After a short but intense invasion of Iran, the U.S.A. will set off looking for the nuclear weapons. The weapons and any traces of them will not be found, and then we will all do a national face palm while at the same time saying something like “well we are here now and the place is destabilized, we can’t just leave.”
And then, we shall convince ourselves that the war was acceptable because of the superficial reason that we “liberated” a people from religious tyrants and for the deeper reason that the victims were not of our own.
After a while, with increasing insurgent violence, we shall begin to get angry again and point out the mistakes and the lies that our governments told us. We shall call for our troops to come home to a crumbling economy, because we either just care about them and their families or we care about the civilians over there too. And after all that, we shall say “never again shall we fall for it”…just like before.
But are there weapons? Is oil that important? Is Iran or U.S.A. in the wrong? Is anyone in the right?
I live in a democracy, but I cannot trust my “representatives”. I don’t know what is a lie and what is the truth any more…hell I don’t know what is a lie and a truth, full stop.
Taskforce is a London based UK hip hop group made up of two main artists, Chester P and Farma G. A friend recommended that I give this track a listen considering that it was similar to Immortal Technique’s Dance with the Devil. And boy was I pleased with this recommendation.
WARNING – STRONG LANGUAGE COMING UP
The track is called The Promise from their album Music From the Corner, volume 2. Here is the video followed by lyrics (I had to listen and type these up myself, there are parts I couldn’t catch, your input would be helpful!):
I can’t sleep, my little brother screams all night My mum don’t care ‘cuz she’s hoggin’ the pipe My old man doing life, all day doing crack One day I’ll start running and never look back ‘Till then I am eating on street and that’s that I’ll snatch phones and get myself drunk and have flash backs Only fourteen and I’m sticking up big men Strike more times in a day than Big Ben In West end Flashin’ (?) the tourists for a quick spend ??? Brought my procedure to a swift end Handcuffed back ??? in a police cell Mum came then they released me on sergeant’s bail Mum screaming I told her that she’s a crack head I see now and I don’t give a fuck what happened Next day mum dragged me off to see old man In jail I just couldn’t deal with it I broke down I burst out screaming “mum you’re cracked out Dad you’re locked up and the house is a crack house, You don’t buy food mum dad you don’t write Of course I do crime that’s how I got to eat Both of you are told to lie about the promise to be free I was born into chains, I follow the chief I ain’t even fifteen and I’m just like you I act how you act and I do what you do”
[CHORUS] X2
Is it the promise that we can be free? That makes it so hard for you and me? We tend to be chief and follow the chief And drown in the dark depths of the streets
They call me “freaky green” merge into street scenes Unseen, the ghost in the machine Nowhere I go feels home, all alone On the night train smoking a bone To get me high again I came from kid’s care, I had a broken home And no one listened or cared I never had a hope That’s why I’m here upon this train lookin’ worn out I wet my fingers to the bomb before I fall out (?????) And coming down there’s a black hole, I call out But no one hears, drowning in tears fight for pure fear Running from self until I disappear (????) slide off into never ending nightmare (?????) And stares at my every move I bear the pain of the loser in this drug abuse I’m let loose around dark demonics And this evil is eating me up but let’s me live on it And I’m never living uppity, my friends cared But I stole from their houses when they wasn’t there And what the fuck? I hate myself but I need drugs I hug the pipe at night time it shows me real love Not fucking anybody, ‘cuz they’d be fuckin’ me And every penny I mash is spend on crack dreams And it take me there far away from any place Where I’m numbed from the pains of my yesterdays And life’s a bad habit I use drugs to escape ‘cuz when I’m laced I break down the hate to pure space And when the cracks appear I’ll be there with the coke can Jammin’ the pipe until sun down
[CHORUS] X2
“I can’t sleep, my little brother screams all night My mum don’t care ‘cuz she’s hoggin’ the pipe My old man doing life, all day doing crack One day I’ll start running and never look back ‘Till then I am eating on street and that’s that I’ll snatch phones and get myself drunk and have flash backs Only fourteen and I’m sticking up big men Strike more times in a day than Big Ben In West end” This is the introduction. Characters and setting are introduced, the reference to Big Ben isn’t just a clever rhyme but a clue to anyone that this is based in London. “West end” confirms it.
“Both of you are told to lie about the promise to be free I was born into chains, I follow the chief I ain’t even fifteen and I’m just like you I act how you act and I do what you do” This reminds me of determinism. The train of thought that our desires and our existence as physical beings means we are determined just like any other physical object. He was born into chains meaning his poverty combined with his desires, the chief he follows are role models, in this case his parents, does that mean he holds full responsibility for his actions?
“Unseen, the ghost in the machine” This phrase, used intentionally or not, became well known because of Gilbert Ryle’s book which is called “The Ghost in the Machine” where he argues against the existence of an immaterial soul. This line caught my ears.
“That’s why I’m here upon this train lookin’ worn out” This also caught my ears. I live in London now and every now and then I hop on the underground. I have seen a lot of people who look like they have had a long day, could one of the many people I saw have a similar story?
