K'naan Album

When you here in the water
You feel like it's sorta
Releasin' the tension, distress and disorder
is big in America
Stephanie Erica, both of them suffer from livin' in here
because
livin' is very competetive:
hasslin' creditors, hazardous accidents
drivin' with negligence
too many beverages
people got too may things on they letter says
TV's deadliest professin' the ugliest war, war, war, WAR
what the hell you keep on killin me for?
please come over and bend down low
let me tell you what little I know
and if it's worth somethin'
spread it indeed like shit and vomit that's under your feet

I was born in a pot boilin' black and hot
waitin' to be tasted and rappin' a lot.
But justice would not come and eat my flesh -
instead, I had poverty to feed my stress,
until my life became an ode to the gun -
not needed, like a overcoat to the sun.
So, I thought I was just made to exist;
not to live or change and resist.
But fear will have you believin' fear -
Paralyzed have you bleedin' tears.
This is the therapy needed, so use it.
Music is water; you know what my proof is? (What?)
People need music like they need excuses (Ha)
People need water like Kanye needs Jesus.

So wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
wash it down (wash it down)
*gradually fades, continues in background*

(Spoken) I know you stressin': this is a little meditation for you to relax,
and jump in the pool, and, you know, sink and sink!

My people drum on water,
drink on water,
live on water,
die for water.

My people drum on water,
drink on water,
live on water,
die for water.

[No lyrics]

I put a pen to the paper
This time as visual as possible
Guns blast at the hospital
The walls are white-washed with tin rooftops
To show love you lick two shots
It's dangerous, man
Journalists hire gunmen, there's violent women
Kids trust no one ‘cause fire burnt them
Refugees die in boats headed for peace
Is anyone scared of death here? Not in the least
I walk by the old lady selling coconuts under the tree
Life is cheap here, but wisdom is free
The beach boys hang on the side, leaning with pride
Scam artists and gangsters fiendin’ to fight
I walk with three kids that can't wait to meet God lately
That's Bucktooth, Mohamed, and Crybaby
What they do everyday just to eat, Lord have mercy
Strapped with an AK and they blood thirsty

So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm

We begin our day by the way of the gun
Rocket-propelled grenades blow you away if you front
We got no police, ambulance, or fire fighters
We start riots by burning car tires
They looting, and everybody start shooting
Bullshit politicians talking ‘bout solutions, but it's all talk
You can't go half a block with a road block
You don't pay at the road block, you get your throat shot
And each road block is set up by these gangsters
And different gangsters go by different standards
For example, the evening is a no-go
Unless you wanna wear a bullet like a logo
In the day you should never take the alleyway
The only thing that validates you is the AK
They chew on Jad, it's sorta like coco leafs
And there ain't no police...

So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm

I’ma spit these verses cause I feel annoyed
And I'm not gonna quit ‘till I fill the void
If I rhymed about home and got descriptive
I'd make 50 Cent look like limp biskit
It's true, and don't make me rhyme about you
I'm from where the kids is addicted to glue
Get ready, he got a good grip on the machete
Make rappers say they do it for love like R-Kelly
It's hard
Harder than Harlem and Compton intertwined
Harder than harboring Bin Laden and rewind
To that earlier part when I was kinda like:
“We begin our day by the way of the gun
Rocket-propelled grenades blow you away if you front
We got no police, ambulances, or fire fighters
We start riots by burning car tires
They looting, and everybody start shooting...”

So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm
So what's hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm

Are you hardcore? Hmm
Are you hardcore, really?
Are you hardcore? Hmm
Are you hardcore, really?

Yiaoowww!

So:
In the beginning there was hum
From a poet whose pulse fell
Drum, drum, drum!
He would perform prayers and all
‘Till one day he heard a voice call,
“Come, come, come!”
Suspicious, he moved with vicious caution
Dismisses, he thinks it's a little off
People get held back
By the voice inside them

Yo:
The voice said, “I'm poised to speak inside you
Rejoice and please let me invite you
To evil, greed, and lies too”

Yeah:
Confusing days, he moved in ways he soon became a kuuni
Boom, boom, boom!
A knock on his door, his lord is no more
A knock on his door, his soul is no more

La la la la- yeah
La la la la- that was in the beginning
La la la la- as the story goes on...
La la la la-

So, so, so:
The poet's got a proposal
He would always hope but never know
What it feels to be free
He would be the frozen, imposed as the chosen on all those opposing
But he would be greedy
That's got him there
He's power-hungry and proud too
People don’t care, people just scared
People don’t care, people just pray

La la la la- yeah
La la la la- that was in the beginning
La la la la- there was a hum
La la la la- and things change
La la la la-

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Say:
It's better to light a candle than to curse the dark
In the eyes of the youth, there are question marks, like freedom
Freedom for the mind and soul, we don't see them
See them for their worth at all, that’s why we lead them
Lead them to these wars and what is it we feed them
Feed them our impurities and who it is we treat them
Treat them like the enemy, humanity will need them
Need them like the blood we spill and we’re freedom
Freedom for the hearts we fill
Mislead them
They hunger for the love we give
But we cheat them
The cops beat him when all he wants is his freedom
So they defeat him
Whatever spirit he’s got
Beat him
And they teach him that the rest of the world don’t need him
And he believes it’s a disease; that he’s heathen
Put up your fists if all you want is freedom
Put up your fists if all you want is...

