Music
Stay Human
OH MY GOD
Slam bam I come unseen
but like gasolin e you can tell I'm in the tank
like money in the bank
I smell appealing, but I'm toxic, can send ya reeling
without an inklin, keep ya thinkin'
'cause you gave cash to the feds, left your school district for dead
... you up in the head, but still they sayin' nothin's wrong
sellin' firewater but outlawing the bong
still believing the system is workin'
while half of my people are still outta workin'
anonymous notes left in the pockets
of judges and juries from 'Frisco to Jersey
threats and protests politicians mob debts
trumped up charges and phony arrests
stage a lethal injection, the night before the election
'cause he got donations from the prison guard’s union
Oh-my, oh-my God!
out here mama they got us livin' suicide
singin' oh-my, oh-my God!
out here mama they got us livin' genocide
Listen in to my stethoscope on a rope
internal lullabies, human cries
thumps and silence, the language of violence
algorithmic, cataclysmic, seismic, biorhythmic
you can make a life longer, but you can't save it
you can make a clone and then you try to enslave it?
stealin' DNA samples from the unborn
and then you comin' after us
'cause we sampled a James Brown horn?
scientists who's God is progress
a four headed sheep is their latest project
the CIA runnin' like that Jones from Indiana
but they still won't talk about that (Jim) Jones
(People's Temple mass suicide) In Guyana
this ain't no cartoon
no one slips on bananas
do you really think that that car killed Diana
... I shot Ronald Reagan, I shot JFK,
I slept with Marlyn (Monroe) she sung me happy birthday
singin'
(chorus)
Well politicians got lipstick on the collar
the whole media started to holler
but I don't give a ... who they screwin' in private
I wanna know who they screwin' in public
robbin', cheatin, stealin',
white collar criminal
McDonald eatin', you deserve a beatin'
send you home a weepin', with a fat bill for your
Caribbean weekend
for just about anything they can bust us
false advertising sayin' "halls of Justice"
you tellin' the youth don't be so violent
then you drop bombs on every single continent
mandatory minimum sentencin'
'cause he got caught with a pocket fulla medicine
do that again another ten up in the pen
I feel so mad I wanna bomb an institution
singin'
(chorus)
[spoken word]
STAY HUMAN (All The Freaky People)
Starvation is a creation of the devil
a rebel
I'm bringin' food to the people like a widow
bringin' flowers to a grave in the middle
of the city isolation is a riddle
to be surrounded by a million other people
but feel alone like a tree in the desert
dried up like the skin of a lizard
but full of color like the spots of a leopard
drum and bass pull me in like a shepherd
scratch my itch like a needle on a record
full of life like a man gone to Mecca
sky high like an eagle up soaring
I speak low but I'm like a lion roaring
baritone like a Robeson recordin'
I'm givin' thanks for bein' human every morning...
(chorus)
Because the streets are alive with the sound of Boom Bap
can I hear it once again!
Boom Bap tell your neighbor tell a friend
every box gotta right to be boomin'
because the streets are alive with the sound of Boom Bap
can I hear it once again!
Boom Bap tell your neighbor tell a friend
every flower gotta right to be bloomin'!
Stay Human!
Be resistant
the negativity we keep it at a distance
call for backup and I'll give you some assistance
like a lifesaver deep in the ocean
stay afloat here upon the funky motion
rock and roll upon the waves of the season
hold your breath and your underwater breathin'
to be rhymin' without a real reason
is to claim but not to practice a religion
if television is the drug of the nation
satellite is immaculate reception
beeming in they can look and they can listen
so you see don't believe in the system
to legalize you or give you your freedom
you want rights ask 'em, they'll read 'em
but every flower gotta right to be bloomin'...
stay human...
(chorus)
You see Y2K ya know is a moment
in time we find that we can open
up a heart that's locked or been broken
by the pain of words not spoken
or shot by guns a still smokin'
Cartwrights out on the Ponderosa
or drive by bang in Testarossa
we need to heed the words of Dalai Lama
or at least the words of yo mama
take a mental trip to the Bahamas
steam your body in a stereo sauna, sauna, comma...
