I said it before
I never let the Mic magnetize me no more
I could do that as Rakim was doing it [‘it’ echoes out] K'naan (Ft. Matt Cappy & Yasiin Bey) – Prayer Song
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This is a line from one of Eric B. and Rakim’s most well known songs, Eric B is President.
K'naan recites this to show that even when he didn’t understand English he would still recite this and other rhymes in an attempt to learn how to rap. (He talks about this further in Nothing To Lose and People like me).
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He wonders if the playwrights can still write about the beautiful sights of his home, or is his home too ugly now due to war?
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He is wondering if the people he knows are dead or alive and whether or not the murder rate has increased.
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He is wondering if Somalia/Africa has recovered from its colonization by the Europeans yet or if it is still in limbo.
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He wonders if anything has changed in Somalia, are they still sick, is there still killing? There is word play with “Poppin the corn”, popcorn makes the same sound when its popping as a gun makes when it is firing, so he is wondering if they are still letting guns off.
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How is the love in somalia? Is it waving like the ocean in the morning? A play on words, he is saying love is like the ocean’s waves, (it keeps coming and going).
I head with refuges and niggers ain't share right K'naan – Blues for the Horn
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He is saying America is not all it is said to be, even though many people say it’s luxurious, it still has ghettos and crime.
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He hopes that the people causing the pain and misery will burn in hell.
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He feels as though the media [hollywood] does not put the right information out about what is going on, they just stereotype all Somalis as being thugs.
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He can not believe that after all this time the country is still run by gun toting warlords.
