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Klanhattan KlanVillage Mixtape

by Kevlexicon

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    kevlexicon.com

    Klanhattan KlanVillage Mixtape

    why are we all broke? Maskini everywhere. At a time when income inequality is at its highest in the USA since the 1960s, police are tear gasing schoolchildren in Kenya, and economic elite accountability is unheard of, had to do this mixtape. This thoughts you can’t say while having a job, okay, I’ll be that guy. Seein the impact of Mau Mau Kambi & Ukoo Flani in Nairobi & Mombasa in 2011-2012 made clearer the stakes of the economic violence I was already familiar with, growing up in the village. That violence complacent middle classes can afford to ignore, and global business elites maintain for their own exclusive benefit. recording the tape in Kenya, I went with the flow, kinda findin my voice, guided by guys like Gas Fya2, Washamba Wenza, BlackGzas, Audio Kusini. There was a voice in my head, I played it safe, stuck to references. was still learnin how to do it. then “hip hop” in usa since i been back and the return to relative poverty [livin like a yuppie in kenya, funds ran out quik], situations got me frustrated with the state of affairs here & globally.

    So I took inspiration from the more historical “conscious” rappers in Kenya & put some of my own ideas & experiences in here. I wanted to go farther, “speak out of turn” like the Senegalese guys from Keurgui Crew. I wanted the tape to be the voice me and people from my class background didn’t have, weren’t allowed to have, were misdirected from being portrayed accurately by commercial medias. Yaani, nimechoka with bullshit. Exposure to people livin hip hop lifestyles in Kenya got me thinkin, weakenin the chains of mental slavery handed down by the privileged classes.

    what is a klan? Economic opportunities forced me back to my native dumpsite, word to Dandora, “KlanVille.” Johns Manville Asbestos Manufacturing “City” aka rustbelt shithole rapeslave pit. Yuppie-funded Ku Klux Klan school in nearby Zarephath spreadin the toxic ideologies designed for poors’ consumption earned the town its local, self-hating nickname “Klanville.” knowin am broke and no one cares, I flipped it to match my reality. “KlanVillage” was coined freestylin over a Mohjay beat tape i was listnin to on youtube. Everywhere in Kenya, “ukabila ni ujinga” but when u did the economics, that klanfascism categorically prevailed. Convenient colonial identity technologies to keep power in the same kinds of hands, u kno. Did a lot of research, started readin their The Economist. Connections between the Atlantic Slave Trade and modern version, Citibank. Started reading beyond my homes in Kenya & USA. Parallels between domestic and foreign instances of planned, systemic economic underdevelopment determined by central power regions.

    Mpeketoni v. Westgate, daylaborers v. the propertied elite, schoolkids v. property developers. This elites continue to consolidate power thru backdoor manipulations & outright theft, confident in their safety nets. am here hurlin my broke words at the facade of their Bostom Dynamics drone murders. inspiration from Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Mike Davis, hip hop jamii…while simultaneously gaining an understanding of the world of privilege the majority here in the real world are excluded from. Becoming aware of the commercial banking system & the realities of technology & global trade filtered thru yuppie control. tryna navigate the violence, fiscal and physical in this era of “no security.”

    what is the way forward? tumechoka poverty, violence. will we continue to fite each other for scraps & fall into the same traps & rent systems business elites design for us? will we fracture along arbitrary identity-politicks lines while only a few benefit from the overall violence? will we continue to imbibe the apartheid bullshit they spit? education and economic opportunities for more people would increase efficiency but the landlords don’t wanna see it. Where is the boundary between their “efficiency” and intergenerational economic exclusion? Yes, people respond to incentives, but whose efficiency? Will we free our minds from the mental slavery they promote? The myths of individual ascension of the class ladder, peppered with Precious few token examples? The myths of the “self-regulating” market & “limited, small-government” economies? Governments av been notoriously kkkorrupt and inefficient, so how do we change the economic situation to enable equal opportunities & redesign our legal system with economic opportunities in mind? Prison system gotta go, drug war on the poors must stop. we’re tired of it. Of coz, safety nets do not want change. Will we continue to injest their myths & emotional manipulation? their same cynical, small-minded klannish bullshit? will the systematically underdeveloped KlanVillagers, rural & urban, continue to live in the shadow of the economic elite, decision-making classes who reside in the posh districts of the world’s Klanhattans? Why we always in positions of reaction? Will we trade emotions and myth-ideologies for our lives? Or will we say “enough,” & demand our economic opportunities? Our economic & human rights? Will we keep waiting for our economic elite so-called leaders to change things? They have proven they can not be relied upon. Will we see thru this individualist, self-regulating myths, & face the ugly reality of our own suffering?

    Without economic action that benefits the collective, not just a few individuals, there can be no lasting political or social change. Ni wakati. We can’t wait for them to give us jobs. We must take jobs. We must make jobs. In a world where daddiemoney is all, we need to focus on skill building and rejecting toxic ideologies. We can use the information technologies and global trade realities to strengthen our futures. If the extant systems fail to provide opportunities, we create our own. What is hip hop for the impoverished globe without economic change? barbie parakeets need to go to sleep. Build.

    no more waiting.

    SPECIAL THANKS:
    Mohjay, Pope Quiet Tha Loudmouth, Bosco Baya, Qama, Ekori Turkana, Sniper SP, Spikes Music, Block Muzik, IGM Studios, Stefan Moessle, Veltri Studio, Judge Black Duo, & Afroshax.

    EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS: Jim, Alejandro, Jorge, & Patrick, my fellow KlanVillagers.
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1.
had time 03:23
kevlexicon.com Had Time This is such a bad time to be alive, u realise, u wish u had time, to go back, it doesn’t last, it doesn’t work, you’re on your ass and it hurts Pain in the life, the silences and the absences and the holes, that swallow u whole, Opportunity, nothin new for the youth, approachin 30, I kno its no longer about me, Tools to lead, withheld by those that inherit wealth, and they don’t share it well, Can’t expect that to change, so u deal wit it, Starin down hard facts, in the mirror, every mornin, I don’t write bcoz it’s boring, I don’t fight bcoz am warrin, Am not worried, this a warnin, Eyes closed like, minds in a poison dimension, Privlives in transit, rural poor in suspension, Life’s not like a movie, it’s like a quest to get (scene)seen, High (div)visibility, hostility, on the road to get cream, Not-so-clean lottery dreams, bank slaves to debt schemes, You take me but u don’t pay me, feed me a myth-story, instead of a real history, Gory bloody battles, civil war with the poors, where the upper classes cash in, They wanna bleed ur passion, kill your beauty, and walk around in your corpse, Death worshippers, on a last resort, on apartheid beaches, Free speech is guaranteed on a constitution written by the richest, Slave system runnin fine, few glitches, no hitches, I wanna say hello but you look at me like am the devil, Like “hell no,” no place inside your economy, founded on dichotomy, cut from the anthology, criminalized biology, Getting fucked like sex work, as the lechers enslave the debtors, I kno it won’t get no better, they want me to be a yes man becoz am a bad investment, But at best, all I can say is… It’s such a bad time to be alive, u realise, u wish u had time, to go back, it doesn’t last, it doesn’t work, you’re on your ass and it hurts Can’t even breathe, there’s no oxygen, cuz it’s jus these toxic debt schemes that they lock u in, its like death threats when u livin thru it, ova here, no transit, no way to get thru it, rural poor, yeh, not so good, ova here (keepin it separate), as they hoard, the rich motherfuckers, (keepin it separate), drivin around or whatever the fuck the bucket is, I donno what to say man, here’s my dick, suck it it’s, my dick, man. yeh…
2.
knobs 01:46
kevlexicon.com knobs you know, just gotta be on top of it, every day, man. practice. All the time. Jus, make it your life. That’s how you get it. aite. You gotta make it like a discipline, this life is like a riddle and, am fiddling with the knobs tryna figure it out Vision external, lakini najua tuna-feel epidermal, Lost some organs but kept my heart, that’s more important Spit endorphins, swimmin thru my pain for lost frenz, Backwards ahistorical lens, and half-assed investigations, Handed down diagnosis: morality police that hold the keys to bein free, Energy efficiency wasted on the bloat, so you can have an extra boat, We drownin in poverty while u float, Fly girls hop a plane, stewardess, got too many sistas used to this abusive shit and stress, Hand up the dress, the other hand holds you down, Walk-in heels, no clouds, head bumpin, glass ceilin, It’s all economics, safety nets and no feelins, safe bets n inattention, They take the credit, but u never get a mention, Literacy provided for u to imbibe the apartheid bullshit that they spit, Reactionary militants on some killin shit, …but we don’t fite the enemy, we kill ourselves. that’s what gets me down.
3.
flowers 02:43
kevlexicon.com flowers the pressure’s steady, years pass, flowers, no confetti, draw blood, but never give it back, if I could paint a pain picture with the drawn blood, I wouldn’t need to do this song, love, Outside, desire vampires, waitin in the shadow of time, Last time I blow my mind, with beautiful openins, just to feel like I had hope again, Feelins that’s dope again, Missin frenz, aint no comin back, so pardon me if my voice crack, Jus tryna get my voice back, Cuz it’s like joy got on another plane, and it aint been the same Permanent damage on a canvas with distortions, faces fade in my mind’s eye when I still need em, hungry futures, askin how’m I gon feed em, will the future hit again if I step in the line of fire? My eyes open but tired, walled off my heart thinkin it would heal, But it’s hard to tell if I can still feel, Opportunities slip and steal away, I feel like every joy I had was stolen from a jealous table, that sells us fables, And emotionally manipulates, so we live too late, When I wanna give new ways, before my due date Jus a couple more days in pain by myself I know that there’s no replacements, but why do I feel so vacant? I can’t take it, the letters that my heart write never seem to get sent, Let alone read, and it’s all on me, less confusin while am losin, but bruisin, Don’t add up to anything other than more sad stuff, The pain is inevitable, the love, not so much, Fightin in the scarcity of people too scared to be human to one another, It’s like we’ve become reach out amputees, and there’s blood on the leaves From schemes of evil dreams, loud screams silenced by the violence that eats and fuels the furnace, The talented get conscripted, the gifted corrupted, it’s like “fuck it”, there’s no room for u in their budget, You look after your own but in the end it’s all gon Jus a couple more, jus a couple more Jus a couple more days in pain by myself But am still lightin the flares, call your name to the air
4.
mark hunt 02:22
