Mucho Gusto

I was born in my homeland Venezuela, yes, in the north of the south
Next to Colombia, in the middle of the blue Atlantic
Where midday temperatures are thirty-three degrees and up
And the women here are better than food

Where a new car costs at least ten years' salary
And a house costs at least the price of a hundred cars
I'm from a country with thousands of unenforced laws
With sixty deaths weekly just in the capital

Therefore, very few things surprise me
I've been held up at gunpoint to steal a pair of glasses
I've seen police killing innocent people
And I've seen non-innocent people being president, do you understand?

I've liked rap since I was about eleven and haven't been able to stop since then
I've written a bunch of songs
I've improvised drunk in alleys
And I've sung seriously in front of several hundred followers

I've shown even the most conservative
That rap can be heard by young and old
Also that rap is not just violence as they believe
And that even though we compete, we seek good not an end

Many see me and think it's just for kids
That I do drugs, that I'm a fool, that I'm a drunk
Without knowing how much work it takes to pay for my ranch
And that I educate myself to be more of a Don Quixote than a Sancho

I seem crazy compared to most
I go out little, I prefer darkness to daylight
I have a bad temper and a couple of psychological problems
I don't believe in the Bible, but in logical reasoning

I come from a neighborhood where sometimes I ate
The same pasta every day, sometimes not even cold water
But I haven't gone hungry yet, nothing has been given to me
That's why I'm as cold as a soldier

Currently there are people who want to sign me
Make my music danceable, treat me like an inflatable doll
I tell them I'd rather eat a cable
That I will never change what my soul speaks to them

Even if it takes half of my life and I don't enjoy it
I will do everything for this music to gain respect
From the whole planet, because now is the time
To establish through verse the real expression of the ghetto

I want to make music, but not for dancing
But to be felt in the heart and in the air
I want to die in every verse I write
And be brought back to life with rap and hands up

I don't want to sleep, I never want to save my strength
I hope all lying rulers die
I want to open the zoo doors to the animals
And lock up all the criminal officials there

I want them to invent the vaccine against racism already
And for the planet to accept that deep down we're all the same
I want ammunition to turn into bread
And for superheroes to come out of the series they're in

I want greed to never win over honor
And for the only religion in the world to be called love
There are many things I would like
But for now, I'm content with rapping until I die

I want to make conscious music
For those who think
That rap is useless
I will show them
The real deal, the sound of the ghetto
Of this new musical movement

I demand respect for Latin rap here
From the peasant, Leandro on the beat
Since he's been around so long, now it's my turn to speak
If you don't know me, investigate around

I want to make music, but not for dancing
Unless it's with a fist in the air
Samples, boxes, hi-hats, bases, voice
(Chant, chant) (Chant, chant)

Enough disrespect from foreign racists
(Chant, chant) (Chant, chant)
Enough of thinking that the rapper is a criminal
Nice to meet you all, my name is Can

From Venezuela exactly
From the country where Lil Supa' was born and all my people
Where the group Bas. Y. Co is also a resident
From the country where you can suddenly get shot

I want to make music, but not for dancing
(Unless it's moving your neck)
I want to make music, but not for dancing
(Unless it's furrowing your brow)

Nice to meet you all, my name is Can
Nice to meet you all, my name is Can
Nice to meet you all, my name is Can