Get all 21 Baba Brinkman releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Bright Future, See From Space, The Rap Guide to Consciousness, The Rap Guide to Climate Chaos, The Rap Guide to Religion, The Rap Guide to Medicine, The Rap Guide to Wilderness, The Infomatic EP, and 13 more.
Excludes subscriber-only releases.
1. |
Get Naked
02:44
|
|||
Get Naked
Get naked
Imperfect? Perfect
We're of all ages
Civil servants, nurses
We pull faces
A little nervous at first
We pull braces off
And off come knickers
All brazen
But it's worth it
Worth it, Paul
Brave it
Your clothes are surfeit
It's cool
Take this
Bicycle and mount it
No trousers
Naked in the gaze of houses
As outlined in subsection 7(a)
The terror agents will
In accordance with legislation
Have the not insubstantial power
To in effect say
Whether prisoner detained
Will be detained for several days or...
Yeah get naked
Raise your saddle
Wiggle
And be courageous
In the face of traffic and shoppers
Who are laced in
Buckled and shuttered up
They look a bit troubled
But it mustn't trouble us
It's amazin',
The wind on ya - whoop
The eyes on your entourage
We whoosh past and laugh
Much to the kiddies' amusement
We're filling the avenues
Now this is a movement
Therefore, prior to pitting paradiggums against police
The precaution of preparation is proposed
Which may mean, uhh
More than normal force to be proposed
Bringing the hidden face of corporate laws into play
We mustn't be afraid to break eggs
Breaking eggs to be exact
To properly cook the omelette of security
As it were
Thank-You
|
||||
2. |
2013
02:26
|
|||
2013
First things first, let me set the scene
Let's see, the year is 2013
On TV, there's still nothing worth seeing
But Americans are back in vogue with Europeans
President Obama's in his second term, see?
So now the States has some social currency
They're less precarious
Some say it's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
Although humanity still has some desperate areas
Disease and poverty are still severe
But the Palestinian state is in its second year
It's full of NGO's and civil engineers
And now it seems like there's optimism everywhere
Except here
This festive era overseas
Just doesn't mesh with the English experience
Of the last six years
Domestic fears of terrorism have led
To increasingly oppressive interference
And now people get arrested as suspected terrorists
And just disappear
How can they accept that?
But wait, let's step back
Who is this political hack with the mid-western accent
Giving the British flack for their decent into madness?
I'm a Canadian ex-pat
I trained as a war reporter
But by the time I graduated
Half the major wars were over
So I investigated all sorts of foreign cultures
Searching for the main sources of civil disorder
I expected to do a story on Burmese border closures
Or something on socialist Ecuadorian soldiers
But when my search for civil disorder was over
I accepted this post, 'cause there was more in Dover
And since I don't work for a British newspaper
I've escaped the censorship that hides the true nature
Of the new relationship
Between the people and the rule-makers
My column is syndicated to thirty-two papers
And they're not state-owned
Although my editors make known
Their debt to stakeholders
And their affinity for take-home pay
They've got a payroll to make
So they only print stories worth their weight in gold
The first piece I wrote was on Habeas corpus
And on the governments use of NATO forces
To fight insurgents in the Secretary of State's orchards
And on the plain distortion of facts
In official statements and discourses
And then I heard about Dizraeli's organization
Of rebel cells, and his dedicated corps
Who carry the disestablishmentarians' torches
Now there's a story that could make a fortune
|
||||
3. |
BNPBC One
00:36
|
|||
BNPBC One
This just in from BNPBC News
Dizraeli's troops were caught distributing free food
In the form of pea soup and fresh nectarine juice
To farmers on strike in Leeds
Now to review
The leader of this left wing movement
Is still at large
And police have orders to shoot on sight
And kill the bastard
He's suspected of masterminding
Some sort of bombing crime
Details at this time are none too fine
More news at nine...
|
||||
4. |
Mud Island
06:45
|
|||
Mud Island
The year is 2013
Time we got this right
We've tried all other avenues
And now
This is the one solution left
So listen
Comrades here
And those at home
Welcome to Mud Island
Where clouds don't clear
And no one comes for asylum
Where you can't grow food without a horticulture license
And licenses are only granted to corporate giants
Not the Jolly Green
They're monsters of oil and iron
Who shape government policy
And own soil and sky
And they also own the rights
To the writer's pens
So no news can find a vent
Without prior consent
And that consent doesn't come
When the news is anti-government
Or pro-Islam
Or anti-capitalism
Or about the fear that always hangs in the distance
Or the fact that every other cousin's languishing in prison
Or the lack of a living wage
That wages war on actually living
The buses are silent
We all face forward
Like the drones in 1984
Afraid to talk in case we're breaking laws
We didn't even know existed
The terror agents on the corners
Who can leave you broken wristed
With interrogation methods
Never less than vicious
And detention without charge
Is the quintessence of Englishness
The quintessence of Englishness
If we succumb to the river
It will carry us off
So raise one middle finger
To the cameras watching
Another to them acting
In the manner of Gods
They can kill us
But they can't switch humanity off
It's been this way
Since the 2012 olympics
When six thousand people died
In six terrorist hits
It was the perfect excuse
To pull the noose on civil liberty
Suddenly
The streets thronged with the military
New police with new powers
A new face for the state
And this threat that waits above us
Like a guillotine
A brand new prison camp
The pride of the Ministry
Where suspects are sent
At the Prime Minister's decree
Guantanamo mark two
Here at home in Glastonbury
Approved by referendum
Built very democratically
And the key to the core
Of the Government's terror strategy
Orange boiler suits
Water board torture and shackled feet
With capacity for more than a thousand dissidents
Housed in mesh cages and force fed food
'Til proven innocent
While the rest of us eat, sleep, shit and do business
As the advertisers sell us shampoos and conditioners
But there are many who still refuse to give into this
Struggle to uncover truth in news and statistics
Who grow our own food
And make our own kid's syllabus'
Who make our own decisions
And won't live as prisoners
There are those of us who live and love
And chat with our neighbors
Who strip back the fear
And products and shallow status
And ads and wastage
And suits and braces
'Til we're human beings
Being human standing naked
Say it
Human beings
Being human
Standing Naked
Being human
Standing Naked
If we succumb to the river
It will carry us off
Raise one middle finger
To the cameras watching
Another to them acting
In the manner of Gods
They can kill us
But they can't switch humanity off
But it's not enough to act free, stubborn, courageous
We need to deal with the causes
Of the struggles that face us
We've looked deeper than the surface wounds
And we've seen the whole system is a river of blood
And it's running in the veins of a rotted corpse
And we can't stop its course quick enough
'Cause it runs to the cups of the corporation and the state
Two drunk men, holding each other up
Feeding each others function
Why?
