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Louverture

by Sorg & Napoleon Maddox

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    Includes 12 pages booklet with lyrics.

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1.
Louverture 04:19
(Verse 1) Blocked in La fenêtre marche pas A space thin Difficile à voir Too cold to shiver And too wet to dry and the tears might freeze before they leave his eye Warm blooded in a cold cold world Where dreams get burnt, Froze or made sterile Where I have a dream means more things No cheeks to turn, More death to bring Take the risk to take the place of a king But the light is low in here And the darkness stings And the wind don’t whistle through the woods It sings Songs of Château Joux for immortal beings Thousands of souls that become on scream Shouting, we but to show you what revolution means, So he had to freeze The body might die, yeah But the soul still breathes Sending waves of change across the seas. The small man believes That we can’t perceive The sun still shines beyond the death he leaves Might squeeze and squeeze to create dis ease But the sense to survive strive and achieve Make the heat when all else freeze Said the light to fight, strive and achieve Make heat When all else freeze (Chorus) He put the light real low (So very dark and cold) In a box on rocks and snow (Box on rocks and snow) He put the lights real low In a box on rocks (Way too cold) and snow (Verse 2) What it mean to you? You gotta swell your ego So we can see you, wanna claim sovereign people? But your revolt already spoke, We all equal LeClerc let me speak to you Look here, huh.. take this paperwork right back to your people Make sure Bonaparte Know this part Them souls with skin dark Got big hearts, We see you slicing the Tarte And we claim our part. Look dude justice is not à la carte! Your chamber music outta key cause you read bad charts Everybody got a part to play so restart You can brick the window up be we still shine in the dark (Chorus)
2.
The Letter 03:16
(Chorus) I got a letter from the government the other day Wanting more cafe But they ain’t trying to pay I got a letter from the government the other day Opened and read it, It said they were suckers How many empires must get dissed, before they understand we ain’t having it? (2x) (Verse 1) Your permission for my freedom is unneeded And if I’m asking for it then I’m blaspheming Your pen strokes is jokes from misled demons Chains on brains, stockades on thinking You’re slaves too but you can’t see it What we won’t do is let you keep us Take this Leclerc tell your chief to read it His pride might hurt because he’s quite conceited But he gonna learn exactly why I’m leading No more free work and we don’t mind bleeding Gone tax us for that but these shots ringing Metal clash echoes when these blades swingin’ Connect to the necks of heads that’s not conceiving For the next generation, liberation achieving You can try to hide us but they still see us Rikers island or Fort du Joux you won’t defeat us (Chorus) (Verse 2) I block my post box From faux intox Of those that broke stocks Exploiting crops And try to make us sweat until our bodies drop I went to the spot Where they write them joints Said I read your mail and I got the point You just want me to do what you don’t want to Give my best and leave the rest for you But you sound lazy Just plain crazy Like the fools in history That try to destroy Haiti But F you pay I’ll say daily If you don’t fait gaf about the mail you send me I know that’s not friendly And it’s hard to hear Be more hard to breathe If we cut the air You been breathing Best you see this If you writing then I’m reading So watch what you send When I’m receiving (Chorus)
3.
(Chorus) Hard terrain Ain’t enough To hold at bay This brigade Of troops Understand The man For which we came And won’t be blocked By cliffs of rocks Or snow or rain When it’s time the blood flow You should know That we gonna let it all go Just so ya know (Verse 1) Man can’t See each troop ah top Peak or slope Pack strategies fresh You def fail to decloak We travel the distances And chronologic You locked up the body But can’t hold the logic We come with the force To retrieve A liberator iconic Who inconvenienced the sovereign Counter position so modern Somehow still older than obelisk Got a view from the peak And you can’t see But we Locked On the objective, Of giving the topic of Liberation of Toussaint Shots that you can’t stop Picture Steph on the clock, Sent to the bench His points still count It’s the same concept We just figured it out We transmitting Beyond the space The walls they made To keep All of us caged That’s how we breakin’ him out Come too far to turn back now Bout to cross that mountain and come down No snow or rain Ain’t no pain That can stop us What can stop us Come too far to turn back now Bout to cross that mountain and come down Can’t stop us (Chorus) (Verse 2 - Boogie Bang) What the blood clot gunshot resolute Get ya musket homie aim it and shoot it Super soldier sedum the theorem We gone kill em Free the body but first the cerebellum Tip of the pyramid shackles for the devil In the jungle with the rebels not a killer I'm a vessel Revolution in a y jar hey star When you see me then you gotta see god Black as the pitch coal soul never sold For the oil for the gold for the fortune Untold We never move for the love of the dollar We only hustle in the spirit of the father So if we canonized words from the mortal We understand that death is just a portal So when we come back animate resurrect That way we prove that we never left It’s time to let the blood flow You should know That we gonna let it all go Just so you know (Chorus)
4.
