Absolute Power

[Chorus] Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane [Verse 1] In a scheme of livin' my life wasn't hard But as far as Britain goes, shit I practically starved Sleeping in a tracksuit, gas meter runnin' out Electric cut off as well, candles lightin' up the house Lookin' in my mother's eyes, I see how she feels The strain and the pain of just paying bills It ain't real, and thats how I grew like so many more And it is part of who I am, I am very sure You wanna know the rage I feel in my stomach Knowing my mum and dad split up when I was still in her stomach And not everything that happened I will put in sixteens But I will tell you enough so you will know what I mean My boy's mother got cancer the same time as mine But his mother died and mine survived The shit was fucked back then When I was like ten already had the mental strength, more than many grown men [Chorus] Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane [Verse 2] This was a couple of years after my step-dad left Did he really know the crazy mess that he left? 'Cause Mum's done recovered from the lumps in her neck But being poor and alone, couldn't cope with the stress Her and my big sis fought, so much so That Ni hadn't left school, when she left home I was 13 by now, still a little kid, innocent Next couple of years though would turn into a militant That is the result of no food in the fridge And every other day you getting searched by the pigs Plus these patronizing teachers don't want my grades sick Tryna emasculate me, yeah, turn me to a bitch And I don't mean a woman, please let me be clear I mean a spineless man because what do they fear More than a working class black male with a brain? When our energy is harnessed, everything changed Look at Pac, look at Marley, look at Hendrix, look at Garvey This is the potential that is wasted on a daily basis A racist, classist world that we live in Still we comin' from nothing but we educate millions [Chorus] Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane [Verse 3] I understand why it scares you, it's like how dare you Overcome obstacles that we have been careful To place in your way every step of the way In this so called democracy where kids get sprayed Blacks and the Asians, Turks and the chavs Crowded in council flats, living like ants Who's more confused than the poor white trash Talking the bullshit about they want their country back Never was yours, you should read more What they did to brown people they did to their own poor People's memories short, so much that I'm seeing Black and Asian kids cuss Eastern Europeans No pot to piss in makes competition I fail to see how this is an effective system Cats and dogs in America and Britain Eat better food than most of humanity We spend our technology only on killing How is this more than sophisticated savagery It's like it's said, the world is a stage Each person just an actor with a part to play Like the middle class kids, kids of the rich Have everything, but yet still they're pissed On coke and ketamine, strung out on heroin I ain't generalizing, look at the evidence [Chorus] Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane [Verse 4] Go to Glastonbury any year you will see Unlike carnival, it won't be crawling with police This is London, kids on the very next street Had a very different life experience from me In my experience they can't help but be smug After a lifetime of what they think's just good luck They're still more anxious and more thankless Unearned privilege weighs like an anchor That's why they copy what we do, tryna be what they not They will grow up though and get better jobs And maintain the system they claim that they hated But they can't burn it down they got a stake in this matrix Hip-hop is just a fad to them, you didn't know? But to us, this our living breathing soul And yeah they might backpack in South America Or even volunteer in an African village But all said and done, push comes to shove And shit hits the fan, they're middle class and British That's just how it is Most rich black people are just as full of shit So more concerned with their cars and jewels But most of the world's poor looks just like you So more concerned with their cars and jewels Most of the world's poor looks just like you [Chorus] Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane Absolute power corrupts absolutely But absolute powerlessness does the same It's not the poverty, it's the inequality We live with everyday that will turn us insane