(chorus)
[spoken word]
ROCK THE NATION
We livin' in a mean time and an aggressive time
a painful time, a time where cynicism rots the vine
in a time where violence blocks the summer shine
lifetimes, go by in a flash
in a search for love, in a search for cash
everybody wanna be some fat tycoon
everybody wanna be on a tropic honeymoon
nobody wanna sing a little bit out of tune
or be the backbone of a rebel platoon
it's too soon to step out of line
you might get laughed at you might get fined
but do you feel me when I say I feel pain everyday
when I see the way my friends gotta slave
and never get ahead of bills they gotta pay
no way no way!
some make a living doing killing Colombian penicillin
some are willing to play the villain they just chillin'
to pass the time, pass the information
or pass the wine
pass the buck or pass the baton
but you can't pass the police or the pentagon
the I.R.S. or the upper echelon
I think it's time to make a move on the contradiction
(chorus)
Bom-Bom, rock the nation
take over television and radio station
Bom-Bom the truth shall come
give the corporation some complication!
This is the dawning of our time I say it one more time
to emphasize the meaning of my rhyme
to rise above all the dirt and grime
add the right spice at the right time
... the constitution
are we part of the solution or are we part of the pollution
sittin' by and wonderin' why,
things ain't the way we like to find them to be, to be
for you and for me the people over there and the ones in between
check our habitation are we a peace lovin' nation
peace lovin' nation
I have a reasonable doubt I think I'll just spell it out
there's no need to scream or to shout
the N.R.A. just bought a man's soul
then he jumps up and shouts gun control
the government says that killin's a sin
unless you kill a murderer with a lethal syringe
so I ask again "are we peace lover's then"
some of them slang guns when they six years old
some of them end up in some six foot hole
this whole ... place seems to, lost control
so I raise my voice before I lose my soul
(chorus)
This is the way I'll express my feelings
vibe revealed and revolved spinnin on a record y'all
try to confiscate take what I communicate with
it's ancient gift of the lip steady creating
activating passin vocal vibrations to the blind plus the seeing
human doesn't mean just being
be coming don't believe it just belife it
belongings or beloved rehearse it or recite it
while shining drop your guns and move your tongues
battle motivation in no time lyrics come
sometimes fun others run their mouth or away
my minds co beaming like an early sunray
one day we'll get the picture and all combine
less the talking bout mines is mine and become one mind
every piece of the puzzle has its place
to build the piece of the puzzle called the human race
taking it long enough we crush the formal journalistic
dyslexic critters talk backwards to rap words
I'm sure raising my hands with questions and demands
statements and a plan with a map of the land
(chorus)
SOMETIMES
Sometimes, I feel like I can do anything and
sometimes, I'm so alive
sometimes, I feel like I can zoom cross the sky and,
sometimes, I wanna cry
Most people try to aim to please
but a lot a them are kinda weak in the knees
learnin' late about the birds and the bees
fallin' in love and wanna be set free
playin' ball at the age of thirteen
everybody's growin up with a dream
I never noticed what could happen to me
time flies when you're walkin' the streets
one minute gotcha holdin' an ace
the next minute gotcha fall on yer face
a mean city is a nasty place
only a rat can win a rat race!