La la la la-
La la la la- that was in the beginning
La la la la- and things change
La la la la-

Yeah, yeah, yeah:
[And we keep holding on
And we keep being strong
And we keep going on
And on and on and on] x 4

My tragedy’s different
My life’s deep, listen:
Gotta bail, I’m limpin’
Walked outta hell’s kitchen
Why bother cherishin’
My past is everything wrong and my arrogance
Walk down the stairs pissin’
Cop us ‘cuz they’re bitchin’
Life isn’t fair, singin’
Blues and my rap drippin’
Ooze out the blood
Sinkin’ deep down to earth
Thinking leave out a nerp chicken
I should run, forfeit and everything I know, listen:
I was
The misdirected
I was
The least expected
Hop on
And get rejected
Walk on
And feel neglected
I feel
Like I’m the message
Unheard
But I’m the message
I’m the last prolific remaining offer from the gutter
Shot
Was my girlfriend
When
We was younger
Her
I was scarred, yo
Bullets
I survived though
Death
It came easy
Truth
The game needs me
Never let them see me down, smile while I’m bleeding
(Chorus)
Smile
When you’re struggilin’
Smile
When you’re in jail
Smile
When you’re dead broke
Smile
And the rent’s due
Smile
You ain’t got friends now
Smile
And no one knows you
Never let them see you down, smile while you’re bleeding
Smile
When he leaves you
Smile
‘Cause girl, he needs you
Smile
Plenty single mothers cry the tears you do
Smile
Despite the war
Smile
Despite the pain, yo
Never let them see you down, smile while you’re bleeding
To my man Kareem in prison
I can’t speak your name
It hurt me that you never listened
It can’t be the same
I had to grow my intuition
Had me deep in pain
‘Cause I knew my options were either broke or the prison chains
I can’t do it
I can’t see it, look
Damnit, I can’t blow it
I got a judge tellin’ me my life’s key
They will throw it
Nuh-uh, no sir
I plan to have a chauffeur
It seems to me this chopping crack is really going nowhere
Therefore
I’m resurrected
They call me
The poor injection
I infect you with the real
The Dusty-feet-philosahectagos
I spit, so sick
I skid out
I’m fallin’
I’m shit outta luck and I’m trapped but I’ll get out
Can you help me?
I’m goin’ crazy
My mom plays tricks and I beat on the floor like bush wick
My fists, bloody and blistered
A pair like I’m ballistic
I just stare at the red and smile while I’m bleeding
(Chorus)
There are a few things you gotta take into account
I’m not an entertainer, I’ve never been a clown
I was born where the mothers give birth while they frown
I would walk with the kids that would “bbbrrraaaa-” sound
Never really thought I’d make it to fourteen
And anybody wanted to fight, I was most keen
Plus I had a little temper, it was often foreseen
You say something ‘bout my momma, I’d shoot you dead out clean
But you gotta keep in mind that I grew up Mogadishu
The only law was gun law
And we don’t walk with a pistol
You get laughed at for being so insensitive to the environment
‘Cause how will you be heard when those big boys are firin’?
War is no place for a child
Especially if he’s rollin’ with an AK and a smile
He had witnesses on mother, bloody in a towel
But please, please, please, please
Never let them see you down, smile while you’re bleeding
(Chorus x 2)

I start out, just to vibe out
I ain't about to bow out
I'm more gangsta’ than you are but I ain't about the raw-raw
My season will come, it has to
Honestly, I feel like I'm ten months pregnant or something
I'm passed due
Sincerely, I'm touchy these days, I can't take nothing
I'm trying to treat my record like the law
Shit, I'm dying to break something
And mostly, I'm up and stressin’ when other folks sleep
Believe me: I know struggle, and struggle knows me
My life owes me, like an overdose I'm slowly
Drifting in the arms of trouble, then trouble holds me
And nothing else's close to me, more than pain, unfortunately
Like a self fulfilling prophecy, I'm supposed to be...

(Chorus)
Strugglin’
And it's trouble in, in this circumstance I'm dwelling in
I find myself in the corner huddling
With some angry men, and I gotta settle shit again before they gotta kill again
I'm strugglin
And it's trouble in, in this circumstance I'm dwelling in
I find myself in the corner huddling
With some angry men, and I gotta settle shit again before they gotta kill again

I should be chillin’ on beaches
Instead my bone freezes
Ducking glocks and I walk, well, like Jesus
The realest thing for me is
Since I was a fetus
The only break I ever got was at recess,
So legitimately, I remain very little relieved
And at thug rappers, I remain very little intrigued
And can you blame me?
Look how we lived in the late eighties
Throwing rocks at the crazy ladies
And when we'd play these crazy games
The whole crew had crazy names
We even had a cripple, we use to call him Lazy Legs
But my faith remains
Untouched and unchanged
Still in my block you hear more shots than in a gun range, I'm...