'Cause what's good for order is great for the capitalist
And brands are the perfect opiate for the masses
It works perfectly
A marriage of mutual bond
While the earth and the people are murdered
And brutally wronged
While now
We vow to bring it down sector by sector
Every symbol of oppression
Every pillar of its architecture
Banks that keep the wealth held by too few men
Superstores that suck communities dry
Cameras whirring and watching our every movement
Prisons that create crime and dehumanize
Arms manufacturers, security firms, media
Car manufacturers, government departments
Every symbol of our democratic servants turned "leaders"
From the modified crops they're growing in our back gardens
To the firms that profit producing polluntants
The list is here
Read it and go to it
We'll be their public nuisance
Their writing on the wall
Our revolution
Until the people dance to a new music
And it means sacrifice
And it might mean pain
But there's a duty calling on us
To be people again
No state is going to save us
No progress without us
We must realize and grow
And manifest our own powers
So I say it again
The time is now
Go to it
'Til the people on the street
Are dancing to their own music
The time is now
Go to it
Until the people on the street
Dance to their own music
If we succumb to the river
It will carry us off
Raise one middle finger
To the cameras watching
Another to them acting
In the manner of Gods
They can kill us
But they can't switch humanity off
|
||||
5. |
Dispatches
03:41
|
|||
Dispatches
These dispatches are just a form of
Democratic journalistic action
In the midst of war and civil clashes
We swarm into the fracas
And sort out the different factions
And report it back to the
Court of public opinion with dispassion
This is chapter six of Baba's dispatches
From the British axis
And I'm sad to report that the government's
Been acting every bit as fascist
As it has ever since the tragic Olympic massacre last year
Which left its victims in a pile of crisp ashes
And yet special mention must be made
Of the unstructured nature of the resistance
To the British big brother state
Something strange is happening
On England's gray streets
But there's no mystery
Its name is "Dizraeli"
Instead of the leadership they need
To get political prisoners of the state freed
And reinstate civil liberties
And eliminate the wage freeze
And get the laws changed
So they can live, work and play in peace
Dizraeli attacks anything even remotely mainstream
Unable, it seems, to discriminate between
What's real and what's make believe
I mean
Let's face it
While his nation is decimated by the politics of hatred
Dizraeli's response consists of "Let's get naked!"
As if there were no difference
Between clothes and prisons
'Cause uh,
"They're both restrictive and they're both 'systems'
And all systems are sinister
So we need a world with no systems
No governments and no citizens!"
That's the goal of his whole coalition
So now the British are trapped in the midst of this
Clash between militant fascists and idiot anarchists
And instead of a real leader like Mandela
The rebels here are wasting their efforts
On guerrilla theatre
It's a revolutionary special feature
With concession pricing
And I know it's tantalizing
When you feel your anger rising
To believe you can fight the system by vandalizing
Symbols of advertising
But you can't
Is that surprising?
'Cause the biggest rebels get paid the highest salaries
And Banksy paintings hang at the finest galleries
Defiance is just another survival strategy
Just like working nine to five to feed your family
This wasted insurrection is based on a basic misconception
Dizraeli sees capitalism as an agent of oppression
But what he calls 'The System' is mainly competition
It's businesses and political parties in opposition
And musician's competing for fans who want to listen
And writers have compositions
And publishers want to print them
And so, what's the problem with it?
Injustice is caused by limited budgets
And flaws in the structures of laws
And laws are changed by democratic action
And not by waving your arms around in erratic fashion
But Dizraeli does have the charismatic attraction
That a political leader needs to succeed
If only he understood what civil disobedience means
He could beat this regime
And get a mandate for change
Instead of just entertaining his fan base
And obsessing over advertising and brand names
He could transform the whole political landscape
If his message wasn't always drowning beneath
His symbolic dissidence and clowning speech
And middle fingers
Pointed in the direction of Downing street
At least he's running his insurrection non-violently
So for all those watching hopefully from overseas
There's still a chance this man
Will quit smoking dope and lead
The people of England out of this broken dream
But until then
I'm afraid I can see no relief
In sight
End of dispatch
Go in peace
|
||||
6. |
BNPBC Two
01:57
|
|||
BNPBC Two
This just in from BNPBC Action News
Dizraeli was arrested this afternoon
And charged initially for his reactive views
Towards the manufacturers of fast food
Police were responding to a new tip
From one of the viewers of Dizraeli's recent YouTube clip
In which he called on his terrorist group to "go to it"
The clip's had six million views
And has proven popular with school kids
Although its author has been, until now, elusive
As the head of the Rebel Cell faction
Dizraeli's wanted on countless separate acts of terror
Including seven attacks on several banks
And other corporate owned property
Reporter Morgan Morgan joins us now from the scene
Eh, Morgan?
Are you there Morgan?
Yes
Thanks Morgan
I'm standing outside the house where he was found
It's cordoned off to reporters
But you can see through the door there
And there are scribbles of
What are apparently medical animals
And Rebel Cell's slogans scrawled on the flat's walls
One reads "community, truth, freedom"
Another "the being human of the human being"
The viewers will be used to seeing this sort of propaganda Of the Rebel Cell, painted on walls and daubed on banners
And now there's no doubt
The government will be delighted
That they've finally caught up to the leader
Of these freedom fighters
Who's been the blight of their recent anti-terror efforts
And left an estimated four billion pounds of wreckage
The Prime Minister has called Dizraeli
An "enemy of investment"
The worst kind of a leftist terrorist
A known proponent of socialism and anarchy
If found guilty
He'll certainly serve a life sentence at Glastonbury
Thank you
Yes, thank you Morgan
We can also reveal that Madonna OBE lately
Became the oldest model ever to pose for page three
Also Coronation Street actors played crazy golf for charity
And Robbie Williams was seen snogging Jimmy Saville's neice
|
||||
7. |
Phone Call
02:35
|
|||
Phone Call
All right, there's the telephone
You got two minutes
No funny business all right?
