BONNE MENTALE – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: CHAAX, KEMAN, BOOBA
• Album: Béton Rouge

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the raw energy of French rap with "BONNE MENTALE" by CHAAX, KEMAN, and BOOBA. This track offers a direct gateway to modern French slang and expressions of resilience, making it a powerful and engaging way to experience the nuances of the language through its bold lyrical delivery and compelling production.

[English]

Never broke again, gotta make it last

Boxing with words like on the streets

Tell me face to face if it's too soon

Bitch, we're not going to linger

Like the guys from Créteil, gotta get out of here

Ten bucks in small bills, just in case

I promised you I'd stop causing chaos

Sorry Mama, I didn't succeed

I drink the wrong mix

My heart is damaged

I came as a conqueror

Forced to move abroad

Watch out, I'm armed

Masked like a Taliban

The guy crossed over

To the other side of the ocean

Bro, I loaded up the car

For us, a permanent job is complicated

Baby, I'm from the homeland

The police ask me for my ID

I light a cigarette in the Sprinter

High, I think about Mikasa

A glance in the rearview mirror

I see Goré and Braza

Never turned my back

Keeping a good mindset

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

I dreamt of being at the top

Fuck the code, rental

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

100-8, Zoo, go hard

I lost some bros, I miss those guys

I write well like Niro, B2O haunts you

You haven't sold a kilo, show the sales receipt

She loved Kopp, she stops me at customs

I told her I'm a Formula One pilot

Messi, he leaves, he's already there

That's not what the Mayan calendar says

You can come up, habibi hey

It's not Didi B's Maybach

Dark melody like in Sidi B

I have a whole orchestra to conduct

Franco-Bakeloi, I'm a fake blonde

CFA Franc, damn colonizer

Since you're not one, you cry wolf

Sirius, Orion, like a Dogon

I take the light, I do both evil and good

Toca in the storm, your deal is mine

You were born anonymously, like a Ninho freestyle

Under Kali, under ghiza, I fix the pipes

Bro, I loaded up the car

For us, giving up is complicated

Baby, I'm from the homeland

The police ask me for my ID

I light a cigarette in the Sprinter

High, I think about Mikasa

A glance in the rearview mirror

I see Goré and Braza

Never turned my back

Keeping a good mindset

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

I dreamt of being at the top

Fuck the code, rental

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

Never turned my back

Keeping a good mindset

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

I dreamt of being at the top

Fuck the code, rental

I know the struggle, now we gotta leave

Keeping a good mindset

...

[French]

