'Underground', featuring Biko Emcee (based in South Africa), a legendary wordsmith and activist explores the struggles of the undocumented immigrant from those labelled 'Kwerekwere' and often subjected to Afrophobic attacks within South Africa’s borders to all those restricted in their movement for having the 'wrong’ nationality, complexion or faith. The song documents a struggle, whose humanity is often lost in the political rhetoric that calls for more walls and less bridges. The song was also partly inspired by the Gilet Noirs movement.
lyrics
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
Undetected by the radars
Off the books if we ever making some paper
No regular occupation, engaging in mad capers
Evaders of operations thats orchestrated to raid us
Move in shadows, using names we wasn’t born with
Darkness isn’t new to these children of conflict
Exploited daily, no unions rebuking the bosses
Who pay us half our wages to be boosting their profits
Working long shifts, modern enslavement in progress
Dependents back home is why we taking this nonsense
Affecting your mental frame, anxiety becomes the constant
Living prepaid, aint no way way to get a contract
Border jumpers evolving to slum dwellers
Empty building occupiers and seasonal farmworkers
Living like Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
Branded illegal so we live how the system demands
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
They saying kwerekweres are the problem (what)
They say we only there so we can rob them (huh)
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
They wanna make America great
Hiding how the one percent ain’t sharing the cake, yo its deep
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
Mupoteri pota nekuseri
Garoziva zviri mberi
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
Vanovenga, vanozonda
Ziva mhandu dzinoponda
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
We underground
credits
from A Travel Guide For The Broken,
released March 10, 2022
Featuring : Biko Emcee
Additional lyrics : Biko Emcee (Stephen Chisuvi)
Arrangement and co-production : Tayob J
Arrangement and co-production : Synik
Clarinet and saxophone : Vee Mukarati
Additional production : Janne Halonen
supported by 6 fans who also own “Underground (ft Biko Emcee)”
Just a beautiful jazzy rap album with buttery smooth flows versed with huge talent. It's not only lovely to the ears, but the lyrics are profound and empowering about the struggles that she faces. zhangtastic
supported by 5 fans who also own “Underground (ft Biko Emcee)”
As soon as I heard the song Like Really I just had to buy the album. Then I finished listening to all the songs, and knew I made a good choice. Oddisee is one of the best hip hop artists on bandcamp. Devin Anderson
Deeply textured experimental hip-hop from Burkina Faso with an electronic flourish; engineered to blow speakers and open minds. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 12, 2023