(Chorus) Trayizon potél allé Yon prizonyé oblijé Avèk tout kòd yo té maréy Yo pa konn sa yo fè la Imbecil ki nan kò yo Jalouzi avèk menm kòd Ya maré tèt yo a. (Verse 1) You can sense it Intensive Like rain in your joints from a distance Ça port la tristesse Yo pat fè pwomès Men nou di God Bless Tankou Holiday Billie Y pa pitimi Ou deja konn sa Cʼest la vie Unavoidable Time to fight or go Danger on approach and the Spirit know Spirit la déja konsa Sé Konsa nou fèl Nou toujou Bashi Jazzy Ella-Billi Nou pap Janm sispann Sous la pap Janm fini And if we use that We can see the traps That's why I’m tapped in to The Ancestors in fact Ratatataw wap pran paw Siw pa véyéw Wap Tonbé Levé Levé Levé tonbé levé Levé Levé tonbé levé Levé Levé Levé ah! (Chorus) (Verse 2) Wonder how he felt when he came back From the last attack Woy Yo té kwè misyé Sété yon egaré wi Sot Ènri Fout nèg yo yon bel raklé Bel volé Then they showed him that golden box (Woy) Tried play like he was Goldilocks (Kisa) Like he was in the wrong spot Huh! Yeh They was but he was but he was not Yo pat Konn sa Now who can call the play when the stakes is high Facing consequences eye to eye Never know what you could do or even try Facing captivity where you could die (Chorus)
5.
(Verse 1) Menottes Menottes And French boats Bayonets plumes And fancy coats Far to go so keep a float We gonna keep fighting with more than hope Machete sharp for the heart and throat Learn these words and chat this quote Machete sharp for the heart and throat Learn these words and chat this quote Tirer machete, tirer machete They gonna learn respect if not fear yet Tirer machete, tirer machete They gonna learn respect if not fear yet Whether or not Toussaint is free We hold the power and the liberty Whether or not Toussaint is free We hold the power and the Liberty (Chorus) Our chief is gone Great leader gone Left with the shackles on Cause he stood straight But the coup still on The coup still on (2x) (Verse 2) Pull the blade man Choices made man Cut the chains that make us slaves man Pull the blade man Choices made man They got plans If we don’t take a stand Calculate the time of captivity It take at least that to really get free And the ones leading the way Get hauled away In a body bag Or dragged by a French brigade Or COINTELPRO or CIA Or other parts of the state With unknown names Do it anyway, in your own way Tire Machette And blaze the way Cause colonized generations Is awaiting A brand new path and forward thinking Receive this love for the risk you takin’ And for the chains you breaking (Chorus)
6.
Tic Toc 02:07
Her body was a clock And a Rolex was mine And the Rolex was mine Orientation suspended On the spin cycle Colors twist and bend Sending known logic into a spiral Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop Ears full of sights Eyes see the odor And nose sniff an eye full Watching the arms and hands On your watch, It feels impossible to be mindful Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop So we mind loosing Like the common fool Misunderstanding the function Of time telling tools We can say when to be where But nature still rules Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop We can try when to be there Yet drips still pool And accumulate molecules That offer sincere clues That don’t care About the measures we use Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop I said I’ll be there in a moment And she understood a minute When the sixty seconds passed Her ass starts to fidget I really didn’t get it Why the moment felt suspended But her clock was ticking She was counting unit Calculating every egg and seed To see how we could use it So I felt so stupid When she said to me I blew it Meant it when she spoke it And the way she did I knew it Yeh, got a new dude that comes on time Her body was her clock And the Rolex was mine Yeh, she got a new guy that comes on time Her body was her clock And the Rolex was mine Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop Her body was her clock And the Rolex was mine And the Rolex was mine Tic toc Drip drop Wont’ stop Lift drop
7.
Might fail you Who gone tell you Pause and help you All the gems you ought to (2x) (Chorus) Bones buried in the earth might fail you If you don’t know then who got tell you? Not the work of the merchants to pause and help you nor dig up for self all the gems you ought to (2x) (Verse 1) You Wanting bread or grain Or land or strain Where you can invest now And later on exchange They saying service made for the sovereign nation Like stacking their bank is our preoccupation While we losing patience With the crew we came Jewels we lose is us And they quick to take it Quick to strip us naked Like back to the slave ship Back to chains and whips And it’s a shame to see that we still trip over shit, like chains and whips Envision if We could delay gratification And stack our bricks And build our nation Ignore the risk of prison facing For the opening move toward liberation Louverture Toussaint our Saint and patron On the chess board of life with the moves we making Bones buried in the earth might fail you If you don’t know then who got tell you Not the work of the merchants to pause and help you nor dig up for self all the gems you ought to (2x) Might fail you Who gone tell you Pause and help you All the gems you ought to (2x) (Verse 2 - Marc Nammour) L’élite se méfie du fruit de mon introspection Pour elle faut surtout pas que j’me pose trop d’question Ne rester qu’en surface empêche la progression Ce n’est qu’au fond des choses que s’envisage la projection J’ai du sonder mes larmes pour y trouver d’la poésie J’ai du creuser les heures pour déjouer la prophétie Ausculter l’âme humaine pour démasquer sa comédie Quand le mensonge étouffe la vérité de nos récits Apprendre à puiser la lumière dans les abîmes Devoir plonger dans le noir pour faire briller la rime Explorer ses recoins que mon cerveau se réanime Ici la face cachée de notre histoire est unanime C’est en sous sol que s’est construit la répartie Deux platines un micro et l’horizon s’est élargit Des bataillons de 16 mesures pour seule thérapie Cette musique de sauvageon m’a sauvé de la léthargie J’ai passé l’âge de m’demander c’est quoi les bails Me faire mener par le bout du nez comme du foutu bétail J’ai passé l’âge de m’embourber dans des petits détails J’ai ce besoin de cohérence pour colmater mes failles Poum poum c’est l’impulsion des battements de mon coeur La seule cadence valable à respecter sur la longueur Si j’évolue dans l’ombre quand la plupart en ont peur C’est parce que pour m’élever j’dois descendre en profondeur Might fail you Who gone tell you Pause and help you All the gems you ought to (Chorus) Might fail you Who gone tell you Pause and help you All the gems you ought to (4x)
