Akala - Absolute Power lyrics

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane

In a scheme of livin' my life wasn't hard
But as far as britain goes
Shit I practically starved
Sleeping in a track suit
Gas meter runnin' out
Electric cut off as well
Candles lightin' up the house
Lookin' in my momma'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
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

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane

This was a couple years after
My step dad left
Did he really know the crazy
Mess that he left?
Cos mum done' recovered from the
Lumps in her neck
Being poor and alone just couldn't
Cope with the stress
And I earn my big sis for
So much soul that night hattan left school
When she left home i was thirteen by now
Still a little kid, innocent
Next couple years though would turn
Him 'to a militant
That is the result of no food in the fridge
And every other day being
Searched by the pigs
Fuck these patronizing teachers
Don't want my grades 'slip
Trynna' emasculate me
Yeah turn me 'to a bitch
And I don't mean a woman
Please lemme be clear
I mean a spineless man 'cos what do they fear
Than a working class black male with a brain
When our energy is harnessed, every changed
Look at 'Pac look at Marley look
At Hendrix look at Garvey
This is the potential that is
Wasted on a daily basis in this racist
Classist world that we live in
Still we comin' from nothing
But we educate millions

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane

I understand why it scares you
Its 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
And who's more confused than
The poor white trash
Spouting the bullshit about they
Want their country back
It never was yours, you should read more
What they did to brown people they
Did to their own poor
Peoples memories short
So much that I'm seeing black and Asian kids
Cussing 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 then most of humanity
We spend our technology only on killing
How is this more than sophisticated savagery
Its like it's said, the world is a stage
Each person's just an actor with
A part to play like the middle class kids
- kids of the rich
Have everything, but yet still they pissed
On coke and ketamine, strung out on heroin
I ain't generalizing, look at the evidence

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane

Go to Glastonbury any year you will see
Unlike carnival it won't be
Crawling with police this is London
The kids on the very next street
Had a very different life experience than 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 weigh's 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
They will 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 hit's 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 worlds poor
Looks just like you
So more concerned with their cars and jewels
But most of the worlds poor
Looks just like you

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
But absolute powerlessness does the same
Its not the poverty
Its the inequality that we live with
Everyday that will turn us insane