“Running from self until I disappear” Almost every religion, philosophy and spirituality focuses on peace with the self. This person obviously is not at peace with himself, this is a more profound and deeper struggle than simply going hungry or trying to get a job.
“I bear the pain of the loser in this drug abuse” The losers in drug abuse are the users of drugs. So who are the winners? The drug dealers of course.
“And what the fuck? I hate myself but I need drugs I hug the pipe at night time it shows me real love Not fucking anybody, ‘cuz they’d be fuckin’ me And every penny I mash is spent on crack dreams And it takes me there far away from any place Where I’m numbed from the pains of my yesterdays And life’s a bad habit I use drugs to escape ‘cuz when I’m laced I break down the hate to pure space And when the cracks appear I’ll be there with the coke can Jammin’ the pipe until sun down” He needs love, but his delusion makes him think that it comes from drugs. He even calls life a bad habit while people usually say its the drugs. He finds escape in drugs (talking about Crack here I think) and because of his pessimism he hates life itself without them. His dependence has trapped him to the point that he can’t escape, and this is the story of many criminals that end up locked behind bars. Are they determined to commit crimes because of their desperate situation and addiction? And if so then can they be held fully responsible or not? Hell is even locking them up going to solve anything?
These are the thoughts that have been generated from listening to this song, but I can tell I will find more stuff within the track as I listen to it more. It has been a very good listen.
Two elements of hip hop that I mentioned before were rhyming and the use of metaphors. There is another poetic tool that artists may use, and that is aliteration; Using words that start with the same letter consecutively to create a poetic effect.
One track that employs this technique really well is The N-word from Rhyme Asylum’s album Solitary Confinement. Although Hip hop was born in the USA, the UK now has a significant base of artists and Rhyme Asylum is but one of them. The group consists mainly of Posessed, Psiklone and Skirmish as members, but this particular track only features Posessed. Here is the video and also the lyrics:
I’m negative nether world native
Nirvana nemesis, put necks in nooses not necklaces
Navigate Nebuchadnezzar ship
Neo, so shots from nickel-plated knives never hit
Ninth gate novelist
Necromancer, raise Napoleon from my necropolis
Non-descript nameless nomad
The nightmare referred to in Nostradamus’s notepads
(Nexus) no nationality
Play noughts and crosses, as I knock nails in the Nazarene
Naturally there’s no one nicer than me
As I nap my zees are rotated ninety degrees
Sunk navy deeper than Neptune
Neutralize your next of kin, neighbours, nieces and nephews
A nocturnal ninja network
Notice I never needed to say the notorious ‘N Word’
[Chorus]
‘N Word’ never need to say it
Don’t believe it, then rewind it and replay it
Nefarious, neurotic narrator
I’m not naughty (Nah) I’m nasty by nature
‘N Word’ never need to say it
Don’t believe it, then rewind it and replay it
Nefarious, neurotic narrator
I’m not naughty (Nah) I’m nasty by nature
At first listen it may be non-sensical, just a bunch of rhyming words starting with the same letter that doesn’t tell us anything. But after the artists display of quite amazing flow with the beat as well as clever rhymes; at the end of the entire display in the first verse he says
“Notice I never needed to say the notorious ‘N Word’” And it all becomes clear. The word he is referring to is of course “nigga/nigger” (which I do not condone the use of in anyway) that is used extensively by the rap industry as well as underground artists. Although it is used to refer to people, it is still controversial as it was used to describe black people as property in the age of slavery. A white slave master would say “I want this nigger, he looks healthy” for example. It is argued that the continued use of this word in the rap industry is why it still exists in everyday language. The artist however goes against this and shows that, in an entire impressive piece of flow and rhyming, he did not have to use that word or any swear word for that matter.
Another very clever line is “As I nap my zees are rotated ninety degrees”. If the letter Z is turned 90 degrees what do you get? That’s right, the letter N!
“Sunk navy deeper than Neptune” Neptune is the Roman God of the sea who commands it and everything in it.
“Non-descript nameless nomad” These words begin with N and also describe something of non-identity, they are almost synonymous.
“The nightmare referred to in Nostradamus’s notepads” Nostradamus was a poet and some believe a prophetic figure who predicted future events such as the second World War.
“Navigate Nebuchadnezzar ship” Nebuchadnezzar was an emperor of the Babylonian civilization (modern day Iraq).
“Play noughts and crosses as I knock nails in the Nazarene”. Nazarene is a term to describe someone from the village of Nazareth. And one of the only notable people who is from Nazareth is Jesus Christ. I see some potential anti-religious references here, as Jesus was nailed to the cross as the Christians claim.
And that is all that I can draw from this piece, but I guess the central message is the futility of the N word and its uselessness. As I say again, showing amazing flow, clever rhymes a wide range of vocabulary and knowledge of historical characters all beginning with N without actually using the N-word anywhere.
I hope this has been helpful to any who read this!