8.
Sugarcane 02:53
(Intro) Sun wind or rain When up the sun came They had to forget their pain And cut that sugarcane (Chorus) Down low on chopping dat sugar cane Metropole know none how sugar made (4x) (Verse 1) Bushel to a barrel That’s 4 point 5 Create demand And control the supply They need sugar for the pastries The cake and the pie Somethin’ sweet To make the suffer of the days Past by The chef can’t cook that If we don’t cut that And if we leave some slack Then the whip say crack And that ain’t sweet yo Cause we still people Not beasts In the field so you can have Your sweets yo (Chorus) (Verse 2) Swingin’ sweatin’ choppin’ cause we gotsta And they don’t care If it gets more hotter Machete fa chop And Make the cut more proper We call it karma You can call it slaughter Mais, s’il vous plaît Coup sucre to burrow You can let peace go Or let free sweets go Oh you up taxin’ Takin the max and We up rise And Then you re-up taxin’ (Chorus)
9.
Yè Ou pap ka rekonèt Sak pasé la Sé yon vwayaj Yo té Konn antreprann Lontan lontan lontan lontan Nan bato oh Oseyan ak chè fè yon Bato ak ram fè de Olé Sak pasé neg yo Yo fè nou vwayajé Papa di Non Manman di wi Papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi Manman tandé Napoleon li di non Se konsa istwa pasé pasé pati Yap revolté Papa di wi Yap raché nou Papa di non Yap devlopé Manman di wi Yap Dòloté Maman di non Yap jwé ak nou Yap jwé ak kè nou Yap jwé ak la vi nou Yap jwé ak fwa nou Anmwé anmwéééééé Papa di wi Papa di non Papa di wi Papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi Manman di non Yap fè lajan Papa di wi Pouki yo fè nou sa Adyé bon Djye bon Dye Pouki yo kasé nou Adye adye bon dye Pouki yo Kasé nou Adye Pouki yo raché nou Adyé Anmwé mpa Kapab enko Men papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi Manman di non Manman di non Papa di wi Papa di wi Manman di non Papa di wi
10.
Wha Dey Wan 02:40
(Chorus) What do What do What do What do Why you Why you Why you Why you (2x) they want? they want? they want? they want? so mad? so mad? so mad? so mad? (Verse 1)) This the plan We climb up The west side & line up Pull the rope up Behind us For the next side to climb ‘Til we get to Our brother Breda Apply da pressure Till they hand him over But we not leavin’ the way we came Cause we independent now And is not the same We here to retrieve A visionary Gettin' freedom By all means necessary Knowin’ the rules that make The strong our tools to break All the chain they place To hold us in place But stay chill we will not Cause it plain that we got Diplomatic comprehension Long term ambition If I can do it in a lifetime Is really a mission ? If I can do it in a lifetime Is really a mission (Chorus) (Black people What you got to loose you could just stay Give us your best, and we will invest and skip the pay) (2x) (Verse 2) This the deal We keep cool Cause we know in our soul Things they don't teach in school And we got tap in To deep understanding Freedom is ours With multiple ways of Doing combat And since I got your back You got my back No turning back We can be certain that We gone be told that We on the wrong track man But we know the track man Cause we own the track ! Footprints & toe prints You can see our tracks In all type traces In chateau and prisons And various places Our story should end But it’s never the case and We stay on a mission Timeline extending And we got a vision Taking pieces that's loss And bringing them back in If I can do it in a lifetime Is it really a mission? If I can do it in a lifetime Is it really a mission? (Chorus) If I can do it in a lifetime Is it really a mission? (4x)
11.
UJFP 02:59
Just pause when we move (2x) (Chorus) You betta pause when we moving Cause we know just what we doing Cut the old dope and make it brand new Cause raw it’s way too strong for you (2x) (Verse 1) Yo yo Look I up Check it out Write it down If you have to We been here before you And sure to outlast you Perfect Faith Give us the worst We transform the shit Divine work On earth they call it the alchemist Job to survive By a means That you can find Get down dirty on the grind And make it clean in time Huh And singing praying Lord please help me You see my gourd empty The snakes down here they either one Trying to kill me or tempt me Duplicate my craft and try to exempt me And I know you sent me As the authentic document Not just to keep it real But to reveal what it really meant Not just to keep it real But to reveal what it really meant And if my pockets ill coming up with lint I’m still filthy rich homie don’t get it bent Point blank period no comma that’s it Just quit (Chorus) (Verse 2) Yo Fire don’t need splainin’ You been told it’s hot stop complaining Now blistering ya seeking that easing Cause the weak shit you rather believe in I’m try to tell ya This is ain’t the watered down stuff they been serving Just a pinch will have you Making your bench on the curb and Struggling tryin to get your life right Up on the ledge gripping the edge tight So you can let go yo, or get pulled up Keep dying from thirst or overflow your cup And this hard juice we pouring Will knock a wild beast down on the floor and Humble him, settle score and then he'll be cool like you never saw him Teaching math On the behalf of them that taught him Now pause, grab gems Tuck’em and keep moving (Chorus)
12.
We'd like to say what we would change Like baby kings forever brave Just print our names on history's page And we'd never make the same mistake But yesterday I learned the names (now I learn the names) Of those I burnt, maned or turned away ---- We'd like to say what we would change (what would you change?) Like baby kings forever brave (Now you feel so brave!) Just print our names on history's page (Oh we would like to take their place) And we'd never make the same mistakes (We ain’t gonna make those mistakes) But yesterday I learned the names (have you learned) Of those I burnt, maned or turned away I wonder Who have I turned away (do you know you’ve turned away?) Who have you turned away (Not yesterday, today) Who have we turned away

