“I wrote ‘Fever’ as a kind of triumphant ode to surviving in this city. In London,” Awate explains to Okayafrica. “The city is full of pressures weighing down on you and people can’t talk to each other. The school steals your history and raises you to have no pride in your identity. The police prey...
People are claiming that
They can't be chased, in fact
I make amazing tracks
Just ask your favourite rappers
I'm gonna be your favourite rapper
Literary visionary, legendary wordsmith
Observant. Strike like the white lightning might hit the Gherkin
I'm quite bright and versed in
The ways of working the stage without rehearsing
I've learnt it. Preserved it
And now decant it into capsules by Turkish
I'm actually a track bully
Attract police just because I'm young and sometimes wear a black hoodie
Now clap for me. I rap goodie
Very well. Feds want me in every cell
Because I spit a little different
Diamond in the rough, watch me glisten
I was raised in the city where you don't know who to trust
Where the mayor makes you pay a tenner just to get a bus
It's enough that the rent will never stop going up
The streets are full of people tryna find the road to love
Or luck. Absolutely, absolute power corrupts
I went to school. Exclusion drove me nuts
My skin colour means I'm always wearing cuffs
I hail from Africa, my fam escaped massacre
Jump onto my train of thought, I'm still taking passengers
I'm just tryna make a living to be honest
As well as getting acknowledged
For killing my list of problems
Living just enough for London
Trickle down doesn't function
I stand tall
Like the pyramids of Giza, this is black excellence
Yeah, I give you fever