Worth the Weight – English Lyrics

• By: Jidenna, Seun Kuti
• Album: 85 to Africa

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the rich blend of hip hop, afrobeats, and conscious lyrics in Jidenna's "Worth the Weight." Featuring Seun Kuti, this song is not just a musical journey but an invitation to explore African identity and the importance of unity. Dive into the sounds and message that encourage a global highway connecting the diaspora to the motherland, offering a unique learning experience about culture, history, and the power of connection.

[English]

(bouncy techno music)

♪ I think that you'll find me ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I go for the record, I don't just go for the medals bro ♪

♪ Niggers used to know that we stronger than the devil, bro ♪

♪ Since up every papa in the village with the shovel, bro ♪

♪ Every movies bold ♪

♪ They go top up the inside of bro ♪

♪ In the face of evil ♪

♪ I can find the needle haystack ♪

♪ Could of free my people ♪

♪ If this weave was legal ♪

♪ Way back ♪

♪ Popo spun the wheel of misfortune ♪

♪ But I ain't play that ♪

♪ They come round and pat, pat, pat us down ♪

♪ But I ain't sage jack ♪

♪ I escape the track ♪

♪ I escape the cubic goals, bro ♪

♪ I escape the job by dropped the funeral pros, bro ♪

♪ And I beat the case ♪

♪ And I beat the chase by, well, can I keep the pace ♪

♪ Can I keep the pace ♪

♪ I don't know ♪

♪ I escape them trying to bleaching niggers brain ♪

♪ Coulda went to wall street instead I put up my own name ♪

♪ My own name ♪

♪ Rather have a street in my own name ♪

♪ A money with my face on it like I'm Prince a King. ♪

♪ Prince a King. ♪

♪ You not gonna see me flowering ♪

♪ in these days and time. ♪

♪ You see ♪

♪ The days of the people man ♪

♪ Are numbered like football justice. ♪

♪ We now know ♪

♪ That all of our suffering and smiling ♪

♪ Has been worth the way ♪

♪ My nigger who knew ♪

♪ Who knew, who knew ♪

♪ Who knew that that boy from Manobo with the boo boo ♪

♪ On his knee back then was acting ♪

♪ Like a poodle on the leash ♪

♪ One day he'd have to learn the juju on the street ♪

♪ Staring at death like is your shooters going squeeze ♪

♪ Freeze, please ♪

♪ That's a little boy slanging chains back in Chinatown ♪

♪ Take it to myself ♪

♪ I gonna build it, blackest kinda of town ♪

♪ With my, with my wealth ♪

♪ And I pray that I'm the brightest sound ♪

♪ that you ever felt ♪

♪ I'm gonna take a million flights ♪

♪ From ground till that shit is felt ♪

♪ That's that neither way, hey ♪

♪ That's no piece of cake, hey ♪

♪ That's that troll online that live ♪

♪ Inside the tree all day, hey ♪

♪ That's that Hesop gate, hey ♪

♪ That's that Sheso faith, hey ♪

♪ That's that insecure, hey ♪

♪ That's that Issa Ray. ♪

♪ You do you ♪

♪ Me do me ♪

♪ So long as you don't fuss with me ♪

♪ We baby ♪

(sings in foreign language)

- [Voiceover] I believe it's time for African people's

Powered

Highway

The highway that would connect the diaspora motherland.

A global highway for African people

all over the world to discover themselves, to remember them.

The only thing that unites black people globally.

The only thing we all have in common.

