[Big Brother Hakim]
Intellectual poverty is not the privilege of the ghetto
In terms of knowledge, everyone gets a slice of the pie
An individual approach, a desire to go up
A thirst for understanding, a thirst to learn the way of truth
Yeah, for sure, in life, there are many schools of thought
Just think before you choose the school of lying and thieving
It isn't lame to open a book
On the roads of knowledge, you will fulfil your destiny
[Lino]
Young man, become what you are, not what they want you to be
A regular in the drama with a gun for his only accessory
There's nothing funky about getting killed in your teens
The real calibres are faith and knowledge
Never pimp out your soul, I quote
There's no colour that can put you off the road to success
You have to know who you are, stay screwed in
Never curse the hole you fell in, but what pushed you in
[A.P.]
Take my verse as a message, be attentive
Then take your ashtray and stub out your spliff
I didn't come to give you a lecture, but to make you have a think
Lift up your head, quit focusing on being a beauty or a beast, because one day it all stops
These days, things keep going faster and faster
Too many brothers and sisters act emptily, looking for trouble and provoking each other
Think about it big guy, about one day turning the page
On your past, think about lifting up your head, you can do that at any age
[Kammouze]
For all the mothers who brought us into the world
All the fathers, whose hands are hurting from years of doing inhuman work
All their sacrifices that we are too dumb to see when we're young
Did they teach us to respect them by using a gun?
No! Do you prefer to be feared or to be loved?
How many died while they were testing it out?
Analyse yourself alone, and your future
Lift up your head and fight to become what you want to
[Blacko]
Hoodlum, stop feeling sorry about your fate
Lift up your head, look, no it's not too late
Tell yourself, anyone who wants to can get out of this
Get out of the ghetto and of these bad fates
You know you have the choice, your life's what you make of it
Wrecking your future, when you get there it hurts so much
Man, my message comes from the heart
Pass it on to your brothers and sisters, Blacko's here to sing
[Disiz La Peste]
I'm here to repeat what I've always said for ten years
It's Disiz aka Fifty Central African Francs, the nice guy
Be free, or die trying to be
I glorify truth, if you do well in school, I'm with you, don't worry
I wandered around, proud to be on the quest
For the well-being of our beings, I want to be
Like Malcolm, Martin or Gandhi
Not Tony, I like my fellow man and I'll say it again
[Manu Key]
From keeping on doing nothing, troubles have hit so many brothers
Why not move forward together and start businesses like the Tang Brothers
We got no heritage, just concrete walls
Even after failure, never let yourself hit the wall
You started at rock bottom, you got to aim high, that's what our efforts are for
Never let yourself collapse like Corsair
Our words have a message, that's why we're sharing them
[Passi]
Same vintage, same life, rise above it, get out of the street
It's the rush, we fear no-one with our Ericssons
Nothing is perfect, it's true, it's like respect
Strength is on the inside, not just a breeze-block thing
The same tensions animate us, the same animal instinct
Defence is not spelt H-I-G-H
Strength is putting up barriers, resisting, growing and excelling
[Habiba]
Because they take away our chances at the very start
We want to believe even more
We know we're rank outsiders
Even if they think your dream's their worst nightmare
Keep your hope alive, we will choose our paths
[Eloquence]
I break the ice, hello, vibe? Rap is the message
So I raise my fist in the air for the wise
Former brat, turn the page, African through and through
Big up to all the kids who study and work
Better off with a good CV than a big gun, because guns jam
But a steady job sets you off on the right track
Avoid problems brothers
A man's strength is his brain not his revolver
[Pit Baccardi]
I'm here to tell the kids, there's more than the game if you wanna join the elite
Guys allow themselves to die in pain, saying the world's set in getting stoned
Maybe I mastered rhymes, I'm not the type for getting up early
But now I can stay out when they tighten the vice
Just say, they live better, but we have nothing less
Make the machine work, let them see the gold mine the ghetto is hiding
Get up and fight, that's our hymn
Stop taking it, we are the future leaders
[Jerry Da Funk Killa]
Too many exits, God bless the births
Let the kids listening to me give a real meaning to their life
African tragedy, the world remained stoical
The oppressor takes his time to establish our historic truth
Without even throwing us a line
Let the kids from the ghetto lift up their heads, you're allowed to
Born in the slums, you got too much weight on your shoulders
Keep your feet on the ground and stay out of prison
[Jacky]
Ghetto, child of the ghetto
This piece is dedicated to you
We come from the very bottom, we want to rise to the top
I broke my chains, I sawed through the bars
People who don't want to do anything always find excuses to fall asleep
People who want to succeed always find a way to get through
[Busta Flex]
I'm not the kind to be cool with disrespectful kids
Who swagger around and think X-rated is affectionate
Kid, lift up your head, even your heart is defective
A round of applause when you come out of the closed, that's what you want
Don't try to go faster than the music
Be confident, take your time, it will spare you pain,
Troubles which you ought not even to be confrontin'
Lift up your head, it's the best way to get back up, yo.