Plus jamais fauché, faut pérenniser

Ça boxe avec les mots comme sur les pots

Dis-le-moi yeux dans les yeux si c'est tôt

Bitch, on va pas s'éterniser

Comme les mecs d'Créteil, faut se barrer d'ici

Dix balles en petite coupure juste au cas où

J't'avais promis d'arrêter d'faire le chaos

Désolé Mama j'ai pas réussi

J'bois le mauvais mélange

J'ai le cœur abîmé

J'suis venu en conquérant

Obligé de m'expatrier

Belek j'suis armé

Masqué comme un taliban

Le négro est passé

De l'autre côté de l'océan

Igo, j'ai chargé la caisse

Pour nous CDI c'est compliqué

Baby, je viens du bled moi

22 me demande mon identité

J'allume une clope dans l'sprinter

Défoncé j'repense à Mikasa

Un coup d'œil dans l'rétroviseur

J'aperçois Goré et Braza

Jamais retourné ma veste

Garder la bonne mentale

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

Nike le code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

100-8, Zoo, rentre dedans

J'ai perdu des kho, ces négros me manquent

J'écris bien comme Niro, B2o te hante

T'as pas vendu un kilo, dis l'acte de vente

Elle a kiffé le Kopp, elle m'arrête à la douane

J'lui ai dit j'suis un pilote de Formula One

Le Messi, il s'en va, il est déjà là

C'est pas ce que dit la calendrier Maya

Tu peux monter habibi hé

C'est pas la Maybach à Didi B

Mélodie noire comme à Sidi B

J'ai tout un orchestre à diriger

Franco-Bakeloi, j'suis un faux blond

Franc CFA, putain d'colon

Vu qu'ten n'es pas un, tu cries au lion

Sirius, Orion, comme un Dogon

J'prends la lumière, j'fais le mal et le bien

Toca sur tempête, ton bail, c'est le mien

T'es né sous X, comme un freestyle de Ninho

Sous Kali, sous ghiza, je répare les tuyaux

Igo, j'ai chargé la caisse

Pour nous céder c'est compliqué

Baby, je viens du bled moi

22 me demande mon identité

J'allume une clope dans l'sprinter

Défoncé j'repense à Mikasa

Un coup d'œil dans l'rétroviseur

J'aperçois Goré et Braza

Jamais retourné ma veste

Garder la bonne mentale

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

Nike le code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

Jamais retourné ma veste

Garder la bonne mentale

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

Nike le code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

Garder la bonne mentale

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fauché /fo.ʃe/ B1	adjective - broke (financially, informal)
pérenniser /pe.ʁɛ.ni.ze/ C1	verb - to perpetuate, to make lasting, to ensure the continuity of
chaos /ka.o/ B1	noun - chaos, disorder
abîmé /a.bi.me/ B1	adjective - damaged, spoiled, worn out
conquérant /kɔ̃.ke.ʁɑ̃/ B2	noun - conqueror adjective - conquering, victorious
expatrier /ɛk.spa.tʁi.je/ B2	verb - to expatriate (to send or withdraw from one's native country)
armé /aʁ.me/ B1	adjective - armed, equipped with weapons
caisse /kɛs/ B1	noun - car (informal, slang) noun - box, crate
bled /blɛd/ B2	noun - hometown, village, remote place (colloquial, often referring to a country of origin, especially in North Africa)
clope /klɔp/ B1	noun - cigarette (slang)
défoncé /de.fɔ̃.se/ B2	adjective - stoned, high (on drugs, informal)
rétroviseur /ʁe.tʁɔ.vi.zœʁ/ B1	noun - rearview mirror
veste /vɛst/ A1	noun - jacket, coat idiomatic expression (noun used in) - to betray, to change one's allegiance/opinion (as in 'retourner sa veste')
mentale /mɑ̃.tal/ B2	noun (colloquial usage) - mindset, mental state, morale (e.g., 'avoir la bonne mentale' - to have a good mindset)
merde /mɛʁd/ B1	noun - shit (vulgar, slang for excrement) noun - trouble, mess (informal)
tailler /ta.je/ B2	verb - to cut, to carve, to trim verb (informal, slang) - to leave, to flee, to make off
sommet /sɔ.mɛ/ B1	noun - summit, top, peak, apex
kiffer /ki.fe/ B1	verb - to like, to enjoy, to love (informal, slang, from Arabic 'kif' - pleasure)
douane /dwan/ B1	noun - customs (border control, duties)
colon /kɔ.lɔ̃/ B2	noun - colonist, settler

Key Grammar Structures

• Plus jamais fauché, faut pérenniser

  ➔ Double Negation & Impersonal Expression of Obligation

  ➔ "Plus jamais" is a double negation meaning "never again". "Fauché" means broke. "Faut pérenniser" is a colloquial form of "Il faut pérenniser", meaning "It is necessary to make permanent/sustainable."

• Dis-le-moi yeux dans les yeux si c'est tôt

  ➔ Imperative with Multiple Pronoun Objects & Idiomatic Expression

  ➔ "Dis-le-moi" is an imperative construction with two pronouns: "le" (direct object pronoun, referring to "it") and "moi" (indirect object pronoun, referring to "to me"). "Yeux dans les yeux" is an idiom meaning "face to face" or "sincerely."

• J't'avais promis d'arrêter d'faire le chaos

  ➔ Plus-que-parfait & Verb + Preposition + Infinitive Structure

  ➔ "J't'avais promis" is the *plus-que-parfait* (past perfect) tense, meaning "I had promised you." The structure "promettre de faire quelque chose" (to promise to do something) is followed by "arrêter de faire quelque chose" (to stop doing something). "D'faire" is a colloquial contraction of "de faire."

• Obligé de m'expatrier

  ➔ Adjective + Preposition + Infinitive with Pronominal Verb

  ➔ "Obligé de" means "obliged to" or "forced to." Here, "obligé" is a past participle used as an adjective. "M'expatrier" is a pronominal verb (s'expatrier) meaning "to expatriate oneself," with the reflexive pronoun "me" (m') indicating the action is performed by and on the subject.

• Jamais retourné ma veste

  ➔ Elliptical Negative Construction & Idiomatic Expression

  ➔ This is an elliptical sentence where "Je n'ai" is implied before "Jamais". "Jamais" is a negative adverb meaning "never". "Retourner sa veste" is a French idiom meaning "to betray one's principles or side," or "to change one's allegiance."

• J'rêvais d'être au sommet

  ➔ Imparfait for Past Desire/State & Verb + Preposition + Infinitive

  ➔ "J'rêvais" is the *imparfait* (imperfect) tense, often used to describe ongoing actions, states, or habitual actions in the past. Here, it expresses a continuous desire or dream. "Rêver de faire quelque chose" (to dream of doing something) uses the preposition "de" before the infinitive.

• J'ai perdu des kho, ces négros me manquent

  ➔ Passé Composé & The verb 'manquer' with Indirect Object Pronoun

  ➔ "J'ai perdu" is the *passé composé* (compound past), indicating a completed action in the past. "Me manquent" uses the verb "manquer" (to lack/to miss). In French, "to miss someone/something" is often expressed with the structure "Quelque chose/Quelqu'un manque à quelqu'un" (Something/Someone is missing *to* someone). Here, "ces négros" is the subject and "me" is the indirect object, meaning "I miss these guys."

• C'est pas ce que dit la calendrier Maya

  ➔ Colloquial Negation & Demonstrative Pronoun + Relative Pronoun ('ce que')

  ➔ "C'est pas" is a very common colloquial contraction of "Ce n'est pas" (It is not). "Ce que" means "that which" or "what." It's a compound relative pronoun used to refer to an unspecified antecedent or an entire idea.

• J'ai tout un orchestre à diriger

  ➔ 'Avoir + noun + à + infinitive' construction

  ➔ This construction "avoir + noun + à + infinitive" (e.g., "J'ai quelque chose à faire") indicates something that needs to be done, has to be done, or is available for action. Here, "tout un orchestre" is the noun and "à diriger" (to conduct) is the infinitive, meaning "I have a whole orchestra to conduct."