I met this cutie from Sudan We started speaking regular Family from Khartoum but her views were mostly secular and the Black diaspora is scattered ‘round the globe Each of us is looking for the part that takes us home She showed me Ethiopia I took her round the South Reintroduced our mouths to curry and Dragon Stout Guinness Punch became the flavour that helped us to reminisce I started growing locs but they started out as twists The Kiss of death is When you get a message And it’s your ex’s Number on the screen But that’s existential and so I overcame it Monogamy’s for losers till I flipped the script and changed it I would be brainless Know I mean bananas Plaintain in the pan, holidays in the Bahamas She’s my Old School, Choosey Lover, Gotta Give It Up From the bottom of the oceans Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Hold me down like you weigh a ton Never mind my immature tongue ‘Cause I told you, you are my precious one Till the sky grows old and the moon sees the sun Hold me down like you weigh a ton Never mind my immature tongue ‘Cause I told you, you are my precious one Till the sky grows old and the moon sees the sun 1 Model behaviour You are my saviour It was quite late The South-East sunset aligns with the shade Just caught the 14 from Somerset Bay If I may (Yeah) You are so special Got me a little unsettled Let me take a step back Assess the rest, I confess I wasn’t at my best, I wasn’t at my best 2 Then I saw you Writing haikus for two Autumn leaves fall through Settling in dew Calm for a second A refuge from the blues Hold me down like you weigh a ton Nevermind my immature tongue ‘Cause I told you, you are my precious one Till the sky grows old and the moon sees the sun Hold me down like you weigh a ton Nevermind my immature tongue ‘Cause I told you, you are my precious one Till the sky grows old and the moon sees the sun I don’t know who I am yet But I know we could be permanent We just need to take time We just need to take time (Yeah) Hey How you doing? You know I, still think about you sometimes? It’s cool if you don’t Maybe we could, hook up sometime? No pressure but (Yeah) You are my saviour I’ll be taking time, yeah Model behaviour I won’t do this right

Yeah, get her on the phone Speak to her son You know I miss home A story about this boy from the South Mummy was out, night shift to keep the house No handouts, no Dad round Stay home, do homework Like mum do, move back home If not— You could regret my son He who does not love Abides in death It was heaven sent I was never meant For the schoolyard bully For the toolbox money Did it on my own She couldn’t read chemical equation I couldn’t eat the bone You boy not grown No, I feel alone (No) You have your Mamma, and that is all you need Look at your power, and the way that you exceed Took my weakness, and made a strength out of me African solution Citizen’s pollution Tie a shoe string and Survive by the rules You’re a fool, just go back to school Or I’ll send you on plane, give your uncles a call Nighttime walks, antecedent oratory Sing a song of dreamland Forever purgatory He took you from your family and settled you in North And then you put me on your back and gave him a divorce What would you think if you heard this song? My present Mother, my hero unsung Yeah, get her on the phone Speak to her son You know I miss home You know I miss home Hey Mama Hey Papa Coming home, on the road, in the dark Past six, on the phone, in the park Coming home Coming home Hey Mama Hey Papa Coming home, on the road, in the dark Past six, on the phone, in the park Coming home Coming home He was raised by his mum in the ‘burbs A woman who was liberal with words Liberal with teachings and preachings she’d lecture Still he’d never listen to her endless conjecture Sucked sugar cane in the summer with his Granddad Found what he needed the freedom in acres papers were made for others Never him Still he found warmth in the darkest of kin Skin baked black but he bore this with pride Hands cracked dry till the day he died He moved to the south and created a life One wife and a child with enough to provide He laughed at the people who moved with the times He moved with the tide Watched it wash the shore sweetly and dreamt of the life that he’d left Awoke to a new day calves in the pen Community close with innumerable friends The taste of amok with steamed rice and curry Cold beer brew in his hammock no worries Laid back Way back Mac daddy Still slim waisted in loose fit khakis A canopy of trees on the way to his home Green palette gate that he painted alone Clay dirt track hidden by the mangroves A humble abode he’d imbued with his soul Head full of kindness heart full of light Though he never read prose nor needed to write Those with the least are the kindest he thought As he shared pork with the orphans and poor Sliced fresh fruit for the kids on his stoop Blended a batch then he served it as juice Show me the proof that he didn’t live well Surrounded by loved ones with stories to tell Kampuchea (Kampuchea) Hey Mama Hey Papa Coming home, on the road, in the dark Past six, on the phone, in the park Coming home Coming home Hey Mama Hey Papa Coming home, on the road, in the dark Past six, on the phone, in the park Coming home Coming home Home is where the heart is Look at where we started (Yeah, yeah) Home is where the heart is Look at where we started (Yeah) Home is where the heart is Look at where we started (I’m sorry Mama) Home is where–