Hi Mum? It's me
No, Rowan
How are you?
Me too
Mom, listen I'm not ringing to argue
Are you on your own?
I'm sorry it's been so long since I've phoned
Is Dad there?
Yeah, I did it
Listen Mum, I've only got two minutes' limit
I'm just ringing to say, I don't know
Just, I miss you I suppose
And I love you loads
Can you tell Tobes too?
Is he still doing his drumming?
Tell him I love him
There's nothing I can do Mum
It's just part of the revolution
You win some you lose some right?
Mum, I had to
You'll understand soon
Please
I don't know
Life at least
I can't talk about that now
Who's that in the background?
Is it Sally?
Tell her "hi" from me
Is she happy?
There's no point worrying
What will happen will happen
That's the thing with direct action right?
How's your teaching?
You're not teaching, why?
That's ridiculous
You've been working there half your life
What I do has got nothing to do with you
I'm sorry that happened Mum
Is there nothing you can do?
Listen, I'm running out of time
My hearing's on the ninth
No, you can't come,
It's closed
Don't be scared
Mum
I feel, I'm prepared
Listen Mum
I just wanted to...
Ah shit
|
||||
8. |
Judgment
01:57
|
|||
Judgment
This man stands accused of obstructing the course of justice
Four counts of publishing literature on unlawful subjects
Vandalism of state property, causing unrest
Public disorder, cycling in a state of undress
Several instances of public nudity
Twenty two proven counts of rudeness to police
Three counts of causing damage to law enforcement cameras
Activities abroad including consorting with anarchists
Nine counts of harboring known Islamists
Identified by their wearing of white pajamas
Forty two of distributing subversive pamphlets
But most seriously
The defendant stands accused
Of encouraging socialist thoughts and its derivatives
Attending meetings and speaking on topics prohibited
By the terror act of 2012 section 66
Conspiring to commit arson
Being in possession of restricted materials
With the intention of using them
To manufacture weapons
Also actual arson
Actual harm to ministerial entities
Using official garments to deceive and gain entry
Misuse and damage of military facilities
Punishable under the laws of the defense ministry
Four billion pounds of actual damage to property
By law equivalent to murder in the first degree
Retention of materials to be used in acts of terrorism
Encouragement and dissemination for acts of terrorism
Planning and preparation for acts of terrorism
Attendance at a place used for planning acts of terrorism
And lastly, actual commissioned of thirty acts of terrorism
The above amounts to high treason
And thus inevitably conspiracy against the state
Classed as the people's enemy
The case is made
How does the defendant plead?
|
||||
9. |
BNPBC Three
01:21
|
|||
BNPBC Three
We interrupt this program
At the very moment Gordon Ramsey has Ricky Gervais
In a choke slam
To bring you this important message for the whole fam-ily
Those with weak stomachs are encouraged to hold hands
Recent reports have indicated
That accused terrorist agent Dizraeli
Still hopes he may be vindicated
The public need not be alarmed however
He isn't dangerous
His prison cell is quite well insulated
Now
When asked how he would like to plead
Guilty or not guilty
Dizraeli demanded the right to read
The entire three-hundred page indictment
It seems he's determined to delay the court proceedings spitefully
As a compromise the court has granted the rights
Of an exclusive interview to a news reporter tonight
And to satisfy international rights observers
Against conflicts of interest
The right researchers have selected a fine journalist
With an impartial reputation
To conduct this harrowing and harsh investigation
In some circles of London, England
Baba Brinkman is known as a cunning linguist
Of some distinction
We'll update you the moment he's received the thug's confession
And we now return to Gordon holding Ricky in the "crunch position"
|
||||
10. |
First Cell
03:29
|
|||
First Cell
Well if it isn't the notorious D-I-Z
The only citizen here who doesn't need ID
'Cause he's on more TVs than the BNPBC
Look, I'm not part of this media fallacy
They've never been very partial to impartiality
Me, I'm just interested in your army's strategy of resistance
So your paper can sell the story
Look the government's position is totally celebratory
Like, “Terrorist Captured!”
While ignoring the other Rebel Cells that I know are still asleep
As your supporters keep shrouding you in a veil of glory
But, I think you're more than just a martyr
So, come on, tell me your side
I'll try not to tell it poorly
Why?
So you can quell your need for speaking of something worthwhile?
Your empty gestures of freedom in a medium you're servile to?
I've read your small print
It's all tinted with false sentiment
Who edits your bullshit after you sent it in?
Look, no government censors spin my words
Just editors whose job is to insure
Their writers don't end up as prisoners
You fight the system with bombs
I fight it with words
I see no reason to hit a brick wall fist first
You fight the system
Like a rat fights it's treadmill
Churning sawdust to keep the people's heads filled
A pen wielded by a puppet isn't a weapon
It's quite clear
We're at war right here
And these days a sword is mightier
Hey
You call it a treadmill, I call it an escalator
Plus it's the generator that powers your grandmother's respirator
My grandma died of cancer from two nuclear reactors
That were built in spite of her protests, with her taxes
Cancer
Well, that's another kind of "rebel cell"
You know how those rebellions end
It's never well
Equating dissidence with cancer is next level fascist
The kind of thinking that creates states that need rebel activists
I support change for the better
Whatever
Just never radically
What's wrong with running your revolution democratically?
Get some strategy, start working to registered voters
You can laugh at your opponents when the election is over
Have you looked around recently?
Democracy's died here
Along with human rights and other nice ideas
And now we've climate crisis too
The time has passed to move slow
We need a new set of codes
And new modes
Well who knows?
