Lyrics!: Agent Sasco

I actually tried this before. But I think I got the format better this time so expect me to feed it pretty regularly coming up. "Lyrics!" is a feature where I dig into (completely randomly) ten of my favourite lyrics/verses from some of Reggae's, Dancehall's and even Soca's finest wordsmiths and in coming weeks you can expect similar features on the likes of Busy Signal, Aidonia, Bunji Garlin, Queen Ifrica, Queen Omega and others. But we get started with who is, in my opinion, the single best lyricist in Dancehall today, Agent Sasco, bka Assassin.

{Note: Yes. I am open to suggestions}

Agent Sasco

“[We ah bad from]
Before Bob Marley start locks
Before Muhammad Ali start box
[We ah bad from]
Long, long, long, long before dat
Before Amerindians and Arawak
[We ah bad from]
Before Brazil and Italy start clash
Before Pele play di first match”
-'Bad From'

“Remembah seh God nah sleep
All weh yu a gwan wid and ah feel seh nobody nah seet
Remembah seh God nah sleep
Whenever you feel fi rob and rape and kill and whenever you waan cheat
Remembah, God nah sleep
When you holy on a Sunday but you dirty for the rest of the week yow
Membah, God nah sleep
Everytime you bound fi mek a wrong move
Membah dis before you dweet”
-'God Nah Sleep'


“Well dem fi know ah Reggae music put Jamaican pon di map
And Dancehall music deh pon di same track
Dancehall:
Sean Paul drop di dutty rock
#1 pon di Billboard, di whole world shock
Unuh memba when Diwali have di whole world ah clap?
And Chaka Demus & Pliers ah #1 act
Mi nah have nuttin against R&B, Jazz and Pop
But wi represent di Gold and di Green and di Black”
-'Dancehall Again'

“Then when mi do calculation
Mi ah wondah if emancipation is a misconception
And mi ah wondah if the process of an election
Is just an elabourate deception
And mi ah wondah if AIDS is an infection
Or a biological weapon”
-'Wandering Mind'


“Well mi seh gunshot ah beat
Then pon mi belly, lie dung
Extra flat lak a tie, mi tie dung
Jeep, ah drive round and helicopter fly dung
But mi nah go mek none ah dem come tek weh my gun
So mi ah buss it, it nah stick
It well oil dung
And it ah beat pon rapid cah di ting well file dung
Mi know ah true ah nuff ah dem, dem waan si I run
Copper full dem up lak raisin inna piece a dry bun
Mi, tek weh fi dem life, dem caan tek my one
Mi juss tun 23 and I don’t wanna die young
Plus mi doh waan in up inna no slum
Mi rather plead insanity and go a di asylum
Cuz enuff tings go down and nuff tings take place
But out of the grace of Fadda God save mi
A whole heap ah tank dem back mi up
And all try fi shot mi up
And not even graze, dem graze mi
Whole heap ah people seh mi outta mi mind -
Mi mussi crazy
Becuz dem tings deh don’t faze mi
Cah wi no care
An di gansta nah no fear
Man a buss shot inna air
Now amaze mi”
-'Gunshot A Beat'

“And so woman now
Dem get any weh it deh
When it time to dem hair
Dem pickney want a book fi go ah school
Dem seh it there
And dem ah bawl seh
Dem don’t have no money

Then hear mi Mr. government
How unuh ah kill wi wid di tax dem everyday
But anytime di teacha dem ah beg ah raise a pay
Unuh ah bawl seh
You don’t have no money

How di collection plate full up at church every week
Congregation ah wet up cuz di church roof ah leak
And di pastor ah seh
Him don’t have no money”
-'Priority'


“Most homicide would be a suicide that mean seh all a who a mogel with
Gun pon yuh side you woulda haffi think properly before you decide -
To pop if off. I bet you woulda rather lock it off. Yow
I bet the killing dem wouldn’t be so plenty
And people wouldn’t ah dead so innocently
More youth woulda live past twenty
And nuff a di jail cell dem woulda empty
Cah gunshot wouldn’t fire, only stone woulda fling
No gun wouldna sling
Man woulda rather carry sling
If gunshot did work like a bee sting
Man wouldn’t take way people life like a di least thing. Yow
A simple reasoning could resolve a situation
So it couldn’t ignite like gas
I bet if man did stay like bees but unfortunately dem stay like wasp”
-'Stay Like Bees'


“Well if a school wi dominate
Cuz a wi ah top di class
And anytime wi deh ya work
Wi dominate juss lak di boss
Nuff seh dem ah dominate but wi hear dem and haffi laugh
Becuz dem dominate and only dominate di first half
But when wi dominate, wi ah dominate di game
Dominate is not di word a, becuz a wi ah reign
C??? yo domino if you don’t know what I’m sayin
That’s ’I dominate’ in Spanish
Ask man weh live a Spain
Yow, when wi seh dominate, wi dominate everything
Yow, wi dominate lak Cristiano Ronaldo pon di wing
And yow, and if it’s a monarchy, wi dominate lak di King
Wi are di greatest juss lak Ali when him ah dominate di ring”
-'World Domination'


“When mi find out
She ah tell mi how she sorry
Know seh she do it just fi force mi fi marry
East to west, she waan haul and draw mi
Waan carry mi from Jerry Springer go to Maury”
-'Jacket'

“So when mi inna class mi pay attention
Becah mi know enuff money Mommy spend pon
Mi fi go a school and a mi she ah depend pon
But don’t ya worry Mama
I will be your pension
Wha mi seh!
Yes mi ahgo pay attention, plus mi ahgo study hard fi pass mi exam
Becah mi know seh dat a mi you ah depend pon
So dis year mi nah go get no more detention

Cuz easily ya coulda give up and seh ‘time hard‘, Mama
But I si seh dat you’re trying hard, Mama
And even when you couldn’t find job
You try your best fi mek sure textbook inna my bag, Mama”
-'Pay Attention'