kevlexicon.com mark hunt you kno this privileged kids, they was born with the title, they neva had to fite, for survival, voice like Jonah from Tonga, underestimate me, that I’m stronger, flex a bit and see who’s wronger, am hot like a sauna, mix shots with coronas, pass the L, marjiu-wanna, share, good things in life start fun, girl knocc me out--mark hunt, you got Bigfoot, huh? We’ll I got brick hands, you probly won’t see what happens after this fist lands, hit so jard I might get banned, like oligarch internet reached over a VPN, check the hilite reel on ESPN, we all got different places, where we started from, but anyone can get knocc’d out from that top rung, this is for my brothas in the interstate, swingin with that heavy weight, fite, u don’t really wanna start one, cuz around here we’re all mark hunt, imuh jab you to the fences so I can beat ya ass senseless, best things in life start fun, so girl knocc me out like mark hunt what’s a ground game got to do wit bein knocc’d out? don’t u remember, what happened in my last bout? Odds are u won’t see the last round, My ground game’s what happens after u get knocc’d out, Walk off then I walk out, give ppl something good to talk about, crack a jaw, break my hand on your face, u runnin the risk but I don’t think u’ll make the race, and I don even need to chase, hang back, relax, hit u wit my counterattack, so u can read the column by jack slack, yeh baby, super samoan’s back best things in life start fun, girl knocc me out, mark hunt homie, what you put in this blunt? shit knock me out, mark hunt
5.
kevlexicon.com thru with love when I wuz young and propagandized… I believed in a moral universe where pleasure rewards work, The signs were there, that that was bullshit, But I was too blinded, frequently reminded, as a lower class cat, I was gonna av to provide it, If I ever was to wife it, whether or not I liked it, By the same token, Would I desire her if it wasn’t for pow-er, Bougie talk, book-read, beautiful looks that get the hooks in, This world’s so crooked, But there’s no exception to the fundamentals, No one’s fallin in love with the homeless broke guy, So my side’s gotta b the supply-side, If I wanna piece of cake, but at the same time, Otha folks already livin safe wit money in the safe, get extra cuts of the pie And waitin with the handout is a waste of time, Can’t shame a klansman to sharin their land with us dirty indigenous, So, we jus livin shit Dress code, Class code, Assholes, Key-note, We broke, Our mouth, His cock, Life sucks, 2 jobs The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, The real thiefs got all the money, the real thiefs Took it from me, All they took, --all I coulda had, that is the problem, wit my life rite now it’s bad, Yehh, am ova here like y I can’t b what I want to bcoz am not welcome in ur circle, Preciousness, precious when u hold on to what u jav until the apocalypse, locc ur lips on the dick of power and suck it, life’s over so fuck it, u only get a couple years in your youth and it’s over-budget, yehh, They hoardin and they borin and they make life so fucking--agonizing, How can I go on with this shit? It’s not surprising, I think this shit is jus so evil, I ain’t lying Dress code, Class code, Assholes, Key-note, We broke, Our mouth, His cock, Life sucks, 2 jobs
6.
suck my D 02:56
kevlexicon.com suck my D yeh, u can spend your whol life waitin for some1 to care, huhhh, but fuck all that, man, am jus tryna clear the air, u can’t spit the fire without some oxygen, and they wanna keep u in the place that they lock u in, but… u don’t gotta stay, man get out there, go git it u talk a lot, but I don see it really happenin I’m like a memory loss victim when am dealin wit this absences, No population in the frenzone on my last census, Not sure if am gunna laugh again, from the gut, But I’d rather smile alone, than fake it wit u fucks, I kno we cot up in survival mode, Fake it til u make it but u aint makin it, I don’t got time to babysit, Am too old for that shit, Got better things to do than fake attention, Over the years, There aint been nobody here, Am a nobody from nowhere, and nobody care, And that’s fair, and that’s fine, jus dont waste my fuckin time. I can’t fake desire. I can’t fake the vibe. I can’t change my mind jus to please u. I got an ego. And frankly, I don’t need u. I won’t do time in ur asylum and I aint got no patients (patience), I feel like a slave with all I bring to the table, but when the tables turn all I get is yo fables, Myths and excuses, when I really couldn’t give 2 shits, it’s useless, Disappear into the mist, cuz I ‘d rathurr start fresh, Than stay stuck in the shit, family, jus arbitrary biology, raised in the fog of toxic ideology, i can’t even hold it against u, but I aint walkin over the pit that u step to, emotions is fickle, come & go, only the bad ones stay and contaminate, but am bored and exhausted by the back and forth wit nuthn to show 4 it, so, am movin u out the way wen i go 4 it. isn’t it nice to know there’s better worlds out there than the one ur stuck in? yeh…… …..it is u dont give a fuck about me, (suck my D, suck my D), u don’t give a fuck about me, I jus can’t keep rewardin the negative shit with attention. bye-bye.
7.
kevlexicon.com born in trouble was born in trouble, aint gon change never had to look for trouble, it always came first name basis, homeostasis, jus tryna kiip it goin b4 they put mi in a basement, u kno wat am talkin bout, politricks, nyayo house, architects of infamy, one-party state in the emergin economies, dictators propped up by aid, connected cronies can do wut they want and still get paid, mahomies, mataxpayers, left kwa maombi, my bankslaves, debt slaves, line goes on, values depreciate, constitution written by the richest, said that shit b4 an meant it, we got the same problems ova here in the usa with the centrists, livin in lives carved out by apartheid logic, big boy energy economies with arbitrary deposits set the rules of the games that we play, allocate resrcs to safe long-terms or risk hi returns while we burn yo we want FDI, they wanna see us die
8.