peace to the people who be fallin' away
to make it home today
and peace to the people who be tryin' to find
some kinda life
(chorus)
Sound body and sound of mind
sound of the rhythm and sound of the rhyme
somebody marchin' all out of time
biggest mistakes are the humanest kind
judge not, lest you be judged
the court room or the billy club
blood bubblin thicker than mud
the heart beat rub-a-dub-dub
show love and love who you know
family wherever you go
Tokyo to Acapulco
bravissimo, magnifico
peace to the people who be losing their head
peace to the people who be needin' a bed
love to the people who be feelin' alone
spreadin' love upon the microphone
hope to the people who be feelin' down
smile to the people who be wearin' a frown
faith to the people who be seekin' the truth y'all
all of the time, and I say
(chorus)
ya know I'll come for you
ya know I'll come for you
ya know I'll come for you
ya know I'll come for you
[spoken word]
DO YA LOVE
So many times, people turn they backs to you
'cause they don't wanna see, what's inside of you
'cause lookin' inside of you
they might realize there's something inside of them
they might not wanna find
But it ain't about who ya love, (who ya love)
see it's all about do ya love, (do ya love)
(chorus)
Well well well well
sunshine, and loveliness,
ain't nobody feeling no ugliness tonight
ain't it fine like sippin sweet Georgie wine
see I'm just chillin' with these friends of mine
I ain't tryina bother you
so why ya gotta bother me
what goes on in your bedroom ain't no mess to me
you say your God don't like my God
'cause you don't like my friends
but your friends tryin' to kill a man
and I don't understand
'cause it ain't about who ya love, (who ya love)
see it's all about do ya love, (do ya love)
(chorus)
Ooh one two three
say yeah say yeah feels so good to me
ooh! and ya one two three, say yeah, say yeah
feels so good!!!!
I say do it at home or on the street
with a drag queen don't matter to me
it ain't about sex or having degrees
your pedigree don't matter to me
about who ya love, (who ya love)
see it's all about do ya love, (do ya love)
(chorus)
[spoken word]
SOULSHINE
EVERY SINGLE SOUL
No matter where I roam
whoa-oh I know every single soul is a poem
written on the back of God's hand
Ya see Moms and Pops be copulatin'
plantin' seeds and pickin' weeds for another season
another reason for livin' another reason for givin'
another reason for lovin' and tryin'a stay out of prison
'cause everything in life can't be nice and
everything you want can't be got
but the lessons on being patient be causing the pressure to rise
and make some people suicidal
Oh no! another soul, has lost control
we pull him back into the fold
he got strung out on the material
all the superficial initials
upon his clothes
they make me wanna go Sprewell
every time I see my family locked in jail
uh-huh, the economic can be demonical oh!
keep love in your soul
(chorus)
Ya see people are so beautiful in love
that's why I'm reminded of life’s precious moments every time
I see lovers walkin' by in the park
close my eyes and I stop reminisce
to see a little baby suckin' on his mama's
milk-ey silky smoothness of a lovin' caress holdin' baby to breast
and blessin' the world with another to test, test, test
oh-yes, oh-yes Bom-bom!
I'd like to sing a little song
dedicated to the people who would like to sing along
'cause every little song has little beats and notes
like every little lake has little trees and boats
all people deserve a safe and warm home 'cause every single soul is a poem
(chorus)
Right from the start in a world torn apart
a baby's love leaves finger prints upon the heart
so many think it, but never say it
"why bring a child to this planet full of hatred"
they might not make it like the youngest departed
or worst of all they might become a part of it
involved in it, perpetuating violence, violence
and growin' up in silence...
seein' things they don't know how to deal with
and learnin' ways, to try to cope with it,
cope with it, cope with it.....and not lose hope.
(chorus)
[spoken word]
LOVE’LL SET ME FREE
Seems like everyday gets a little bit longer
seems like yesterday I was a little bit stronger
but there ain't nothin'
nothin' I can do
but to hold my ground
try not to come unwound
don't wanna be let down
but it ain't easy, no! it aint’t easy
doin hard time
for somebody else's crime
(chorus)
Hate is what got me here
but I know that love sweet love is gonna set me free
all the hatred in the world is what got me here today
but I know that love is gonna set me free
Man I been away for so long now
I ain't seen no daylight for God knows how long now
I come out fightin when I hear that bell ring
I always hear my name
but I'd love to feel the rain come down one mo time
wash away my pain
love like a hurricane
(chorus)
THANK YOU
When I was a younger man
people say don't dream to tall
‘cause if you live your life that way
you set your self up for big falls
I stay up late in my room at night
play my heroes on the turntable
opened me to pure phat groove
help my soul break down them walls
(chorus)
I thank you
I thank you for all the music that you've shown to me
I thank you
‘cause you set me free
free to simply just be me
You don't know
all the influence
the subtle positives
that you had on me
came about like a renaissance
like a little happy dance
got into my feet
but in your time
the roads you choose
led you to your hard luck blues
I always feared what it was like
to live inside your big old shoes
Do ya love music? "I Do!!!"