Uh Uh Uh Yo I’m sippin’ cha tea, watching TV in Panjab And writing in my book of rhymes All the lines fit in softly Leather-bound trees Raindrops that accost They say the clouds are wandering But to me they seem lost St. Josephine bless She smoke cess to cease stress 4AM blues, I walk the streets to keep rest And see the next man With his troubles in his hand (Troubles) Time running out, with his sneaks under the sand Sanskrit verse poetry, correct mechanistic I pray thee connect if I appear chauvinistic I’ve got Forster thoughts, Mandela action-ism Siddartha on my mind, as I recite Sufi-isms It’s a schism (Uh) Schism (What) Schism (Yeah) Schism (Yo) The line between time is underwritten And self-fulfilling prophecy is the end of the beginning If astral wisdom forces you To think beyond your means Then maybe you weren’t destined To live upon your knees But die standing on your feet To walk the hidden path The chlorophyll is seeping out the blades within the grass To seek the air and water from the lines within this, track Dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead I am all about awakenings despite the fact I’m dead They laid my soul to rest and placed bouquets around my bed Asphyxiation was the cause but my killer showed no remorse Plus the courts acquitted him he suffered no recourse Please Someone avenge me show the media I had meaning Before they tell the world I built my life round contravening or never gave a fuck about a human beings feelings They propagate I prophesies Always knew that I would die and in my waking moments I envisioned my demise the scenes would grow more vivid when I rest my head at night Understand it’s just unbearable The weight of this will Like Daniel Dennet said it Sam Harris disagreed Contesting to his audience religion just misleads Astaghfirullah I curse him clutching my Quran Allah will only guide me and steer me away from harm And if he didn’t it was written That’s why I’m in the dirt My presence wasn’t needed so he plucked me from the earth I never feared it My end was nearing I’m ashen faced Ashy knees as a yute I watch my world become a blur Depictions of my past and present Things yet to occur Spectral leanings - I witnessed visions like I’m Philip K The Neuromancer Rasta now watch me as I decay Turn to dust and dissipate I slowly drift away Dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead Calum is dead

My grandfather was a farmer in ’58 The pain of war and genocide kept him awake Rolling hills of Rwanda would force ya To cry when you abandon your border This disorder Caused mainly by the Belgians before Who would divide us by, shorter and tall It's fucked up Now I'm here, it's the fall, it's the Autumn My mother disconnected and forced to Reminisce on the time she was born, in Another land, another hand, another cancer Another ranch, New cattle, new battles New cattle, new battles My grandfather, navy in ’18 His country, saw it fall into smithereens Noble ties, noble lies, noble family Until he found himself standing in ’33 Potsdamer Platz, Prinz Regent Street Dictators don't assimilate symmetry Don't take my kindness too literally ‘Cause I'll comply and apply to my history! Real killers real Real feelings feel Don't make me instil my biology But it's too late I just can't wait To be home To be alone To be atoned As we all do As we ought to As we all do As we ought to