kevlexicon.com depressionfuel u jus killin my hype, I bring the energy, u won’t even fite, I spit the fire, I bring the lite, U jus darkness, dum shit, thinkin u can talk that smart shit, Sayin “retarded”, under-my-breath, under-developed potential, Spilled out, in a torrent of bitterness, that bit torrent my bitterness, For internet interests, My life’s like the shittiest, No one cares, self-pity sells only if u werth a shout, Ur life’s a rigged election and it don even count, Safe-paved roads to nowhere, Real city transit costs—no fare (fair) To grab the tits of the city again wit gals that’s pritty again, If I could float on some privilege Jus stop carin, FUCK IT Jus stop Karen, FUCK IT, U kno u always on ur own in here, FUCK IT, Jus stop carin, U kno u always on ur ownn …the heart that breaks, the tears that make, the memories that fade (fade), its nuthin on the plate for u to savor, the flavour is gone an fleeting, jus like a dream, ur memory’s always deleting, like-- (catch a beating), u got that illness, the realness that spits, but it jus riffs across ur eyes for a moment, it’s all over before u can, even appreciate, the losses u’ve jad, that’s y it’s so fuckin’ bad. (shit is evil) u jus killin my hype, I bring the energy, won’t even fite, I spit the fire, I bring the lite, U jus darkness, dum thot, thinkin u could spit that smart shit, Sayin “retarded”, under-my-breath, under-developed potential, Spilled out, in a torrent of bitterness, bit torrent my bitterness, For internet interests, My life’s like the shittiest, No one cares, self-pity sells only if u werth a shout, Ur life’s a rigged election and it don even count, Safe-paved roads to nowhere, (WHERE IS…THIS GOIN TO?) Real city transit costs—no fare (fair) (WHERE IS…THIS GOIN TO?) To grab the tits of the city again wit gals that’s pritty again, (WHERE IS…THIS GOIN TO?) If I could float on some privilege (WHERE IS…THIS GOIN TO?) Jus stop carin, give up it sucks (WHEN ARE THE FAILURES GONNA COUNT FOR SOMN?)
9.
kevlexicon.com can’t look away I don kno wat it is, It’s like…when shit gets real bad, Like real REAL bad, They jus want u to look away, But idk, mus b somn wrong w my neck or somn, cuz I could never look away, but that’s jus me tho… we jus makin the best outta bad situations, everybody aroun me, that’s where my strength is, relationships chg, i can’t go back, coz i aint got the time, but there’s still ppl who see wat am doin, I see wut they doin, we of the same mind, we pass that same vibe, Idk if its fuckin me or jus life, Like kaktas tol me the one time, Top of the worl, arm on a girl, career path, Nothn to sneer at, crisis hit like a plane crash, Now I aint doin the same math, Broke off (bought off) the survival economy what’s it gonna b, Never had much chance at the safe path, I spent my time in a chair, I spent my time in a chair, I spent my time in a chair Why they build prisons? Life’s too short, we sposed to be livin, All my frenz are sposed to b livin, This place is a prison, This boys in blue aint like me, They don’t like me, they don’t want me to see, Don’t want me to succeed, am not needed, they feedin on fear, They think they can get away with it when there’s nobody here, U watchin the screen, it reflects your oppression, ur computer glow ugly expression, Now aint that depressin? At the same time, I can’t look away
10.
kevlexicon.com bottom lines ( KevEconomist ) i kno love doesnt exist, it’s all bottom lines, dollar signs, “kev-economist” i kno love doesnt exist, it’s all bottom lines, $$$$$$$$$$, “kev-economist” it’s like i don’t even exist, bottom lines, dollar signs, keveconomist, and wen am gawn, i wont b missed, it’s all bottom lines (bottom lines dollar signs) $$$ keveconomist …maybe I get drunk wen I write, like Richard Wright, we live in a world where, rich is right, not jus republicans, invisible men, we dont exist, that shit’s gon kiip turnin, yall gon keep earnin, wat gud’s an education if u aint makin money? They create institutions but ur position’s economic exclusion, Public payout for private theft, we losin, Privkids land, they get aaall the best, And the rent? --- Too Damn High, Lukn at me like I stole somn, The real thieves marketing to market women from a house of privilege sellin an image of progress, But we can’t afford to subscribe to ur digest princess, PRINCE (Prints), All ova the crime but never mind, Victim-blamin, gang rapin, laughed off by MALE PRIVILEGE and religions, Sociopathology of privkids who grew up wit security, that elite minority, 0.01%, they got us in prison, makes our averages luk gud, but it’s jus the bizness classes hoppin flites, startin fites, selln weapons, depleted uranium shells causin birth defects in Iraq, Fallujah Babies and veterans, Becoz the brown kids lives don’t matter to the privs, Same way broke gals gettn raped don’t matter to the rich, Behind the gate, livin safe, Safety nets don’t take bets on ppl like us, We jus a fodder 4 the slaughter, moral desert, no water, wat
11.
kevlexicon.com hole ( you’re just poor ) maybe I wuz born strange, breakin thru ur door chains, fakin it w false names, u get girls, GREAT, i got court dates, …mayb I got the wrong face for a sing-a-long show, when I murder a unicorn and shatter a privilege dream of a mental child, contort my body into a pile of garbage, piled on the concrete, cold n chilly, neva had a cheerleader for my fites in philly, table round w a pole innit, strip club town w a hole in it, wall w a hole in it, street w a wall in it, wanna leave Wall St. wit a hole in it, wallet w a hole in it, speak when i swallowd it, nerds wanna follow it, drink that hollow shit, kill for a scholarship, spill for a dollar tip, Ahfrican, neva get acknowledgement, You’re jus pooor (skia) You’re jus POOOORR, POOOOO—OOOORR Ur jus poor (unaskia) Ur jus ppppoooor (Mambo bad) Recorded my first studio track with Ukoo Flani, Toka maumau kambi, kisha shambani, Tuko pa1 sana, Ova here smoking that marijuana, u wana go back w me, To the bodaboda, barabara, Go to batabata owned by a czech company, Am jus a slav slob wit no job, Gonna starve probably, Wen it comes to emotionally fulfillment, Cuz i can’t get w that illness, Cuz u aint got the realness, So am ova here, Probly gunna end up havn to steal shit, --YES, welcom to the blessing, ova here, testing, ova, so stress-ing, Ok… the best thing is the next best, the next best, til I get, the bottom of ur checklist, “to-do” list, fuck it, it’s ova, do shit, watch me as i moove shit, yeh