Do ya love music? "I Do!!!"
[spoken word]
WE DON’T MIND
We don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you will not get it without a price
we don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you gotta give something back to life
You think I'm vulnerable to your pressure tactics
because I shed a tear, ‘cause I shed a tear
you think I'm vulnerable to your violence
just 'cause I'm sittin' here
but my babies came into this world
without a single fear, say they had no fear
'cause the seven generations before me
they all fought to get us here
(chorus)
We don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you will not get it without a price
we don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you gotta give something back to life
You can't just come in here like that no more
and snatch up our childhood
you can't just walk on up
and replace it yo, with your Hollywood
but I see now
how all of the words I say you'll take and misconstrue
and I'm prepared now
to suffer the penalty for speakin' the truth
and I speak the truth when I say
(chorus)
We don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you will not get it without a price
we don't mind
see we been doin it all the time
but if you want us to sacrifice
you gotta give something back to life
People if you hear me now I wantcha to say
naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah
people if you hear me now I wantcha to say
naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah
[spoken word]
SPEAKING OF TONGUES
You don't have to be so scared to share what's inside
'cause you're Daddy's little superstar, and you're Mama's little butterfly
Fly high...
A strange strange litany of verses and reverses
ad-libs and rehearses
clouds burst and words cursed
an argument breaks out
it's one we've all heard before, it's boring
had us all snoring from the first line
one after another chimed in perfect time
tired rehashes of petty cashes and mismatches
you shoulda coulda's
and "why didn'tcha dida's"
crippling snippets aimed at the heart
to inflame and impart blame
framed like Mumia
verbal diarrhea spasms
creating chasms between the souls of two
or two billion
nations torn apart,
station to station damnation,
with much deliberation and very little consideration
to the return on the damage from the altercation,
collateral condemnation,
then denyin' like colorization of an old black and white
create a revision of the recent last night
the fight that started with two words "I'm right"
(chorus)
You don't have to be so scared to share what's inside
'cause you're Daddy's little superstar, and you're Mama's little butterfly
Fly high...
But of course the fight ends with no resolution
merely a vow for retribution, substitution, execution, electrocution
ruthless, toothless, and truthless
mumbling through page after page of excuses
abuses of the gift of gab
Gabriel the trumpeter
bestowed upon us a voice with a choice,
and a tongue kept moist by years of salivating
for oysters...pearls and aphrodisiac's
locked in an ugly shell always too chewy and gooey
so they get swallowed whole,
but a tongue is so much more than a vehicle for greed
or the decipherer of feed,
a tongue is for washing fur
or for licking wounds
or for welcoming new comers into a room,
or cleansing those fresh from the womb
without a tongue there'd be no croons,
swoons, Junes under the moon,
no bees pollinating no flowers to bloom,
no recitation of words at the foot of a tomb
or wills read allowed of the family heirlooms
you probably couldn't even blow up a balloon,
and that would be a shame,
because to exhales the name of the game
exhale from the heart, not from the lungs
speak from the heart , not from the tongue
(chorus)
You don't have to be so scared to share what's inside
'cause you're Daddy's little superstar, and you're Mama's little butterfly
Fly high...
Listening is understanding
and finding compassion, love is the action
of soul satisfaction
a tongue can make wishes and also fine kisses
taste a sweet cake and also cast disses
but nothing compares to the voice from within,
without it we might just be mannequins,
up to no darn good shenanigans
learn to be skillful movers of the stones
that block the heart and turn humans to clones
learn to forgive, set free the bones,
touch with your flesh, take off the rubber gloves
love like your life depends on it
because it does!!!!!!
(chorus)
You don't have to be so scared to share what's inside
'cause you're Daddy's little superstar, and you're Mama's little butterfly
Fly high...