I'm a testament to treachery A tribute to betrayal A study of the things that we should learn to loath in males There's a litany of women that I've failed and deserted Lied to and misled but it's damaged me instead Like Andita, Renee, Jayni and Marisa Arianna flew in from Turin to see me as I slept, she rang me and she wept I told her not to cry for me Aissa did the same and then she told me she would die for me Tears upon the pillow Sorrow seems to follow me Giulia, I need to know you're hearing this apology I should've come to Naples when you summoned me I'm sorry I'm just a silly mug, a coward that's the cause, and if I ever marry it'll end in a divorce _______ did me dirty, brought me close then dropped me out I told her 'bout my father's cancer then I watched her bounce And the truth is, that was ruthless, but she was smart She'd known me for a while and clocked I wasn't up to par Probably, Ela was the one for me But I never settled cos I'm fearful of monogamy Kept her at a distance and I placed her on the shelf Despite the fact she touched me in a way I'd never felt it broke my heart to learn that she had found somebody else But these are more my choices than the cards that I was dealt Unless we let go Unless we let go Unless we let go I promise I will be All you need Tell me what you lied about Tell me how you sinned Tell me for the reason I envisioned my revenge Unforgivable, unforeseeable, engage Lock horns, be aggressive Fall away and age The cycle still remains This life will always change I try to stay away from saying that Always is a curse Forever’s even worse Don’t you see the power of your words My hurt Is the same as yours It furrows through the pores Cocoa butter leaves a stench But it makes amends For all the times of discourse And courses to ascent I’m honest I comprehend I deserve to vent My valleys are a peak So don’t forget to speak when, I send my intents On a piece of linen cloth and stain it with my pen Yes, and yes, and no, but press Against my skin, I sow The seeds of liver-spotted tongue of the coral bird The feeling of the sun is more than shepherds to a herd 6 feet above the bed, 6 reasons I have said Insatiable and colourful, my elephant is dead He spoke so many languages, and moved inside his awe But now he’s in a cage, it’s painful to ignore A captive to myself, what am I living for? What am I living for? This love This love This love This love This love This love

Something in the morning light Emerges when I seek it The sweetest briefest Glimpse I've been imbued with - infused with. My bloods a little warmer in the North I made a break for the mountains and still traverse this terrain I followed Karen and Dai they asked me if I spoke Thai I'm not referring to people I mean I'm personal with tribes They eyed me up with suspicion an elder took me aside and then explained to me briefly that he would act as my guide I ate papaya and peanut Sipped roselle from a cup Went from pardon and please to hong nam yunai and krup In the presence of peasants I saw my life was a lie and so the fabric I'd woven was deconstructed in Pai I used to whisper I was bad under my breath on my bike but now I meditate in temples in the wavering light I gazed upon the mural mesmerised by the message In the weeks and months that passed I gave away my possessions I was born on Thursday morning that's the year of the mouse and so I struck the bell unequally to cancel my doubts I used to flout tradition readily but steadily embraced it like the warmest welcome home after a night on the road we had to flee the mountains quickly they'd have killed us in droves I took a bus and my bike Settled down in Kalaw met with Ah Sin Cardima and helped him rescue the poor I tied the longyi round my waist and shaved my head with head precision No religion just enlightened ones plus Calum is dead Smoke banana and tobacco leaves it went to my head The air was thick with spice I watched the scars on his scalp He grinned at me with malice so I started to doubt I saw the moon in the day against the bluest of skies Youngers overtake at speed I feel they're ready to die A rusty dot against the green he lived alone in his hut He said he didn't have a son his palms were cool to the touch He needed me to help and I had eyes he could trust I worked the land for a month So his chilli could grow Harvest coffee in the highlands Eating ban mhi and bô Sweet potato in the soil Cocoa grows in the trees Split the shell and taste the middle Sip the freshest of tea I watched a dozen doves descend They fell to the earth Iridescent like an angel that had longed to return. Ancient carvings on the riverbed My mothers second son She said she saw me in the distance way before this life had come Came alive in ’88 But London dulled me so I left And plus the dreams I used to hold were now eroded by regrets Flower farmer in my former life I feel that was my calling.... Oooh ah Ooh ah Oooh ah Ooh ah Oooh ah Ooh ah Oooh ah Ooh ah Oooh ah Ooh ah Oooh ah Ooh ah

