THE KALAKUTA Charter — Remix

Lyrics

BURG CITY RECORDS IN POETIC COLLABORATION WITH THE JB STUDIOS presents: THE KALAKUTA CHARTER — REMIX NEW BiNi BE BRiNGiNG A NEW BEGiNNiNG Before street get hustle, GOD don dey. Before man wear crown, GOD don know the way. Before police siren, before soldier parade, before politician promise wey tomorrow go fade. GOD before the groove, GOD before the grind, GOD wey see wetin dey front and wetin hide behind. GOD see Mama for market with her basket on her head, GOD know how much remain after dem collect her bread. No be every hero wear uniform for chest. Some dey sell pepper, some dey fight for the rest. Some dey raise pikin, some dey challenge the throne. Some dey carry the struggle when dem leave dem alone. Oya, gather! Who say history na only wetin dem write for paper? Who say when dem burn house, na there the story go end? Who say Mama wey fight for people no deserve chair for the table? Make una hear am! From Abeokuta market to Lagos mainland, from Benin city to every street wey memory still dey stand—Bassline for the belly, saxophone for the brain, talking drum for memory, make the message remain. Rhythm guitar dey chop like the hustler wey no rest, every instrument dey testify, every chorus make request. No be every revolution start with gun for hand, sometimes na one stubborn song wey people understand. Sometimes na one lyric wey expose the hidden game, sometimes na one performer wey refuse to mute his name. WHO CARRY THE MATTER? CROWD: MAMA FELA! STREET CHOIR: WHO STAND WITH THE WOMEN? CROWD: MAMA FELA! STREET CHOIR: WHOSE STORY WE DEY TELL? CROWD: AFRICAN WOMAN ORIGINAL! STREET CHOIR: WHO MAKE THE RHYTHM QUESTION POWER? CROWD: FELA ANIKULAPO! ALL: From the mother to the son, from the market to the drum, when the truth enter the rhythm— MAKE THE WHOLE STREET HUM! [DOUBLE-TIME — THE CONTINUITY STACK] Research-am, record-am, review-am before you report-am, check the source, trace the course, make the public understand-am. Preserve-am, reference-am, never twist the evidence, history without memory become vulnerable to negligence. Culture-no-be-costume, memory-no-be-decoration, family-no-be-name-only, charter-no-be-quotation. Project-the-process, preserve-the-progress, continuity no be slogan if you no protect the records! [DOUBLE-TIME — THE CONTINUITY STACK] Research-am, record-am, review-am before you report-am, check the source, trace the course, make the public understand-am. Preserve-am, reference-am, never twist the evidence, history without memory become vulnerable to negligence. Culture-no-be-costume, memory-no-be-decoration, family-no-be-name-only, charter-no-be-quotation. Project-the-process, preserve-the-progress, continuity no be slogan if you no protect the records! [DOUBLE-TIME — THE CONTINUITY STACK] Research-am, record-am, review-am before you report-am, check the source, trace the course, make the public understand-am. Preserve-am, reference-am, never twist the evidence, history without memory become vulnerable to negligence. Culture-no-be-costume, memory-no-be-decoration, family-no-be-name-only, charter-no-be-quotation. Mama Fela, we call your name, not for empty praise, not for temporary fame. We call your name because the record must be clear: a woman stood for justice, and her story must stay here. Teacher of the people, organiser of the women, your courage no disappear because the years keep running. From Abeokuta struggle to the wound of Kalakuta, your history get chapters we must preserve together. No reduce the woman to the mother of a star. No reduce the struggle to a wound we view from far. Let the market women stand with their own identity, let the archive give their courage its full visibility. Chair for the elder wey preserve the account! Chair for the young ones wey go make the future count! Chair for the worker wey dey hustle for bread, chair for the ancestor wey we carry for head. Chair for the child wey dey ask, “Wetin happen?” Give am the record, make the knowledge start happen. No gatekeeping memory. No monopoly history. No turning people's struggle to commercial mystery. SHARE THE CHAIR! SHARE THE AIR! SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE! SHOW THE CARE! Make we no rush this chapter. Make we no dress the wound with dance. 1977. The soldiers enter Kalakuta. Violence scatter the compound. Fire consume the building. The place wey people call home become a place of surround. From Abeokuta market to the Lagos night, from Benin city bounce to the future light, we carry the Charter with a purpose and a plan: preserve the memory, understand the human. BURG CITY RECORDS — carry the Charter! THE JB STUDIOS — preserve the sound! JUJU’S MAGNUM POETRIUM — let the poetry resound! AFRO-JUJU CONTINUUM — keep the connection profound! GOD before the groove, people before the crown, memory before the silence, truth before renown. Mama Fela in the record, Fela's music in the air, Kalakuta at the table, with a chair for all who care.