12.
adult shit 03:28
kevlexicon.com Adult shit Yeh, this thing on? Nah? Nah, shit be hatin? Fuck it, I don give a shit That’s that aduult shit when u don’t caaare, Cuz u kno, u can make it on your own, Cuz u kno wat ur worth is, u got a purpose, U don’t let that stress u, cuz u makin moves, U kno wat u do, they can hate n all that, But it doesn’t matter, cuz u got what’s great, And u kno it, Rich ppl underestimate ur mind, that’s part of bein poor, Livin in a bubble, got clouds in they eyes, They fear u n see u in competition, wanna downplay ur mind to kill ur ambition, But that’s from them jaterz, jus manipulatin emotion, U don really gotta lissen They wanna keep what’s theirs, they don wanna see u equal as a threat, To them ur evil, based on their lineage of privilege, They wanna distort ur images, Jealous n unaware fears over th— That’s that adult shit cuz they don’t care, u can do it on ur own. That’s that adult shit when u don’t caaare, Cuz u kno, u can do it on ur own. Yeh, They wanna belittle, But they’re just afraid of ur siiize, U kno how that shit is, Yeh, They’re afraid u’ll figure their liiies, They know, they know, they kno To fear u, yeh, cuz they created the evil, by takin it away from the ppl, hah and we got all the power if we jus dont let our emotions get manipulated by their backdoor tricks pliz don’t get me confused, wat am tryn to saaay, it’s all beautiful when we can work together and… exploit the best aspects of our communal creative intelligences, our minds fusing, productively, in efficiency, without being bound by the legal codes that benefit those who inherit wealth, yeh, we dont need to be with that legal systems just exist to keep property relations stable, that fucks everyone here we just horses in their stable, that’s why shit eventually gets…unstable when the internal pressure cooker gets the fuck up and am jus in the kitchen, wassup?
13.
Janet Yellen 02:01
kevlexicon.com Janet Yellen Good morning, Kevin, welcome to hell, surrounded by boring ugly fat ppl that want u to fail, I’d be lyin if I said they didn’t smell, literally, Little things like that, just get to me, But it’s not just this, it’s the myths of self-importance, Like if u croaked, all us brokes wouldn’t just ignore it, Instagram foodies a small step up on the class ladder that I spent to ascend, But didn’t end well, no guarantees with rails made slippery When you’re from the wrong family tree, Petite little miseries of human histories, all make sense to me, Without a second tellin, They said this spot’s reserved, fuck the feds, am Janet Yellen La-da-dee-la-dee-da, my life is jus like—blah, A sitcom star gone wrong, like omigodd, Clean-livin yuppie luxury, they don’t fuck w me, A few quick chek lines closer to death, If I can’t make a sale then this place is like a cell, This place is like a jail, save n scrape to make bail, May fail, Mayflower, MayDay, PayDay to have enuf priv To be able to get away, but stuck in that ghetto way, Shipped from port to port on the archipelago islands of your entitlement, I can’t find a fren, all the sane ones left, High budget production values, safe values u take in a retail box, Safe values, buyin stocks, price shock, oil glut, bubbles bust, no duh, Jus snakkkes n fakes, ego cloud pollution, loud solutions, turn it up How u doin? my weekend sucks
14.
no security 01:46
kevlexicon.com No Security Brokes and the poors, brokes and the poors, u livin in luxury in the houses we can’t afford …brokes and the poors, brokes and the poors, we livin in luxury? Not so much, fuck with me mpeketoni versus westgate, commercial media can’t care about the fate of broke slaves, we just poors livin with no security, financial or physical, fiscal policy trickles down to the gutters, where there’s no infrastructure, climate crime, landfill kids growin up poor, where the bizness elites grew up rich, economic violence wears a mask in public, not from dandora, but before a trip to kenya, knew a bit about inequality, asbestos manufacturing town, they shut the factory down, no opportunities left to be found, grandpa was a janitor, so I probably won’t become senator, cleanin up the yuppies messes, reality of their economic depression klanhattan elites create the wars, we gettin killed in their beefs, they get away clean in a jeep, we stuck in a ghetto way, no pay, jua kali kwenye street, no pay, jua kali kwenye street
15.
No Respect 02:01
kevlexicon.com No Respect it’s funny, no one respects anything but money but I ain’t laughin, tho somethin u need to know, feels like I found my second home, kahawa wendani to pwani, but Klanville got my plans killed, asbestos particulate landfill lungs, chased with a little bit of bud, flowers at the gravesite in my mind’s eye, all my frenz have died in this united snakkkes, Klanhattan politicians and businessmans’ kids Get all the ladders, when they need em the least, Election time, food aid release, The flow is transnational when the ish gets transactional Livin in poverty with no time for ideologies, I ain’t translatin shakespeare, I wanna create the economic alliance that they fear, But I can’t even make a case bcoz the legal system benefits those with the cake, And we jus at the bottom, livin in a world of shit, So I guess am a joke bcoz am broke, but I still got the fire, see the smoke, Moshikali, mofaya, yoh,
16.
