As today Gary Dobson and David Norris were sentenced for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the 18 years old stabbed to death in south east London in 1993, spoken-word artist Dean Atta paid tribute to the bright young man with an audio poem entitled 'I Am Nobody's Nigger'.

Stressing on how the word 'n*gga' became accepted in our society and it's integrated in the hip hop community, Dean Atta has engaged in a 'wake up call' piece of poetry and has reminded all of us the need to educate our youth and ourselves on the meaning of the infamous word.

Absolutely powerful. We salute you Dean.

R.I.P. Stephen Lawrence.

www.twitter.com/DeanAtta

Listen to Dean Atta's poem here: http://soundcloud.com/deanatta/i-am-nobodys-nigger.

Or read it below.

I Am Nobody's Nigger

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.

I am nobody's nigger 
So please, let my ancestors rest in peace 
Not turn in their graves in Jamaica plantations 
Or the watery graves of the slave trade 
Thrown overboard into middle passage 
Just for insurance claims 
They were chained up on a boat 
As many as they could manage and stay afloat 
Stripped of dignity and all hope 
Awaiting their masters and European names 
But the sick and the injured were dead weight to toss 
And Lloyds of London would cover that cost.

I am nobody's nigger 
So you can tell Weezy and Drake 
That they made a mistake 
I am nobody's nigger now 
So you can tell Kanye and Jigga 
I am not a nigger... in Paris 
I'm not a nigger in London 
I'm not a nigger in New York 
I'm not a nigger in Kingston 
I'm not a nigger in Accra 
Or a nigger with attitude in Compton 
Cos "I don't wanna be called yo nigga"

How were you raised on Public Enemy 
And still became your own worst enemy? 
You killed Hip Hop and resurrected headless zombies 
That can't think for themselves or see where they're going 
Or quench the blood lust because there's no blood flowing 
In their hearts, just in the streets 
They don't give a damn as long as they eating 
Their hearts ain't beating, they're cold as ice (bling) 
Because they would put money over everything 
Money over self respect or self esteem 
Or empowering the youth to follow their dreams 
Stacking paper cos it's great than love it's seems 
Call me "nigger" cos you're scared of what "brother" means

To know that we share something unspeakable 
To know that as high as we rise we are not seen as equal 
To know that racism is institutional thinking 
And that "nigger" is the last word you heard before a lynching.