Maybe you'll have a chance to succeed
But only after you dish enough dirt to plant the seed
I need a scoop
And I have hungry readers to feed it to
So speak the truth
It wasn't easy getting this meeting room
That's always the difference between me and you Baba
You're as shallow as a hack
As you were as a rapper
You were in it for the money then too
That's what screwed it
We could have brought the revolution closer with our music
Back in Brighton
When I first saw you spit
I thought you had a passion
What was it fueled it?
|
||||
11. |
The Birth of Mud Sun
05:32
|
|||
The Birth of Mud Sun
Mate I just wanted to say
I thought what you did was wicked
I'm Dizraeli I did the politician bit
It's Baba isn't it?
Chaucer as rap lyrics, that's good man, I like it
Did you like my shit?
I'm glad you do, I like writing it
Now listen, I know this cypher we can both go to
If you fancy it
A little slice of British life to show you
We can go together, and show them what poets do
You'll go down a treat with the rappers I know it, dude
Cool man, I'm down to do it now
I'm new in town
And I definitely liked your poems that you did
You threw it down
And if that club is the place to go then cool
Sign me up
'Cause, I got this new song that I just wrote
And it's hyped up!
All right cool, safe
Oy, this is the night club
All right bruv
Do you mind if I bring my mate to the stage tonight?
I've seen him play, yeah he's tight
No, he's not from Brighton
Uh, Vancouver I think
Nice one, appreciate it
Oy, you looking for a drink?
I'm not much of a wine sipper
Or a connesouer of fine liquor
But a good pint of bitter makes a man a better rhyme spitter
And, if you see a slight quiver in my hand, that's adrenaline
When I'm holding the paper it gets my fingers shakin' a little bit
Don't worry bro, I swear, I'll get 'em into it
Now listen, all right...
Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen
All the way from Vancouver, Canada
A new rapper for you
Give a shout for Baba
Hey, thanks, thanks, good to be here
Um, here, this is my new poem, check it out
It goes like this, all right
My bedroom looks like a library or something
I consume books like a dietary supplement
I get my excitement from dead white men
And turn my eyes to the east when I seek enlightenment
'Cause the Tao de Ching is a powerful truth
And Lao Tzu allows me to put down roots
So I don't freak out when I get mistreated
It's the stoicism of Epictetus
And the Bhagavad Gita taught me non-attachment
And not to hesitate when it's time for action
My mind is climaxing, but unsatisfied
In battles I use Sun Tzu to strategize
And pacify rappers with the Art of War
And create utopia's like I'm Thomas Moore
Or, if I'm facing an act of rebellion
I'll take a chapter from The Prince and be Machiavellian
I imagine rap as the Iliad and Odyssey
It's philosophical narrative artistry
The allegory of the cave is the story of the matrix
The core stays the same while the form changes
With correlations from Plato, to Francis Bacon
Knowledge is the key to emancipation
So I'm like Prospero in a hip-hop show
I conjure with a flow that's impossible to match
And I got some old philosophical raps
I stole from an ivory tower about to collapse
And then I thought perhaps it was just a mirage
So I rebuilt it with hip-hop, which is Bricolage
Damn, tough crowd
All those chests thrust out
I thought Brighton was "love town"
So uh, what now?
Bruv, put the mic down
Listen, it's not...
There's nothing wrong with what you did
I reckon it's fat
It's just the rap kids can't connect to that
You know, lecture rap
Why don't you loosen up a bit?
Save the intellect for the libraries
Try a freestyle, yeah?
All right, check it
Hinesy?
Next on the mic please
Nice one
Freestyle hey?
Yeah I can freestyle
Um, Yo check it out
That's right, that's right
I might be slammin' the flow
Even though I got mad skill
Like Edgar Allen Poe
Or any other kind of philosopher
That you can talk about
Rappers step up to the mic
And shit, I knock 'em out
Like I was, like I was, uh,
Cassius Play
Um, Cassius Clay I mean
Like um, back in the day
Back in the day
Fuck Cassius Clay
You get blatantly slapped in the face
I'm up here in a happenin' way
Oy, it's Lukrativ
Here to burn the new kid
Give a shout out if you think his style's useless
That's what I'm talking about though
This is some real hiphop innit
You get me?
Oy, check it out
Check it
What?
I'm ready to battle you dude?
Oy, check it, check it
It goes what
I'm hot in the feature
My street philosophy's deeper
This prick looks like a frickin' geography teacher
Um, yeah
Okay, maybe that's what I look like
But, look at your face man
You don't look right
Like you tried to cross the street
And forgot to look right
Oy, don't even bother
Listen
Listen bruv
All your lines are bad
Check it
Even your friggin' pinstripes are wack
Boy, check it
You're fake as Spinal Tap
It's the young Harold from Neighbors trying to rap
Testing the kid with his head full of raw stuff
I'ma step to the forefront
Start addressing the audience
He reckons he's the resurrection of Geoffrey Chaucer
Listen
You just witnessed the death of the author
You blatantly got served man!
I don't even like battling man
Give it up for Lucrative
He won everybody, yeah
Aw Mate
Don't worry, listen
I think you killed it
Blatantly
Come on, we're gonna do some wicked collaborations
You wait and see
It'll be good man
We're a team
It's cool
|
||||
12. |
Louder 2.0
02:28
|
|||
Louder 2.0
All the way from UK
Without an ID Number
To flip syntax with the impact
Of a funk drummer
Spin back the revolution
I hunt the hunter
From the slums of London
Where winter becomes summer
An old liberator is new nazi
I am not too happy
To watch Mugabe
Draining the coins in the people's pockets
Breaking the pavement for a poxy profit
The stink is so heavy
Where the hearts of the bosses rotten
It spreads over the globe and the world watches
Democratic murder
Bullets pepper ballot boxes
Single party politics
And phallic office blocks
It's reminiscent of a television horror
The demolition of a country for a quick dollar
Politician men are sipping from the city's coffers
No amount of rhetoric can hide their dishonor
Well this globe trotter's
Not afraid to blow the xenophobe of his
Office with a phrase
So call me the prose bomber
The grenade pin-puller
Show stopper
Got to chase the cock away
Raise your flame
Stake your claim
Say your name out
Louder
Louder
If you're in the crowd
Stick your fists out
Get loud
Louder
Louder
I got these southern neighbors
Who've been causing problems lately
They got people locked in cages
On their property
It's crazy
Guantanamo Bay is basically a concentration camp
Where the inmates are trapped in cages
By the Patriot Act
They're trying to get some information fast
But it's unreliable
And where the hell did a man's right to trial go?
