[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
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