“If Rap Gets Jealous,” from K’naan’s album The Dusty Foot Philosopher Deluxe Edition, is lyrically perhaps the most powerful song on the album. It is humble yet defiant. It is ultra personal but also puts the state of modern hip-hop under scrutiny.
The song is a release for K’naan, who uses the platform to reflect on his inner turmoil caused by years of living in a war-torn country and losing members of his family to the violence. K’naan uses his wrenching experience as a refugee to question the present state of some hip-hop, which has become a caricature of violence and thugery.
Give the lyrics a read and we think you’ll agree that this is a powerful song that needs to be heard.
Lyrics:
Verse
So good things come to those who wait
sure I’ve waited about “Pop pop pop pop”
that’s four cousins shot
I got grudges, let’s discuss it, my music needs no touch ups
I got a long record of fucks ups, trust me,
you don’t know a past as weird as mine
or a life as hard as mine I had to hustle
chop, sell drugs, grind
whatever you wanna call it is fine but just listen
and don’t pre judge, I don’t want anyone
dismissing me as another thug or some shit like that
no sir I fall I would get right back
I got circumstances but let me stop dancing around the issue and tell you straight forth
I’m poor, a refugee been in prison and survived a war
I come from, the most dangerous city in this universe
you’re likely to get shot at birth, so how could rap quench my thirst?
I don’t even hear verses no more
I hear jerking off punks with lip glosses and purses
I don’t see nobody operating shit anymore I see nurses
fuck that, I’m gonna stay alive I’d rather do a stage dive
Hook
And if rap gets jealous, cause I rock heavy
it don’t worry me if motha fuckaz don’t get it
and if rap gets jealous, cause of where I’m headed
I used to be public enemy don’t forget it
and if rap gets jealous, cause I rock heavy
it don’t worry me if motha fuckaz don’t get it
and if rap gets jealous, cause of where I’m headed
aggression obsession with pain live again.
Verse
So yea basically I gotta release occasionally
I gotta let you know what’s goin on with me and facing me are, some tough choices
I got a good side and bad side inside my headI hear screams not voices
and I can’t lie I ain’t got shit, I ain’t got to brag
I’m hard pressed for some cash to send to my ill dad
and you’re so superficial, of course it’s fo shizzl
that my choice is to piss on you boys
cause my mission is the world
to know, my name, my aim, is plainly success
but I still gotta come fresh, so how could rap quench my thirst?
I don’t even hear verses no more
I hear jerking off punks with lip glosses and purses
I don’t see nobody operating shit anymore I see nurses
fuck that, I’m gonna stay alive I’d rather do a stage dive
Hook
Verse
It’s what is, it’s pain you know what I’m saying
I don’t know man, it’s like you spend years developing your artistry and perfecting your skill
and you can’t do shit with it, that’s gotta be fucked up you know what I’m saying
that’s gotta be fucked up, just imagine, imagine you build a fucking castle and you can’t live in it
that’s what is is, you can’t live in it, and you got problems, you got family to feed
I got family to feed, moment of truth right?
and I still gotta come fresh, so how could rap quench my thirst?
I don’t even hear verses no more
I hear jerking off punks with lip glosses and purses
I don’t see nobody operating shit anymore I see nurses
fuck that, I’m gonna stay alive I’d rather do a stage dive
The Background:
K’naan, an award-winning singer and musician, was born in Somalia, a country that has not had a functioning government since 1991. K’naan’s family moved to Harlem after catching the last domestic flight out of Somalia and eventually settled in Ontario, Canada. Using his ability to blend Western and African influences, K’naan’s music is a fusion of world music and hip-hop that borrows from the protest songs of Bob Marley, the hip-hop lyricism of Mos Def, and the storytelling traditions of Somalia. Despite the violence K’naan has experienced, his lyrics address the possibilities for positive change and peace. His album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher Deluxe Edition, will be released for the first time in the U.S. by the Bay Area-based record label, Interdependent Media on June 24, 2008.
2006 Winner Juno Award Winner- Best Rap Album*
2006 Polaris Music Prize Nominee 2007**
BBC Radio 3 Winner- Best New Artist, World Music
*The Juno Awards are the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards
**The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label