Verse 1
Lord, I never thought it would end this way/Standing in the rain, staring death in his face/Him looking enraged, me looking dismayed/And in a flash, I felt my life slipping away/My brother wanted that candy coated glow of the rainbow/I wanted ice tea; didn’t want to take too long/The weather’s not great, the All-Star Game was on/Didn’t change clothes, didn’t want to get rained soaked/So I donned my hoodie, then made my way on/With about $25, humming some Trey Songz/Grabbed my snacks, then made my way home/Stumbled along, I got to the neighborhood/Saw I was followed, I tried evading on foot/I would escape if I could, not sure I would/Hunted and confronted, a scuffle ensued/And with a familiar bang, it all was through
Chorus
Nobody until/They say you're nobody(nobody)/They say I'm nobody (nobody)/They say we're nobody(nobody)/I guess we're nobody(nobody)/Nobody until (repeat)
Verse 2
A bullet pierced the night sky/Likewise, it rifled through the air, then bored through my spine/Celebrations morphed to wild cries/Around the course of that time I realized I might die/How we got here is truly beyond me/No time to think, my blood is pouring on the concrete/Moments after a new year’s dawning/A chaotic end to what began calmly/Officers heard altercations up in our station/And started arresting all of the people of my persuasion/Saying we’re misbehaving, and this is of our making/And beat us before taking any of our statements/Cool steel, it gripped my bent wrists/And the officer’s knee was above my clenched fist/Treatin me like a common misfit/And with a familiar pop, that was how it all ended
Chorus
Nobody until/They say you're nobody(nobody)/They say I'm nobody (nobody)/They say we're nobody(nobody)/I guess we're nobody(nobody)/Nobody until (repeat)
Verse 3
The scales of justice are equally weighed/And the law is black and white is the way the picture is framed/But the oil drips on the portrait display/Shades of grey the day boys of color are slain/The struggle remains/And our boys become memories/In candle lit vigils and poured out Hennessy/And Lady Justice, She seldom questions the destruction that often becomes them/It doesn’t make much sense, killed by those who should protect them/Like they’re no good and only wretched/And the songs we let spin feed that perception/It’s like in the end, that is what we’re expecting/So we live and let live/While more our boys are destroyed at will, like Trayvon, Oscar and Emmett Till/The stories lose their appeal when the killer looks like the killed/It should be giving us chills, but we won’t even revisit it still/It’s like saying our boys are nobody until
Chorus
Nobody until/They say you're nobody(nobody)/They say I'm nobody (nobody)/They say we're nobody(nobody)/IWe're more than nobody(nobody)/Nobody until (repeat)
Timothy Welbeck is what happens when your favorite lawyer and favorite rapper are the same person. He’s an MC turned Civil
Rights attorney and university professor who has crafted a stirring brand of music that is thought-provoking and relevant, honest and life-changing. In that way he represents literally and figuratively....more