kevlexicon.com Klanhattan KlanVillage Eric Garner can’t breathe, chokin for sellin loosies [[[(allegedly/accused)]]] avoidin that state tax, but if we face facts bizness elites never paid tax in their life offshorin, tax inversion escapin regulation but if a broke guy gets out of line write him off w the state pen or lynchin (lynchin) Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same shitstem Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same bullshit their safe-paved roads lead to clean partitions look how they eat, now look who’s in the kitchen am jus sayin what we all see every day like a michael soi paintin, that requires no explanation we’re just in line to get strung up, dedan kimathi MPigs corrupt, drop a line, They hung up probly, Klan ideology to mask their fast cash hypocrisy, ngenje mtaa kids starve, rich kids Westgate shopping spree Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same shitstem Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same bullshit upper classes draw the map, gerrymanderin property developers v. schoolchildren, who’s gonna win? Police point the gun at them police tear gasing children ideology & identity, just a distraction from their subtraction, they use faction & fraction & fiction, & myths of competition to keep us split, to keep us whipped, they design the lines our lives play out in …u kno…rich ppl shit. Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same shitstem Klanhattan or Klan Village, it’s the same bullshit
17.
dreams 02:24
kevlexicon.com Dreams so what do I wanna see? dreams like I hit the lottery how bout broke kids w opportunities? to change their realities, how bout some decentralisation, (how bout) media w less caucasians less guns, more funds for education less ignorance, more women w real jobs so she don’t have to compromise to be who she want cuz life’s hard and respect follows capital flows oppressed groups, target of economic exclusion victims of elite coalitions, maintain oppression and call it competition cameras on the cops bcoz they’re already watchin us I wanna see an end to the war on drugs Economic war on black ppl deprives civil rights and lives Who’s buildin the guns? MIT, Boston, Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed, More defense contracts, shit we do not need (somethin for the hook) the police harm more americans than the middle east Indsicriminate bombings killin civilians n children But they dress it up like it was becoz they muslim – bullshit Don’t believe the myths, follow the billions, The gulf state financiers maintain the sunni/shia divide to get paid, and run royal, Getn stacks from oil Destabilisin regions to get at the energy deposits Under the rules of the market, if you’re poor, you’re a target They want u economically underdeveloped, treat u like a child Infantilise, live w ur mom, economic apartheid Don’t get confused, brown yuppies don’t care either, You see how they abuse their house slaves, they’re evil, ukabila ni ujinga My displaced ppl, left to drown in the mediterannean Or left in drought, word to Turkana Economic opportunities, that’s what I wanna see, Not jus tokens, collective reality
18.
prisons 01:48
kevlexicon.com Prisons That’s why I can’t get along w them [snitches] [cowards] […da fuck is wrong with them] lie to my face, hide behind the gate, from the golf course to the gulf wars, feedin the myths to little kids, our belligerence is the image of the evil you commit, fuck that white entitlement, shitstem, tutor time versus the bread line, young black males doin fed time, waitin in the qeue with a question, --why the mandatory sentence for nonviolent offenses? Victim blamin, military occupation, They wanna keep us fenced in and detained, They don’t want us to compete in their lane, More Africans in a cage today than there was when there was slaves economic torture, civil forfeiture swellin the piggy bank disenfranchise, they don’t want an economic unit to rise, legislative body, Kuh-Kuh-Kongress white as fuckin hockey, saa hii tunataka haki yetu, see! yet to see! erase the lynchins, lionise the white racists, it’s not about individuals, it’s the shitstem, look at the cages gentrifiers evict, pushin out the natives, landlords, condo gods, lookin down on all of us [what?!]
19.
shadows 02:43
kevlexicon.com Shadows Livin in the shadow of the prosperous, They built their cities on top of us, We, …mshamba halisi [That’s the illness in the Village] …... …mshamba halisi [That’s the illness in the Village] Citibank emerged from the slave trade, Plantation owners made the laws, foundation’s been flawed, Open information age under threat with their snitch ways, While we all jus tryna live and get paid, Need to stay open and learn new ways, But the funds is locked up with the elites, They wanna keep us ignorant and isolated, like their narcissism, educated populations pave the way forward, But a few klans don’t wanna see new hands, unless they cuffed --And that’s that shit I don’t love Eyes open, the rhetoric don’t match up They keep buildin condos High life while we die like flies Trade and tech could take it to the next level But the inequality maintained by that global elite minority Gonna make it hard to see a better future Livin in debt, yeh, We cash reality checks [hook] smoke somethin good in the hood with my crew on the porch, tellin stories, kibao or 40s, just a KlanVill nobody with no money, hustlin for enuf funds to get out of the dungeon of poverty, wound up in a house full of yuppies in Kilimani, wallet couldn’t keep up, so they wouldn’t wanna meet up, I guess I was just a storm in their teacup, Economic lines to keep u out, maskini ni hatari, Kahawa Wendani, smokin that sour diesel like an engine, Started to pay attention to what was goin on, Rest of the world started to exist when I heard my first washamba wenza verse like…this…is.. the life in our yard… Bizness elites prisoners of their own narcissism, U kno, they wanna put u in a prison, but, I said goodbye and I don’t miss them If life is just a dream Voices callin me I’d like to see you Before I wake up
20.
coma 02:03
