KALAKUTA — KARRYS KONTINUITY — Remix

Lyrics

BURG CITY RECORDS IN POETIC COLLABORATION WITH THE JB STUDIOS presents: Kalakuta Republican [STREET DON WAKE] JUJU — low transmission: ​Ooooooh! ​BLACK RHYTHM ​& XOULFUL BLUES — The Blueprint of Di Juju Xound.. ELDER VOICE — LOW, GRAVELLY, STREET-WISE: Before Lagos street get speaker, before DJ turn up the amplifier, before dem put resistance for vinyl, Mama don gather women for the struggle. Abeokuta market — na there the matter start. Woman carry basket, but na nation she carry for heart. [I — GOD BEFORE THE STREET] GOD before the hustle, GOD before the bustle, GOD before the struggle wey the powerful dey muscle. GOD before the streetlight, GOD before the daylight, GOD before the wrong turn wey we dey correct by insight. Creator of the cadence, Controller of the seasons, You know the people's pain and You understand the reasons. You see Mama for the market, you see Papa for the road, You see the poor man pushing one impossible load. Before we hail the hero, make we hail the One wey gives breath. Before we sing of struggle, make we honour Life beyond death. Before we shout resistance, make our conscience understand: The dignity of human beings no dey depend on any man. STREET CHOIR: GOD before the groove! CROWD: GOD before the groove! STREET CHOIR: GOD before the groove! ALL: And the people go move! [II — MAMA FELA: AFRICAN WOMAN ORIGINAL] Mama no be background. Mama na foundation. Mama turn frustration to a people's congregation. Abeokuta women, market women, women of determination, turn one tax wahala to a national conversation. Dem calculate the levy, but dem no calculate the anger. Dem see the market woman, but dem underestimate her power. Dem think say silence mean say everybody don agree. Till the women gather voices and the whole town hear the plea. Basket for the head, but the fire for the chest. Dem carry their petitions; dem no come to beg for rest. Palace gate, long wait, strong faith, no retreat, women stand their ground on her feet. Organise-the-market, mobilise-the-masses, challenge-the-system, make the old injustice answer. Petition-with-position, determination-with-precision, women turn resistance to a historical decision. No be ordinary gathering, no be ordinary meeting, na the people's heartbeat turn political beating. From the market to the palace, from the palace to the page, Mama's courage leave a footprint wey dey travel through the age. CHOIR: Mama Fela! CROWD: African Woman Original! CHOIR: Mama Fela! CROWD: Her courage monumental! CHOIR: Mama Fela! CROWD: The memory consequential! Saxophone dey question wetin power dey conceal. Bassline dey remind you how the ordinary people feel. Talking drum dey testify, trumpet dey reply, while the rhythm-guitar dey ask the system, “Tell us why?” Long groove, strong truth, no rush, let am breathe, make the message reach the mind before the body leave. Dance first, think next, then examine wetin you hear, because a beat fit entertain and still confront your fear. Anikulapo — name wey carry its own declaration, Fela use the stage as a platform for confrontation. No be every protest carry placard for the hand; sometimes na song dey make a whole society understand. Make the street quiet. Make the talking drum speak. The soldiers enter Kalakuta. The compound burn. The people scatter. The wound enter the family. And Mama — the woman wey teach resistance — suffered injuries after being thrown from a window during the attack. No rhyme fit make that pain small. No groove fit make that wound disappear. No headline fit replace the human being. No history fit remain complete if we remove the mother. Bring chair for the elder wey still get story for mouth. Bring chair for the children wey go carry the truth go south. Bring chair for the ancestor. Bring chair for the unborn. Bring chair for the voice wey history leave forlorn. No gatekeeping memory. No monopoly on pain. No one person own the struggle. No one family own the rain. Share the chair, share the air, share the truth, show the care. Bring the bread, raise the head, honour the living, remember the dead. Abeokuta to Lagos, the rhythm cross the nation, Benin carry memory, the street carry narration. From the market to the palace, from the compound to the stage, we dey carry Mama's courage to another generation. BURG CITY RECORD — carry the Charter! CROWD: CARRY AM! JB STUDIOS — preserve the sound! CROWD: PRESERVE AM! KALAKUTA — remember the wound! CROWD: REMEMBER AM! AFRO-JUJU — keep the Continuum! CROWD: CONTINUE AM! Possibility-to-creativity, creativity-to-memory, memory-to-the-record, record-to-the-century. Research-and-preserve-am, reference-and-revere-am, carry-forward-history so the future fit inherit am. Mama-to-the-movement, movement-to-the-message, message-to-the-people, people-to-the-next-age. From the market to the street, from the street into the song, the Charter carry memory when the years dey move along.. KALAKUTA — KARRYS KONTINUITY. GOD IS iN THE WORK AS AFRO-JUJU CONTINUES..