[Verse 1] You called me from an office I can’t afford Voice shaking like you just won a war Said, “We got it, we’re moving in two weeks, Better schools for Maya, better, safer streets.” I checked the names on your brand-new life, Cassian, Elena, the little one, right. I waited for mine, but it never came through, Three names on the page, and none of them were “you.” “I’m at university, you’re covered,” you said, Like distance was a roof and not a line in my head. “Dad, does it include me?” I already knew, When you paused, the answer was louder than you. [Pre-Chorus] You said, “You’re independent, you’re already set,” But I’m Legacy People and they don’t forget. You pass in the mirror; I don’t in the street, You walked through a door built over my feet. [Chorus] So I took back my name, I’m Anna Atsa now, Not a footnote child in your Inner District vow. You can guard their gates, chase their perfect view, But I won’t trade my face just to look like you. I’m the one outside when the sirens sing, Where safety has a barcode and a bright white ring. You chose their world and you called it “home,” I chose my blood and I stand alone. [Verse 2] They say I’ve been attending the “wrong” kind of nights, Study groups with kids who ask the wrong rights. They flag our names for “ideological drift,” Like thinking too hard is a criminal gift. Sociology major with a dangerous spine, Reading who gets erased in their perfect design. They monitor lectures, they monitor me, Call it “integration”; I call it “debris.” And now they’ve set my review for today, Access plus Assessment in the very same day. Collected without notice, no chance to prepare, But I’ve been preparing my whole life out there. [Pre-Chorus] They’ll ask about gatherings, about what I read, About Mom’s old stories and the words you said. You told me to whisper what made us real, Now you sign promotions so the cameras can’t feel. [Chorus] So I took back my name, I’m Anna Atsa now, Not a proof-of-loyalty in your tidy file somehow. You can guard their glass, swear you did your best, I won’t scrub my skin to match their tests. I’m the one outside when the sirens sing, Where safety has a barcode and a bright white ring. You chose their world and you called it “home,” I chose my blood and I stand alone. [Bridge] You taught me edoda when I was seven years small, Ageyutsa in the hallway, echo down the wall. Grandma said Tsalagi so soft it hurt, Names buried deep under “Wright” and a shirt. Kaya filled the gaps that you tried to hide, Words our grandparents kept locked inside. Now they call it “Legacy,” like we’re stuck in a myth, But those sounds are a future I’m not done with. Tsalagi, Aniyunwiya in my chest, Gadugi in the way that we hold the rest. If their Integration says “forget and belong,” I’ll fail their test just by staying strong. [Chorus] So I took back my name, I’m Anna Atsa now, Every syllable a line they won’t plow down. You can sign your oath to protect “Consensus,” I’ll stand with the ones that their data fences. I’m the one outside when the sirens sing, Where safety has a barcode and a bright white ring. You chose their world and you called it “home,” I chose my blood and I’m not alone. [Outro] If they ask why I turned and walked off their track, I’ll say, “This is my name, and I’m not giving it back.” You saved yourself when you crossed that zone— I’ll save what you left when you hung up the phone.