kevlexicon.com Coma I was high at the wal-mart, lookin at the ceilin, thinkin about how it resembles a slaughterhouse Cuz here you lose touch with what’s real, Amerikkka’s a coma, I don’t kno a home from a prison, This life that am livin, this place in the shitstem, Aint got no vision, aint got no wisdom, Jus cot up in the system, Regurgitated, hated, & aggravated, Demonstrated love principles in my mind Memory of beauty Eroded by the coma I go nuts, free donuts, plantation label lifestyle Quein at wally world This race has no end, this place has no frenz My heart is emptiness until I hear ur voice And am blessed This train, it moves fast, but where’re we goin? Where’s the fuel? Where are the trees? Where’s the peace, This hate and love judgment aint nothin, no love in the bank, Got here with no thanks, my mind blanks and I cash in my passion For recognition of wicked forces Who ride us like horses, who dine on our corpses, Who own the golf courses, who probs have 4 porsches, A fortune, a problem with portion control, and letting ish go They jus use you, they don’t love u, Ur just their side-ho, But they aint on your side, tho They draw the line so why should I comply? They lyin, they cheatin, they beatin they servants, they actin like serpents, they talk like detergent, I just can’t rework it, I just can’t re-word it, They do it on purpose, And I was high at the wal-mart lookin at the ceilin, thinkin about how it resembles a slaughterhouse I was high at the wal-mart lookin at the ceilin, thinkin about how it resembles a slaughterhouse We’re just warehouse broke motherfuckas that have no future We’re just there to satisfy yuppie egoes, Oh, I’d like to grab their fuckin throat, Yes sir, yessir, This one goes out to wal-mart, KlanVillage wal-mart, and Popeyes, And all the fuckin great strip clubs, and public school system Yes Yes now!
21.
appreciation 01:45
kevlexicon.com Appreciation You’re the light thru my prison bars, yeh mon, I want to say I appreciate the things that you’ve done, I know sometimes we can find it hard to go on, Long road, far distances that we’ve covered You know our dreams is weeds in a master’s garden, Been in the shit, so we remember our roots, on a journey for truth, If I can’t make it, let me build my brother, Cuz everyone has somethin to offer, You see the opportunity in me, I see the opportunity in you, That’s how we do, Bein ourselves, sihitaji mababis or gun lobbies, We need the youth From Skobo G to Ekori, to everybody at Ufuoni, Pope, you’re dope, thanks for the support, Audio Kusini let me record, You know it’s hard to share your whole heart with someone I appreciate you allowed me as part of your team Now your dream is my dream and we buildin this thing No backsliding, dividing lines, prison bars open up, we are one, You help me dream big, you let me in, and now I see our dreams is the same thing You’re the light thru my prison bars, yeh mon, I want to say I appreciate the things that you’ve done, I know sometimes we can find it hard to go on, Long road, far distances that we’ve covered
22.
fed myths 01:53
kevlexicon.com Fed Myths …am a fuckin corpse w 2 eyes without a mouth futures aborted, yeh there’s no fuckin doubt apathy and evil is all that surrounds Tell me why can’t i respect myself am a fuckin corpse w 2 eyes without a mouth futures aborted, yeh there’s no fuckin doubt apathy and evil is all that surrounds either you’re workin w institutions or you’re institutionalized, institutional lies spread, institutional eyes read the edited futures, meant to keep u stupid, mystified economic histories, while generations grindin in misery separation, segregated elite the Elizabeth Gated Community, or the estate compounds in Kenya, it’s the same system, capital and poors, militarization of the police, “get the gun”, iraq war to u.s. civilian, killin the same economically excluded groups, same shit happened, black wall st., tulsa race riot, old World War I planes droppin flames on blacks who fought back from the white lynch mobs, jus some more poors sponsored and fed myths, Fed myths, federal government committed mass arrests, detentions. You’ll forget this histories like the promises of economic reparations (u kno, i went to some of the best schools in the world and i went to public school too and neither of them taught me about the real economic histories, u kno and so i’m driving on the highway to see my dude’s show, u kno kevoh, ke4, and, what do I see yo, Elizabeth Town, elizabeth-whateverthefuck Gated Community, yo, in america hahaa, amerik-k-kuh, yoh same bullshit everywhere, class war)
23.
kevlexicon.com Lost City feat. Bosco Baya Bosco Baya: Napambana, nang’ang’ana, napigana, Fungua macho, usikate tamaa (I'm struggling, I'm in there, I’m fighting, Open your eyes, Don't give up) Kevlexicon: How many have been lost? Planting people instead of seeds, On stolen lands, Machozi flowing thru A mother’s broken hands With the heart of lions, we grind on Even though the night is long, We are intermittent lights on an inefficient grid, Tryna smile and make the best of it Nothing is definite in these uncertain times So we hold on to each other for dear life Napambana, nang’ang’ana, napigana, Fungua macho, usikate tamaa Where are we goin to in this world? Old Man vampires sucking damu When all I want to do is suture up war wounds, build a better future, not the same shit that we used to. When will the Klanhattans and KlanVillages become one? Are we building more slums for someone else? The light shines on the darkness From the few of those who created it. twende kazi, the thing you are most afraid to do is what you should be doing speak your free mind ka Ngugi, ka Kimathi, tuna maswali, but if no1’s talking the only one is days repeating like M.0.1 we must take these moments false prophets teach you to keep the hand out but who keeps a man down? capital is just another ideology but the only thing we respect, we forget family, all are parts to be sold with no soul exported American Dreams you buy in Gikomba, losing cultures, pouring into a monopole future where nothing new grows, we digging holes when we could be building, talking killing klan madness, when sanity is a monument to hypocrisy in this lost city I spit from the periphery until they get me Napambana, nang’ang’ana, napigana, Fungua macho, usikate tamaa