There's no defenses when your file is closed
Behind those green fences
And there's no reason to even mention
The Geneva Convention
'Cause your special classification doesn't seem to be listed
As in need of protection
So they can keep you in prison
With chains on your feet
That squeeze you into a fetal position
Until they're finished with their whole
'Middle Eastern Freedom Mission'
If this doesn't breech the constitution
Then it needs revision
But it's practically tradition
Witch hunts, McCarthyism
And abuse of power
Their lies are whispers
But they might start to listen if the truth is louder
Raise your flame
Stake your claim
Say your name out
Louder
Louder
If you're in the crowd
Stick your fists out
Get loud
Louder
Louder
|
||||
13. |
Second Cell
02:49
|
|||
The Second Cell
The year is 2013
So then what happened? Baba turned whisperer
Contributed his chorus then prostituted his literature
Hey, we fell out because I thought the revolution was a metaphor
And you were looking for an excuse to start a civil war
That's what you thought
That's why every time we did a tour
You slipped off shagging women
While I went and talked with the poor
Every port we stopped at
I sought out what you never saw
Too boozed to understand my views
So convinced of yours
Well one of us had to have fun
You were too puritan
Up on your high horse
Working with the poor and loyal to your girlfriend
Too bad your glass was half-filled
With your middle class guilt
And your socialist social analysis
Drove you to total paralysis
And gave you awkward nerves
You were awesome with words
And you made hot products
But you hated entrepreneurs
My actions were as strong as my verse
And you, so fond of dissing hypocrites
Talked injustice but didn't do shit to limit it
Money was motive for you
For me it was coincidence
I couldn't see what we did as column inches
Wait
So the only difference between us is your pathos?
Money is coincidence for you and Bill Gates both
You know justice doesn't flow from your empathetic pains
No shit Sherlock
Anymore from your liberal journo masquerade
But money doesn't mind where it's made right?
Your struggle's a play fight
And yours is a performance with double the stage fright
You know, every rebel commander's fate
Is to go from Che Guevera to Alexander the Great
Revolutions are where dictators incubate
And you're still fiending for center stage
And you're still keeping me entertained
Baba it's laughable
I never needed to take a commanders role
Okay, Castro
That's so typically narrow
All I had to do was remind people to answer back
But you wouldn't understand that
'Cause strong people don't need strong leaders
And it seems they didn't need much reminder either
Look, our time is nearly up man
Let's get back to the questioning
Forget about the past and just try to act professionally
I have to know
Did you get trapped intentionally?
What's this meant to be?
Is it a publicity stunt
To promote your cause with broken laws
Is this what you want?
Mate
I saved your life twice
In France, remember
I pulled you free from knife fights
Right, right
You had my back before we fell out
But you never had respect
'Cause you thought I was a sell out
I thought we could have done more
That's all
To tell them our vision
Our vision
What the hell am I thinking?
Your vision?
Your need to defeat the system
Which is just a validation
Of your distorted version of realism
Everywhere I look
I see people making free decisions
Everywhere you look, man
All you see is victims
|
||||
14. |
The Gangsta Way
04:41
|
|||
The Gangsta Way
I met a man today
Said he didn't like rap that emancipates
Told me I should rhyme in a gangsta way
And this is what he had to say
Now Dizraeli
I haven't heard what you do
But I've heard the criticism
And every word of it's true
I agree that it's important
To keep alert of the truth
But I'd like it more
If you talked about murking my crew
Tell me you're a murderous dude
Servin' us
Giving us third degree burns
'Til we learn not to be rude to rappers
It makes me inexpressibly happy
When a man I don't know threatens to stab me
So call me fassy break my nose bone
And smash my teeth
Tell me you're making mad G's
Off the cream that you're getting from the back
Of selling crack to teens
Say you'll slaughter all the members of my family
Except my mother
You'll give her the special treatment
Rape and bugger her until your testicles are bleeding
I wanna know how many times she came before you finished
And after that
Please explain how big your dick is
Is it really big?
Like the size of a large salmon
Do ladies leap upstream the minute you start shaggin' 'em?
The kind of fish marine biologists can't fathom
Is it a Moby Dick?
Does it break apart galleons?
I want to know every detail of your arrogance
Penetrate me with your big rap talon
Flay my back and write your anger on my skin
I don't want art I want punishing
I met a man today
He tried to blame me for his mental state
Said when I rap it programs his brain
Well this is what he had to say
Baba I know you
I've heard your flow and it's smooth
But you can't understand what your fans are going through
I can't get over you
So tell me what I'm supposed to do
When every word you speak is a command
I can't say 'No' to
According to my personal therapist
Your verses and characters
And surgical narratives
Are converted in my nervous system
Into urgent imperatives
That I'm virtually unaware of
So where have my original thoughts gone?
It's all yours
And it's really unfair to your devoted followers
To impose your code of honor on us
By quoting philosophers
And exposing us all to your so-called knowledge
Leaving hip-hop addicts
With the thought patterns of Rhodes Scholars
Don't you even know why we listen to rap music?
It's supposed to be black and abusive!
As fans we're attracted to scratches and bruises
It's not a mass movement
It's a masochist movement
You can't use it for good, man
You'd have to be stupid
Your optimism is nothing but a massive illusion
And you need a cash infusion fast
Your fashion sense proves it
But I ain't makin' excuses for the slang that I'm usin'
I'm just actin' out a gangster plot and being ruthless
'Cause I've got planks to walk
And all you're doing is mocking all the angst I've got
Can't you leave a brainwashed man in peace with his angry thoughts?
Damn
Thanks a lot
Listen man
What I was trying to say was
I know rhyme can't brainwash
Just the music and the games that we play
That's the substances that our minds are made of
And you saying black is abusive
That's exactly the stupid attitude that's created
Inflated, packaged, produced, and perpetuated
By gangster music
Don't you think?
No man
That was my attempt to satire
The kind of ignorant fan that you imagine rap inspires
That's why you're mad at their descriptions of violence
'Cause poetic license is wasted on the literal minded
Rap is just a form of action fantasy
You want to censor Quentin Tarantino too?