about

A black History salute to the great revolutionary Haitian general Toussaint Louverture.

« Une géniale réinvention Hiphop du personnage » - Marianne
«  A la croisée du Hiphop, du Jazz et du Blues, le rappeur Maddox explore l’histoire du général Haïtien » - Pan African Music
« Dans cet opéra contemporain les quatre bretteurs ferraillent en anglais, en français et en créole, à coups de beatbox et de cuivres free, de hip-hop et de gospel habité » - Télérama 

/// 🎥 VIDEO "Louverture" 🎥 ///
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFswQZ-DVw
Filmed at Château de Joux, in the cell of Toussaint Louverture, and in the countryside of Doubs, France.

credits

released November 18, 2022

Music written, produced and mixed by Sorg
Texts written by Napoleon Maddox except : 
Jowee Omicil « Trayizon » & « Papa Di Wi »
Boogie Bang « Hard Terrain »
Marc Nammour « Bones »

Saxophones & Cornett in « Louverture », « Trayizon », « Tiré Machèt » & « Bones » by Jowee Omicil
Trombone in « Louverture » by Constantin Meyer
Keyboards in « The Letter », « Sugarcane » & « History’s Page » by Carl-Henri Morisset

Mastered by Thomas Fournier
Artwork by Brian Greer
Designed by ease
℗ & © 2022 Sans Sucre Records

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Sorg & Napoleon Maddox Besançon, France

The France-American Hip-hop duo is back with a new album "LOUVERTURE", a black history salute to the great revolutionary Haitian general Toussaint Louverture. The texts of Napoleon Maddox are engaged as always, giving voice to the disenfranchised to match the well-crafted, imaginative soundscapes of Sorg, the French beatmaker. ... more

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