about

Klanhattan KlanVillage Mixtape

why are we all broke? Maskini everywhere. At a time when income inequality is at its highest in the USA since the 1960s, police are tear gasing schoolchildren in Kenya, and economic elite accountability is unheard of, had to do this mixtape. This thoughts you can’t say while having a job, okay, I’ll be that guy. Seein the impact of Mau Mau Kambi & Ukoo Flani in Nairobi & Mombasa in 2011-2012 made clearer the stakes of the economic violence I was already familiar with, growing up in the village. That violence complacent middle classes can afford to ignore, and global business elites maintain for their own exclusive benefit. recording the tape in Kenya, I went with the flow, kinda findin my voice, guided by guys like Gas Fya2, Washamba Wenza, BlackGzas, Audio Kusini. There was a voice in my head, I played it safe, stuck to references. was still learnin how to do it. then “hip hop” in usa since i been back and the return to relative poverty [livin like a yuppie in kenya, funds ran out quik], situations got me frustrated with the state of affairs here & globally.

So I took inspiration from the more historical “conscious” rappers in Kenya & put some of my own ideas & experiences in here. I wanted to go farther, “speak out of turn” like the Senegalese guys from Keurgui Crew. I wanted the tape to be the voice me and people from my class background didn’t have, weren’t allowed to have, were misdirected from being portrayed accurately by commercial medias. Yaani, nimechoka with bullshit. Exposure to people livin hip hop lifestyles in Kenya got me thinkin, weakenin the chains of mental slavery handed down by the privileged classes.

what is a klan? Economic opportunities forced me back to my native dumpsite, word to Dandora, “KlanVille.” Johns Manville Asbestos Manufacturing “City” aka rustbelt shithole rapeslave pit. Yuppie-funded Ku Klux Klan school in nearby Zarephath spreadin the toxic ideologies designed for poors’ consumption earned the town its local, self-hating nickname “Klanville.” knowin am broke and no one cares, I flipped it to match my reality. “KlanVillage” was coined freestylin over a Mohjay beat tape i was listnin to on youtube. Everywhere in Kenya, “ukabila ni ujinga” but when u did the economics, that klanfascism categorically prevailed. Convenient colonial identity technologies to keep power in the same kinds of hands, u kno. Did a lot of research, started readin their The Economist. Connections between the Atlantic Slave Trade and modern version, Citibank. Started reading beyond my homes in Kenya & USA. Parallels between domestic and foreign instances of planned, systemic economic underdevelopment determined by central power regions.

Mpeketoni v. Westgate, daylaborers v. the propertied elite, schoolkids v. property developers. This elites continue to consolidate power thru backdoor manipulations & outright theft, confident in their safety nets. am here hurlin my broke words at the facade of their Bostom Dynamics drone murders. inspiration from Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Mike Davis, hip hop jamii…while simultaneously gaining an understanding of the world of privilege the majority here in the real world are excluded from. Becoming aware of the commercial banking system & the realities of technology & global trade filtered thru yuppie control. tryna navigate the violence, fiscal and physical in this era of “no security.”

what is the way forward? tumechoka poverty, violence. will we continue to fite each other for scraps & fall into the same traps & rent systems business elites design for us? will we fracture along arbitrary identity-politicks lines while only a few benefit from the overall violence? will we continue to imbibe the apartheid bullshit they spit? education and economic opportunities for more people would increase efficiency but the landlords don’t wanna see it. Where is the boundary between their “efficiency” and intergenerational economic exclusion? Yes, people respond to incentives, but whose efficiency? Will we free our minds from the mental slavery they promote? The myths of individual ascension of the class ladder, peppered with Precious few token examples? The myths of the “self-regulating” market & “limited, small-government” economies? Governments av been notoriously kkkorrupt and inefficient, so how do we change the economic situation to enable equal opportunities & redesign our legal system with economic opportunities in mind? Prison system gotta go, drug war on the poors must stop. we’re tired of it. Of coz, safety nets do not want change. Will we continue to injest their myths & emotional manipulation? their same cynical, small-minded klannish bullshit? will the systematically underdeveloped KlanVillagers, rural & urban, continue to live in the shadow of the economic elite, decision-making classes who reside in the posh districts of the world’s Klanhattans? Why we always in positions of reaction? Will we trade emotions and myth-ideologies for our lives? Or will we say “enough,” & demand our economic opportunities? Our economic & human rights? Will we keep waiting for our economic elite so-called leaders to change things? They have proven they can not be relied upon. Will we see thru this individualist, self-regulating myths, & face the ugly reality of our own suffering?

Without economic action that benefits the collective, not just a few individuals, there can be no lasting political or social change. Ni wakati. We can’t wait for them to give us jobs. We must take jobs. We must make jobs. In a world where daddiemoney is all, we need to focus on skill building and rejecting toxic ideologies. We can use the information technologies and global trade realities to strengthen our futures. If the extant systems fail to provide opportunities, we create our own. What is hip hop for the impoverished globe without economic change? barbie parakeets need to go to sleep. Build.

no more waiting.

SPECIAL THANKS:
Mohjay, Pope Quiet Tha Loudmouth, Bosco Baya, Qama, Ekori Turkana, Sniper SP, Spikes Music, Block Muzik, IGM Studios, Stefan Moessle, Veltri Studio, Judge Black Duo, & Afroshax.

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS: Jim, Alejandro, Jorge, & Patrick, my fellow KlanVillagers.

credits

released February 29, 2016

SPECIAL THANKS:
Mohjay, Pope Quiet Tha Loudmouth, Bosco Baya, Qama, Ekori Turkana, Sniper SP, Spikes Music, Block Muzik, IGM Studios, Stefan Moessle, Veltri Studio, Judge Black Duo, & Afroshax.

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS: Jim, Alejandro, Jorge, & Patrick, my fellow KlanVillagers.

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Kevlexicon is a broke nobody talking economic inequality.

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