Stop being a drama queen
That's the view from in the bubble, Baba
Of course what we spit is harmless
When you're in a box seat of a minstrel show
For the middle classes
Like “Pass the popcorn, watch the poor folk fight,
We'll be safe walking home at the close of the show
Right?”
Wait
So a white kid who tries to epitomize "blackness"
Is worse than a white kid who sits back and tries to criticize rappers
In a British guy's accent?
Besides, the middle classes who fetishize rap
Just give it better finances
There it is again
You think blackness is wearing hats backwards
And bragging about stabbing kids
In a matter of gangsters
That shows the damage done
By ambassadors like Warren G
And Snoop Dogg has not lifted blacks from poverty
Maybe not
But he has encouraged fans to think positively
About their chances
Rappers are examples of what kids can achieve
But what they say is just words on a page
And their power is inflated by your moral outrage
Nah
The power the bullshit hyper-inflated gangster idiots
Comes from middle class sadomasochism
The fascination with creatures on the other side of the class division
That want to kill us
How deliciously crass and thrilling
We have the same fascination in accidents
And cancer victims
We hear a scream of agony and we have to listen
Of course we don't have to act to give actual assistance
We prefer to give cash to the killers and stand at a distance
The other power of the rapper is the power to make culture
Which society buys 'til teenage soldiers stands on every corner
And labels pass the profit to stakeholders
And leave the consequences of the horrors to the coroners
Art creates culture
Culture makes behavior
This behavior makes day to day danger
So I'm not for censorship
But giving kids critical ears to listen with
And tools to question what they hear
In simple English
That's common sense isn't it?
Yeah, okay
I can see the vicious cycle's action
It's psychopathic how much violence happens
When kids imitate the lives of rappers
That's how our minds are adapted
We're intrigued by a scandal
But skip the criticism
Let's flip the script
And lead by example
Right?
|
||||
15. |
Third Cell
02:25
|
|||
The Third Cell
Mud Sun was pretty dope for social criticism though
You know; we both had skill with rhythm
And overcame most of the divisions
Between my liberalism
And your socialism
We disagreed over specifics but we had a clear vision
So, now where is it?
Lost to the slip of years and real living
You're selling stories to the system
I'm sitting here in prison
Yeah, like Paris Hilton
Yeah, shame isn't it?
We went from innovative spitters
To swilling beer and bickering
Yeah, it's sickening
But let's get back to the questioning
I know the past is festering
But tell me if it's true or not
Or just, say you blew the bomb
Then if you plead not guilty
Then you really are completely rejecting the rule of law?
Baba
It's been five years
Mud Sun's dead and you're successful
Why are your here?
Did you really want one last debate on politics
Is it for the scoop
Really?
Well, what is it?
It's a job
Business?
Yeah
I seek the truth and then find an audience to speak it to
But I also took this on because of me and you
I respect what you created
You do?
Yeah
Your right to resist is basic
But if you're evasive and you plead not guilty
Just to make a statement
Then face it
Your effort is wasted
Never wasted
Baba, you always thought too naively
First of all
I do object to the rule of this law completely
And second my defiance
However symbolic it might be
Might be the pressure that snaps the back of this society
And that possibility is enough to drive me
Even blindly?
Come on
If you try compromising just slightly
By defending your rights and protesting your innocence
But also admitting to the crimes that you did commit
Then you might get a little bit less than a life sentence
Like, twenty-seven years
Plus it sends the right message
No, I can't plead guilty
I've committed no crime
And I'll maintain that if it kills me
You have no idea what it's like here
Outside your ivory tower
Where the noose is pulled tighter each hour
And kids are cut down if they try to speak louder
It's not the Vancouver journo scene
It's not university
There's no space for debate or room for cowards
Sorry to be the vinegar on your silver spoon
But it's time someone tore the roof off your sheltered views
The year is 2008
|
||||
16. |
Social Contract 2.0
04:14
|
|||
Social Contract 2.0
You think I haven't gone through any hardships
'Cause I was raised in communes instead of projects?
That's why I've always had problems with the opposite sex
'Cause I was taught never to treat women as objects
And never to treat anything simple as complex
And vise versa
But I can't remember what I was taught next
See that's the problem with hippie kids
They stop listening when you teach them
Not to listen to hypocrites
But most of us still can't appreciate the differences
Between civil disobedience and criminal deviance
It's the difference between fixing the system and pimpin' it
'Cause corruption ain't the same as honest work
I try to separate the pigs from police officers
And I can see nuances
'Cause I was raised by philosophers
But nuance isn't popular
And neither am I
My whole life I've been trying to read between the lines
And I've never been penalized for speaking my mind
So freedom is mine
I'm a scorpion and a libra combined
With a fist and a peace sign on either side
And I'm just trying to equalize
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract
'Cause sometimes freedom is violent
It gets derailed
The system fails whenever freedom tips the scales
When a sadistic freak is freed from a prison cell
Or a big business victimizes people with its sales
Some say we need chaos
But when a government falls
Another one pops up
It's like juggling rubber balls
We don't need more freedom
We need tougher laws
Dirty energy should be double the cost
With subsidies involved for those with no money
It's gonna be pretty hard to keep the show running
If nobody believes there's any room for change
We need fewer cars and more commuter trains
And new laws to make sure polluters pay
For what they do to our food chains
These are the changes institutions can make
If we just use our brains
Instead of TVs and computer games
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract
See I'm all about change
But I'm not about the counter culture
Standing around with a frown and a stomach ulcer
Making the occasional ethical purchase
While dismissin' politics as nothing but a nest of serpents
As soon as you're done talking
Try running for office
Try becoming part of something positive
There's really nothing stopping us
It's just a problem of optics
In the absence of reason
There's no illusion of freedom
The illusion is a lack of freedom
And we're losing to these illusions
But we can't join 'em
We have to beat 'em
And just because I'm getting disillusioned with libertarians
Doesn't make me a disciplinarian
We need different solutions for different areas
From overfishing the oceans to carbon emission tariffs
From the Arab militiamen
To the American Michigan Aryans
We need some significant barriers
This may sound ridiculous from a kid with hippie parents
But sometimes it's just hilarious
How addicted we are
To the idea that we should never be restricted at all
But if freedom means driving an SUV
And never having to clean up the mess you leave
I say we need to be less free
I don't expect you to agree
But you did listen at least
And now you're free to take this lesson or leave it
Peace
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract
|
||||
17. |
Welcome to Capitalism
04:08
|
|||
Welcome to Capitalism
It's so lovely
So smooth
So step inside champagne
Flow-ow-ow
Strawberry wine
Your VIP champagne
Well that was Baba's piece
And this is mine
Designed to show a little of what makes up his mind
All right?