[Le Rat Luciano]
Crank up the radio in your car to the maximum
Let the world hear the message that death on a suspended sentence
Only our fortune can make a difference for us
I came to say that a man, a real man always chooses
And that he's prepared for the worst when he's playing for his family's honour
That as soon as a kid screws up, a gun runs to his rescue
That six million people are living in poverty today
[Teddy Corona]
Let the kids raise up their structure
A signature, like African armour
If you don't listen to me you're gonna run straight into the wall
That's for sure, it's damage limitation, fasten your seatbelt
You want to be a boss and succeed? Then study
Do the math, keep your feet on the ground
Engage your conscience, be conscious
Our lives on earth are burning in the fire of carelessness
[Jango Jack]
You, ghetto kid, lift up your head
The street hurts, you know that, it made you slip a lot of times
Crazy stuff is going on in your life
Grab life by both hands, do it, study alone
Yo, I want intellectuals
Young prodigy from the projects? Prodigy from the projects
I want guys who are ready for sciences and politics
On the top, representing my hood
[Diam's]
I'm one of those lost kids that the world beats hands down
That the world tortures with bombs and hard knocks
But what do you think?
When hurt is haunting you, and it troubles you
When you're alone and you understand it, you lie to yourself, you're there alone
Faced with yourself, you think of your faith, you think of your mom
Because you're alone faced with your losses like every night
Girl, you're depressed, get a clear idea in your head
To take you forward when your spirits are shrinking back
[Leeroy]
Stay dignified but tough
Do better, then do it, too many venomous souls and hateful minds
This hate makes me sorry, it keeps us stuck in the second division
Too many disgusting minds, my only wish is to see a cease-fire
We have the same chance as them, know that
We took so many bruises. but so much the better, that will help us to challenge the envious
Whenever you want, I rise to each test
And when attacks are raining down on me, I can't help but take it to God
[Ol' Kainry]
This goes out to my little brothers, hiding drinking in corners
Believing that Failure is a place full of blacks and Arabs
Preferring to respect the 'boss' and not their fathers
Faster than Christine Arron, everyone on your feet like ******
I want to see hoodlums becoming judges, doctors and lawyers
There's more than movies, football, crime and hip-hop for us
I got lost without thinking along the paths
Lift up, in honour of my dad on the construction sites
[Matt Houston]
Bro, raise up your guard, stay a strong man
Bro, get to learning, not always hanging around outside
Bro, think of the little ones who see you as a model
So lift up your head
[Kool Shen]
If you want to climb up, get your claws out
Get the contracts out, understand fast
That when you climb high, that's when they hang you
If you don't have common sense, get help, compensate
Social climbing requires awareness
And you decline the invitation
Don't forget to take the thorns off of the roses you picked quickly
Down here that's the principle, I have no proof but I encourage you
to never believe that failure is part of a ritual, because it's not true
[Kery James]
Ok, I want the kids from the projects to lift up their heads
We aren't condemned to fail
It's not inevitable, ghetto kids can get there too
With twice the willpower we can climb and reach the summit