I came up where the forest meets the beach front Where the weather would get wetter every season And our tears don't dry because we lost some Lauryn ain't the only that's screaming lost ones Boys, Haydar, Victor, the set Michael, Pietros, Mehret always stressed Troubles for our mothers, sacrifice, struggles If only they had heard this before they took the plunge Mother, welcome to the city of the restless Where you sons ain't shown no respect But, we would take all that we could get So, our people don't feel all the pressure Sometimes I wonder 'bout the colour of my skin And then I see it's what defines me as a King The streets are heavy with the chromosome of crime But we're destined for the greatness, so bless us with the time Bless us with the time Bless us with the time Stray bullet, the paramedic pulled it From a 6-year-old boy's body at his school The cloud feels heavy, the rain fools all And clatters to the concrete like the poor boy's skull Poor boys His name was Adu, his mother's only son They slipped away from darkness to run into the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun (sun sun sun sun sun) Fire, burning inside my eyes Power don't take me alive I was, just taking a ride I was just, taking my time Fire, burning inside my eyes Time. Don't take me a night I was, just taking a ride I was just, taking my ride Then I moved, new scene, same summer Suburban streets, white teeth, soul crush English lesson, no words, no grammar Brown skin, boy thin, don't touch 9/11, stunned and wondering, what life was all about If it was wonderful, it wasn't this, preposterous And extra fits for melancholy counterfeits I used to kiss, and never tell I wasn't well, I couldn't tell, my hunger fell And so I fall, my progress stall, my brothers' mourn, my mother's scorn for daughters' pain How can I resurrect and paint a picture, now in retrospect I never knew my father, but I knew that it was harder to discover Now I'm stuck in a dilemma To endeavour, or to sever 22, but I feel my life is ending I wear black shades tailor made just for me The single signet that you see is my accessory Presently I'm heavenly In the place I left But I wonder if they love me or the titles I've possessed London attitude South yute Fully grown Act the same with my set as when I am alone the people in-my circle have a darker soul - baby I'm the golden child Or that's how it feels Dropped a pinky on my lunch and didn't pay the bill Spoke to Jordan in the East where He told me I could make it Little did I know the things that I would be forsaking A prophet in my younger years, my peers are in my past As to my present circumstance I keep them in the dark I wonder if they recognise me close or from afar (Far, far) Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go Tell me how you know me and where we go

I'm a God in certain circles word to Yahweh and the highest The prophecies depicted me as pious So I read Ecclesiastes and Gilgamesh Sumar to the Hadith, but nothing in the holy books of scripture brought me peace I haven't slept in weeks and now I see hallucinations Beware the undercover cos they're at the demonstrations Have it on authority they're hear to stop minorities some are them are black so let's examine the dichotomy: The unity of people is the factor that they fear so they cuff us up in custody and then we disappear How many have to die or be disabled by detectives, until the population understands that they're oppressive? Shamer left a message when he told Carl had passed I called him back the details of the murder broke my heart It brought me to my knees I pray for those deceased Dommi, Umar, Stefan, Gavin Brown I've seen a clutch of parents put their children in the ground It changes you I'm colder than the times I was youngsterwhen we used to ride around making reckless proclamations until I read I read the book revelations, I swear to Jesus Christ it showed me every life was sacred Even though religion paved the way for Africa's enslavement They brandished bibles readily then chained us on the boats I wonder if my people ever really learned to cope Did they cling to hope? I wanna grip this 9 Then I speak to Recko and I watch my world's align Sometimes I wonder why they hate us we are so despised inspire vitriol from every individual I’m Malcolm, pre Mecca returned and told the world I died and still we're demonised Crucified harangued and hassled And that ain’t the half of it They victimise the blacks the amongst you And then dismiss it Publicise we’re paranoid I’m not a prick though I simmer with the hate of hundreds Assimilated But untethered and I'm stateless I wonder....