(Chorus)

Aight, aight, more to the truth
No writing, just record me at the booth
Forced by the loop and the guitar but I'm the boss of the groove
I speak truth
My deep roots remain in equal danger
The pain in my song is crazy, but the sequel is stranger
Hey man, I'm from the hardest heartless projects, dear departed
I'm now known as a recording artist
Spilling what little remains of your memories in the process
Bitter a little, but making your names in to a colossus
Believe me, I'm thankful my brother is still with me
And ain't much changed Bobby is still troubling Whitney
And Bush is still bombing poor people, yo, he's deadly
And me, I got a little recording gig but evidently, I'm...

(Chorus x 3)

The pain on my song is crazy, the pain on my song is crazy
Strugglin’, still strugglin’...

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

Eh yo, welcome to my world, please listen
Hey!

(Chorus)
Poison in my veins, inside I'm tortured in my brains
And still I try-
Voices in my head, am I alive or am I dead?
Alone I cry-

Consider, configure the shit that I'm in
And the pain, I'm literally going insane
I'm frightened, my heart and my head and I've been fighting
I'm certain it's hurting the rest of my body
Them voices are loud as Manhattan come from chatting
They say, Anderson let us
And they know you better than all these
Replicates screaming they represent
Come on man, come on
And the people inside me saying they wanna see me go tragically
And it's evil, ‘cause I'm only twenty-something
Working for some crumbs or some bread or nothing

(Chorus)

The harder the struggle, the deeper the trouble
Come out of the bubble, I'll teach you to cuddle
With demons inside me, what demon is not me
These demons inside me, they got me, they stop me from feeding
And eatin’ and keepin’ it even
And even my reason for breathin’ this season
Sleep in a danger, my nose when I'm readin’
It's bleedin’ on paper, it's bleedin’ on paper
And I'm tired of this violence, so tortured inside
And awkward, I'm overtly open inside
Have I already died?
Has mom already cried?
And why do I feel like I'm over this life
I'm not hateful, I'm grateful
My girlfriend is tasteful
I'm living it up, and I might even blow
Like a leak in a truck with a torch and a clutch
And explosion that leaves the corpses in the dust
And the people inside me saying they wanna see me go tragically
And it's evil, ‘cause I'm only twenty-something
Working for some crumbs or some bread or nothing

(Chorus)

I'm still awake, and its quarter to six
I'm trying to write and I ain't thought of no shit
I live with guilt like I slaughtered the sick
I live with shame like my daughter’s a bitch
I don't make living, but I still persist
I could sell out, but I still resist
So don't tell me about no pain and shit
I was born and raised in poverty bitch
And I smile all the while and don't complain
I'm something like Jill Scott heroine
Do you know what it feels like to lose a friend
Again and again and again, again?
The bitterness in the killer, the poet
The river of blood within the mess flowin’
I'm the bitterness in the killer, the poet
The river, the blood will keep on flowin’
And the people inside me saying they wanna see me go tragically
And it's evil, ‘cause I'm only twenty-something
Working for some crumbs or some bread or nothing

(Chorus x 2)

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

Basically, I got beat
I wanna talk to you directly
I can’t ignore, I can't escape
And that's ‘cause you affect me
You cripple me
You shackle me
You shatter my whole future in front of me
This energy is killing me
I gotta let it pour like blood, soobax

(Chorus)
Dadkii waa dhibtee, nagala soobax (Translation: You have exasperated the people, so come out with it)
Dhibkii waa batee, nagla soobax (The troubles have increased, so come out with it)
Dhiigi waad qubtee, nagala soobax (You've spilled the blood so that it drains on the roads, so come out with it)
Dhulkii waad gubtee, nagala soobax (You've burnt the root of the earth, so come out with it)
Nagala soobax, nagala soobax (Come out with it, come out with it)
Dadkii waa dhibtee, nagala soobax
Dhibkii waa batee, nagla soobax
Dhiigi waad qubtee, nagala soobax
Dhulkii waad gubtee, nagala soobax

So for real, who's to blame?
We lose lives over Qabiil's name
Disregard, for the soul
We just don't give a fuck no more
Left alone, all alone
Settle your issues on your own
What to do, where to go
I got to be a refugee, damn, soobax

(Chorus)

Mogadishu, used to be
A place where the world would come to see
Jaziira, sugunto liida, wardhiigleey iyo Madiina
Hargeysa, Boosaaso, Baardheere iyo Berbera
My skin needs to feel the sand and the sun
I’m tired of the cold
God damn, soobax

(Chorus)

I guess I could use the last bar to flow
I’m known as a lyrical rhyme domino
I'm cynical, well, oh, now you know
Put a hole in an emcee like cheerio
They don't hear me though
I work for the struggle I don't work for dough
I mean what I say, I don't do it for show
Somalia needs all gunmen right out the door

(Chorus x 2)