So
It sounds like this
Welcome to capitalism
Yeah, it's yours
Step inside kids
Everything here is designed for your comfort
And you're all invited
White, rich, wealthy, European-looking, Western
Whether you excel at industry
Or you're swell at investment
Come on, there's space for all
Absolutely yes, you too, and you and you
No matter your attitude
Ave Caesar!
Yes, absolutely
Great, super, mega, brilliant
Gillian, shut the gate
What?
Don't mind them
Did they say something?
Probably local thugs
Our doorman will stop them coming in
Don't worry
Move away from the door
Are you quite comfortable?
We'll see your every need is catered for
You have thirty seconds to comply!
Canape? Cognac?
Twenty seconds!
Move back!
Now, Neil tells me you're thinking Nigeria next
Good plan
I know how tedious Bolivia gets
The whole water saga
It's impossible to relax isn't it?
When the lumpy proletariat attacks business
It's enough to make one reach for the bubbly
Ten seconds!
But honestly
I wouldn't let it trouble me
Eight seconds!
Would you care for seconds?
Seven seconds!
Cognac? Canape?
You have to see things in a balanced way
Five seconds!
Have a cocktail
Four seconds!
What can you do?
Three!
Have a shampoo
Two!
Have a hat
Have a gun
One!
Get on the floor!
No, not you
Get on the floor!
Get on the floor!
Honestly
Bloody militants
Gillian, kill him
Honestly, really
These activists, all doom and gloom
Very sorry about that, you okay?
Let's move to the next room
Ah!
There's Baba Brinkman
He's our rapper
Big on money and markets
A lovely crafted mouthpiece
For the governing classes
Really
He's bloody marvelous
The director was so impressed
Between you and me
He funded his masters
He's rocked libraries from London to Harvard
Most extrordinary
Brinkman, here's a bloke you ought to meet
His name is Mann, or Thatcher or something similar
He does fantastic work with energy in Nigeria
A great friend of the Prime Minister
Brinkman's mother's an MP
He's really the cleverest MC you'll ever meet
He's a little left of center
But nothing to be alarmed with
He's read 'The Rebel Sell'
So he's perfectly harmless
You two will get alond fine
Help yourself to snacks
I've got to take a call
Small matter of tax
Back in a sec lads
And there's why you think the system works so well, bro
It's given you swell clothes and a great deal on your cell phone
Free water, shiny white teeth and healthy bones
Of course your defense of the fortress is well-honed
Well if you're really down for doing something positive
Why don't you juggle south over the border
Where the world's majority live
Wave your wealth at them
And ask them what's wrong with it
Might just make a little shift in consciousness
Or maybe it might just show you what the problem is
Wherever there's capitalism, there's injustice
In all its monstrousness
It follows like a plague
Irrespective of your politics
'Cause it's the only way the people at the top
Have ever profited
|
||||
18. |
The Fallout
03:50
|
|||
The Fallout
Damn I never heard a man so self-righteous
Like you're rapping to audition for Nobel prizes
Plus, you're always riding on my coat-tails in cyphers
But there's no real bite to it
So it feels lifeless
And what do you feel?
The squeeze of rising hotel prices?
The fact you'll finish life in a home for failed writers?
My folktales are timeless
Your essays make my skin crawl
That review was right
Hearing you spit's like chewing tinfoil
Hey, at least I'm not afraid to be reviewed
Man, your attitude is like
"I'm gonna cry if I get a bad review"
And that's the truth
Man you're so sensitive I can't throw away a plastic spoon
Without putting you in a nasty mood
Rather that than you
A hippie kid with Nazi views you hide
Your sense of irony is like your sense of music
Not too refined
Well all I hear from you is like
"It's revolution bruv!
But I forgot what the best solution was
So, uh, let's do some drugs!"
No
Let's do some music to amuse men in suits
And rock shows for twats
And crack in-jokes for stock brokers
So I'm supposed to apologize
'Cause I want a life with real flair
And you want to volunteer to sit in a wheelchair
'Cause it feels fair?
C'mon
You see, you say you're liberal
But really you'd stand aside as the cripple suffers
You'd rather strong market and
Business competition than justice
Jibbering nonsense
You feel smug because of your guilty conscience
When you're just another hypocrite rebel
Living in Sussex
And you're another privileged muppet bruv
It's clear you're twice as smug as me
You must be
In five years you'll inherit your daddy's company
Too bad
It must be humbling to know you had to come to me
To get a record made after eight years as a bum MC
Brother please
You're lucky to be in Mud Sun with me
That is so typically arrogant
I made that name
You just make the stage shows embarrassing
Otherwise you'd still be humming over fluffy dub beats
Talking about the people's struggle
While you're living comfortably
Man that's bloody weak
Better than weak blooded
Speaking on politics
So molly-coddled that
You run to mom for cuddles if
You get muddy feet
Now that's really funny
To someone who planted a million trees
While you were running with the druggy clique
However many thesises you read you'll never change
Just thinking of something clever to say
To entertain people like you
What a geek
Dissing my thesis 'cause you need
To reject anything different
From your illiterate speeches
I'm sick of it
Must have been an idiot to think
That this crew could do something different
With a prick in it like you
And your attitude to women isn't loose
It's disrespectful
I've never heard of such a blatant perv claiming intellectual
Hey Dizraeli, get some testicles
You don't seem to see yourself at all
No really, it's pathetic though
Insensitive insensible
You've got your girlfriend's feminism
Incapable of ever listening to anything
Up in your mouth like ventriloquism
Anything but your own position
And you're not defending those women
And when you're drunk
You're worse
You're detestable
You're just jealous 'cause I go home with them!