[spoken word]
LISTENER SUPPORTED
Six foot six above sea level
I grab the mic because I like to take you to
anotha mental level
low power frequency radio modulation
the big sound from underground anotha pirate station
we bring the truth to places truth is never heard before
we bring the sound communication of our tribal war
dark vision fly by helicopters in the night
attempt triangulation of our station in the fight
straight from the bass the deep down low precision
high crime treason we broadcastin' sedission
like the wall street mornin’ afternoon edition
commandeering airwaves from unknown positions
(chorus)
Live and direct we comin’ never pre-recorded
with information that will never be reported
disregard the mainstream media distorted
whoop! whoop!
we comin' listener supprted
Don't take no prisoners if you can't afford to feed none
don't start no fights if you cannot predict the outcome
don't make donations where you cannot get your dough back
... the apathetic bullshittas send ‘em all your prozac
I will not climb into your telephone tree
and "... no you can't put put me on hold!!!"
it's same recorded message you been singin all along
keep handin us the bible while you walkin' off with the gold
the beureaucratic office sends you merry go rounding
while the KKK police the streets by blood hounding
interest on the credit card just keeps on compounding
but the FCC can neva shut this pirate sound down
(chorus)
[spoken word]
SKIN ON THE DRUM
I was born botanical
the soul of an animal
deep beneath the layers, I sink my roots,
no need for mechanical
I come strictly organical
when I need to feast, I look to the East
that's why I'm never scared of the beast
even though they try to prey upon me
I'm protected by the one always greater than me
so now I reveal to thee
because you wanna see
the contour of my mystery
the strength of my arches
the color of my conscious
and the way that I process my diction
some fact some fiction some mystery
and some future fantasy
I'm the trunk that holds the branches
the leaves who do the dances
my flowers romantic
my love gigantic
from Africa, transplanted transatlantic
in the heat of the sun
I bring shade for everyone
like the beat on the one
I'm the skin on the drum
(chorus)
I keep on living with the fullness of the one
like the heat of the sun or the skin on the drum
I'm fully marinated and now I'm ready for the fire
so you can fire one!!!!
fire one!!!
fire two....!!!
See I been fully marinated
and now I'm ready for the fire
see I'm beginning to perspire
from deep within to the skin
yo, the feminine and the masculine
the pieces of the puzzle
see me reflections in the puddle
after the storm the purple of the sky
brings to mind another time
when we resided
below the water line
life was fine there human, divine
but in the years following
evil men came, swallowing
everything in sight
some learned to run, some stayed to fight
I kneeled at the tomb of the soldier
said I would love to behold her
the magic in store there
she touched me on the shoulder
she said,"in time all is revealed, Box of light be unsealed...
...now listen to me son, be like the skin on the drum."
(chorus)
And as all the pepper gas clears
and police and protesters go home
just as the morning dew, are tear drops of the night,
my emotions are always there for you
and will never leave you dry...Bless....
Original Release Date: May 15, 2001
2nd Release on Boo Boo Wax
Produced By: Michael Franti
Mixed By: Mark Willsher & Michael Franti
Michael Franti - Vocalist
Carl Young - Bass, Keys, Flute & Sax
Dave Shul - Guitars
Roberto Quintana - Drums & Percussion
Additional Musicians:
Ramon Lazo- Keyboards & Fender Rhodes
Mary Harris- Background Vocals
Vocals on "Listener Supported" Featuring Zap Mama Courtesy Of Virgin Records Belguim.
Radio(Active)- Vocals & Rap (on Track 5)
Josh Klor- Background Vocals (on track 11)
Caitlin Cornwall- Background Vocals (on Track 13)
Tanya Saw- Vocals (on Track 20)
Al Marshal- Drums (on Tracks 1,5,7,11,& 13)
Troy Limpkins- DJ Cuts (on Tracks 11 & 16)
Jay Lane- Drums (on Track 16)
Victor Castro- Trombone
Gordon Ramos- Saxaphone
Bob Crawford- Keyboards (on Track 10)
