Dean Atta Explains Spoken Word Poem Dedicated To Stephen Lawrence Murder

A piece entitled “I Am Nobody’s Nigger,” written and recorded by spoken word artist Dean Atta on his iPhone earlier this week was instantaneously being passed on by listeners and popping up on on UK blogs, leading to coverage in several major British newspaper outlets.
 
The poem, which contains the lines “You can tell Weezy and Drake that they made a mistake”, was inspired by the Stephen Lawrence case, an ongoing major news story in the UK since the early ’90s. In 1993, the South London teenager was murdered in a racist attack, and it was only last week, 18 years later, that his killers were finally brought to justice.
 
The poem starts with the sentence; “Rappers when you use the word “nigger*” remember that’s one of the last words Stephen Lawrence heard, so don’t tell me it’s a reclaimed word”. He posted this as his Facebook status on the night of the convictions last week, and prompted by the response, carried on writing, and 30 minutes later, the piece was complete.
 
“I never imagined that it would be so far reaching,” the poet, who has been writing and performing for 10 years, told HipHopDX in a statement. “There are now plans to shoot a video for it. I am glad that the sentiment has struck a chord with so many.”