You think your penis is as big as your pedestal
Oh hey, here we go
It's weird though
You claim to champion the underdog
Here comes the preacher flow...
But you wander of to shag it
If you think its bum is hot
Come on
Once again you want to pretend
A woman is a victim
Why? 'Cause she has some fun in a bed
You're numb in the head, geez
'Cause a woman is sexy
Or someone is a victim just 'cause
someone has more and someone has less
Doesn't mean she wants your affection
Your infection
You wanna dumb a test
Just 'cause someone gets less
Than a hundred percent
Your me me pestering
Your erection
Or censor rap so it doesn't offend?
Don't tell me you're not a hater
Your justice is just this
The lowest common denominator
And yours is uncannily similar to Stalin and Hitler
And any other dictator that happens to fit in the picture
Your casual references to Nazism
Show disrespect to their actual victims
Just like your vapid activism
A version of reality
That purges the weak savagely
Whatever
A hell for the majority
A paradise for predators
Survival of the fittest right?
Survival of the six foot five
White male with a checkbook signed
By dad and a sick look in his eye
Man I'm sick of this ridiculous fight
Man I'm sick of these clashes
Your constant hypocritical victim's rights discussions
The farce this is becoming
Your insipid accusations of fascism
I'm ashamed to be associated
With an asshole that sticks to nothing
And predictable judgements
Who stands for nothing
But diluted establishment mutterings
I get physically sick
When I hear you riff on political subjects
And it is a fascist
That hides behind your liberal frontage
In fact
I'm finished with it
I'm finished with it
Man
Fuck this
|
||||
19. |
Fourth Cell
03:58
|
|||
The Fourth Cell
Such a damn shame
Five years down the road
And we're both exactly the same
You're still on your political campaign
And you're still chasing the champagne
Yeah, well now you're locked down
So I guess things can change
So what's your game plan mate?
I don't plan games
I plan to stay solid on it
I can still fight the revolution
With my ankles chained
So I should write...
That the movement hasn't lost it's father
It's gained a full time writer
And a martyr
You never were as good a finisher
As you were a starter
So now you go from rebel fighting to exercising
In the yard
Making license plates and letter writing
As long as I stay defiant
I stay fighting
As a symbol of the undying heart
Whether or not I'm behind bars
I still remain free
A prison guard can't chain me
That's what pains me
I hate to see you wasting this opportunity
To make your statement plainly
My statement is against the whole foundation
Of this state's edifice
Where the rebel takes the blame
And the rich take the benefits
That's what I'm saying
Can't you see how strange your message is?
If you plead not guilty
You're saying that the justice system is not only corrupt
You're degrading its existence
You're saying it's only in place to protect riches
You're promoting base anarchy at its most vicious
Civil disobedience is an ancient tradition
That goes back to Socrates and Plato
Engaged citizens who respect the rule of law
And want to change it
From within
Yeah
Martin Luther King's civil rights
Ghandi's hunger strikes
Nelson Mandela with apartheid
They were all fighting to shed a harsh light
On the injustice of the laws
Not to burn down the archives
If you plead not guilty
Then you're just another part time rebel
Showing disregard for life by trying to start riots
If I plead guilty I'm admitting committing what's not a crime
If a system is wrong at the root it's not wrong to defy it
And I do degrade the existence of this system of injustice
As much as the worm turns against the boot that crushes it
Some laws are valid
Yeah but this law's so far corrupted
It's just there to keep kings as kings
And us as subjects
And to protect the rich that run it
That's why I'm a dissident
If I plead guilty
I'm rejecting the possibility of something different
And you're rejecting all historical precedent
So the story I write
Is about the wasted potential
Of a glorious fight
But, you're right
These laws are disgusting
Yeah, I just wish you would engage them constructively
Instead of disruptively
But that's just me
And this is just me man
If it's principles at stake
If I'm going down
I'm going with my fists raised
Even if it is just symbolic
Great
We'll get that etched on your grave
And you can tell all your cellmates
That you're symbolic jail bait
Look our politics hit an obvious stale mate
I wanted to salvage a failed state
And you wanted Che's fate
But it's real late in the day to still debate
So I just wanted to say
If you decide to call in your supporters
To organize a voter drive
And get your political base fortified
I'll help you get it sorted
All right?
And in the same way
When you realize a failed state
Is better swept away than renovated
The rebel cells are waiting
And we'll still be making spaces
Where democracy actually happens
Day to day
And philosophy is born as actual action
I think your mind and your passion might help them
Just let me know and I'll make sure you're welcome
Damn
That's my one hour interview finished
In less than two minutes
So much for the rescue mission
Yeah true
Listen
Baba, here's my mom's number
Can you call her?
Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't see her
Say I love her
Of course brother
And Baba
Your article
Yeah?
Just tell it true
Will do
|
||||
20. |
BPNBC Four
01:33
|
|||
BPNBC Four
We interrupt BNPBC news' continuing coverage
Of Celebrity Lawsuits including tips on the latest
Cosmetic improvements of their boobs and lips
To bring you this exclusive
Earlier today in the criminal court of law
Dizraeli, the Rebel Cell leader
Stood in a prisoner's box and faced a judge
In response to an assortment of charges
When asked how he would like to plead
Dizraeli righteously denounced the court as a facade
And pronounced himself not-guilty on all counts
Like a common scoundral
He was given seventy consecutive life sentences
To be served in Glastonbury penitentiary
With the rest of his henchmen
It is also reported by a reliable source that
Dizraeli commanded the remaining members
Of his rebel faction
Be immediately disbanded
For lack of any realistic chances
The Canadian journalist Baba Brinkman
Who interviewed the prisoner
Prior to the Judge's conviction
Has apparently gone missing
And is wanted for questioning
And currently under suspicion
Of casting aspersions on the justice system
Right now
We return to Amy Winehouse Live
As hidden cameras follow her and her girlfriends
On a night out
To find out how it ends
Check tomorrow's Time Out
This is BNPBC News signing out
|
Baba Brinkman New York, New York
Canadian hip-hop with an intellectual bent, nothing but sexy beats and sumptuous brain food.
Streaming and Download help