Is that we are from Africa, Africa.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
record /ˈrekərd/ B1	noun - a thing written or stored so that it can be used later verb - to write something down so that it can be used later
medals /ˈmedlz/ B1	noun - an object, typically of metal, awarded to someone as an honor
stronger /ˈstrɔːŋɡər/ A2	adjective - having the power to move heavy weights or to perform other physically demanding tasks.
devil /ˈdevəl/ B2	noun - the supreme spirit of evil
village /ˈvɪlɪdʒ/ A1	noun - a group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area.
shovel /ˈʃʌvəl/ B1	noun - a tool with a broad blade and typically upturned sides, used for moving material verb - move (material) with a shovel
evil /ˈiːvl/ B2	noun - profound immorality adjective - profoundly immoral and wicked
needle /ˈniːdl/ A2	noun - a very thin piece of metal with a point at one end and a hole or eye at the other, for drawing thread through fabric.
haystack /ˈheɪstæk/ B2	noun - a large, neat pile of hay.
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively.
wheel /wiːl/ A2	noun - a circular object that revolves on an axle and is fixed below a vehicle or other object to enable it to move easily over the ground. verb - change direction
misfortune /ˌmɪsˈfɔːrtʃən/ B2	noun - bad luck
case /keɪs/ B1	noun - an instance of a particular situation
chase /tʃeɪs/ B1	verb - pursue in order to catch or catch up with. noun - the act of pursuing someone or something
brain /breɪn/ B1	noun - an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating center of sensation, intellectual and nervous activity.
name /neɪm/ A1	noun - a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. verb - give a name to.
face /feɪs/ A1	noun - the front of a person's head, from the forehead to the chin.
Prince /prɪns/ B1	noun - the son or grandson of a monarch.
King /kɪŋ/ A1	noun - the male ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.
brightest /ˈbraɪtɪst/ B2	adjective - giving out or reflecting a great deal of light; shining.
sound /saʊnd/ A2	noun - vibrations that travel through a medium
flights /flaɪts/ B1	noun - a journey made by flying, especially in an aircraft.
ground /ɡraʊnd/ A1	noun - the surface of the earth.
wealth /welθ/ B2	noun - an abundance of valuable possessions or money.
suffering /ˈsʌfərɪŋ/ B1	noun - the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.
Smiling /ˈsmaɪlɪŋ/ A1	verb - form one's face into a pleased or amused expression, with the corners of the mouth turned up and the eyes crinkled.
boy /bɔɪ/ A1	noun - a male child or young man.
street /striːt/ A1	noun - a public road in a city or town, typically with houses and buildings on one or both sides.
juju /ˈdʒuːdʒuː/ C1	noun - a form of traditional African religious practice involving charms, spells, and rituals.
chains /tʃeɪnz/ B1	noun - a connected series of metal links, used for fastening or securing something.
town /taʊn/ A1	noun - a place with residential houses, a commercial hub, and may be administered by a local government.
faith /feɪθ/ B2	noun - complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.

Key Grammar Structures

• Niggers used to know that we stronger than the devil, bro

  ➔ "Used to" for past habits/states

  ➔ The phrase "used to know" indicates something that was true or happened regularly in the past but does not happen anymore.

• In the face of evil, I can find the needle haystack

  ➔ Modal Verb "can" for ability and possibility (with an idiom)

  ➔ "can find" expresses the ability to do something. The phrase "a needle in a haystack" (implied in the lyric) is an idiom meaning something extremely difficult to find.

• Coulda went to wall street instead I put up my own name

  ➔ "Could have" (unrealized past possibility)

  ➔ "Coulda went" (colloquial for "could have gone") indicates a past possibility that did not happen.

• Rather have a street in my own name

  ➔ "Would rather" (expressing preference)

  ➔ "Rather have" (implicitly "I would rather have") expresses a preference for one thing over another.

• You not gonna see me flowering in these days and time.

  ➔ "Be going to" (future intention/prediction)

  ➔ "gonna see" (colloquial for "going to see") expresses a future intention or prediction.

• The days of the people man, Are numbered like football justice.

  ➔ Passive Voice (Present Simple)

  ➔ "Are numbered" shows that the subject "The days" is receiving the action, not performing it.

• That all of our suffering and smiling, Has been worth the way

  ➔ Present Perfect + "worth"

  ➔ "Has been worth" uses the present perfect to connect a past experience to its present value, and "worth" describes the value of something.

• One day he'd have to learn the juju on the street

  ➔ "Have to" (obligation/necessity)

  ➔ "he'd have to learn" (he would have to learn) expresses a future obligation or necessity.

• And I pray that I'm the brightest sound that you ever felt

  ➔ Superlative Adjective + Relative Clause

  ➔ "the brightest" expresses the highest degree among several items. "that you ever felt" is a relative clause providing more information about "sound".

• So long as you don't fuss with me

  ➔ Conditional Conjunction "So long as"

  ➔ "So long as" introduces a condition, meaning "provided that" or "if".