The Data Stream is a Stupendium rap about Cyperpunk 2077, where corporations have taken over and have vast power. The rap explores some of the parts that come with such a society.
[Verse 1: The Stupendium]
Eventually, all walls meet demolition
So Wall Street had to keep the tradition
Their financial systems resigned to ignition
And out of the ashes, we have arisen
An empire is forged in the fire of ambition
In business, there isn’t the time for attrition
Invest to suppress then ingest competition
Then each acquisition is new ammunition
When governments crumble and fall to the floor
That was paved with the graves of a corporate war
A fundament funded in blood just to shore
A foundation for founding our covenant
Born of a need for control of societal entropy
Enterprise at the price of your indemnity
Chart out the course and, of course, you were meant to be
Bent to the will of a corporate entity
Arasaka Security, you’re in safe hands
[Chorus: Cami-Cat]
We’re the light in your screens, we’re the lead in your veins
Then you wake from your dreams so we can sell them again
In the light, we distract with the shiny and new
So you’re blind to the fact that the product is you
So let your brain dance and replay the dream
But don’t drown in the data stream
'Cause we see where you are and we see where you go
'Cause we know what you own and we own what you know
[Verse 2: The Stupendium]
From the top of all our towers
The corridors of power clearly need rewiring
Arasaka saw the spark and then embarked
Upon the path to turn that spark to lightning
There’s no autonomous megalopolis
So populous or prosperous you could reside in
And every citizen that’s living in this city
Is a digit on the charts we’re climbing
Political systems are too inefficient
They split like the atom and burned in the fission
Now every department and every decision
Defer to the herds of our corporate divisions
If you don’t remember the ballot you cast
It’s printed on every receipt you were passed
Each time you selected our products and services
We were elected in each of your purchases
What’s left to do when you’ve got the monopoly?
Turn the consumer into the commodity
It isn’t hard where you’ve hardware neurology
Honestly, do read the company policy
Take information and trade it for wealth
You pay it in each augmentation we sell
It’s easy to cut out the middleman
When he’s cut out most of himself
Arasaka Finance, investing in your future
[Chorus: Cami-Cat]
We’re the light in your screens, we’re the lead in your veins
Then you wake from your dreams so we can sell them again
In the light, we distract with the shiny and new
So you’re blind to the fact that the product is you
So let your brain dance and replay the dream
But don’t drown in the data stream
‘Cause we see where you are and we see where you go
‘Cause we know what you own and we own what you know
[Verse 3: The Stupendium]
All that you say on the net, we composite
To maps that go straight from your head to your pocket
Complain if you want, you’re still making deposits of data
Each day you log on is a profit, society currently lists electronic
So isn’t conducting resistance ironic?
We’ve plenty of skeletons locked in our closets
But yours are assembled from old-stock hydraulics (pluck)
So lucky we know just the pieces you need (post)
All plucked from your social media feeds (pluck)
The places you go and the posts that you read (post)
All snatched for a new algorithm to feed
Now holding our gold isn’t par for the brand
Our silver is sat in the palm of your hand
Quit whining and sign on the line in the sand
The supply does not get to make the demands
Arasaka Manufacturing, building a better tomorrow
[Bridge: The Stupendium & Cami-Cat]
Name, age, qualifications
Race, faith, career aspirations
Political leaning, daily commute
Marital status, favourite fruit
Family, browser, medical history
Hobbies, interests, brand affinity
Fashion, style, your occupation
Gender identity, orientation
Lifestyle choices, dietary needs
The marketing contact you choose to receive
Posts, likes, employers, friends
Social bias, exploitable trends
Tastes, culture, phone of choice
Facial structure, the tone of your voice
If it’s inside your head, we know
You can’t escape the ebb and flow
[Chorus: Cami-Cat]
We’re the light in your screens, we’re the lead in your veins
Then you wake from your dreams so we can sell them again
In the light, we distract with the shiny and new
So you’re blind to the fact that the product is you
So let your brain dance and replay the dream
But don’t drown in the data stream
‘Cause we see where you are and we see where you go
‘Cause we know what you own and we own what you know
[Outro: The Stupendium]
When guiding the hand of the market (In the light we distract)
If it’s holding a cheque or a gun (shiny and new)
The fingers go deep in your pockets
And you can live under the thumb
You seem so surprised, what did you expect? (You're blind to the fact)
We’re thinking outside of that box that you checked (that the product is you)
The terms were presented in full to inspect
You scrolled to the end just to get to "accept"
Arasaka would like to know your location (in the light we distract, with the shiny and new)
Arasaka would like to know your location
Arasaka would like to know your location (so you're blind to the fact, that the product is you)
Arasaka would like to know your location
The Data Stream was written by Cami-Cat & The Stupendium.
The Data Stream was produced by The Artisans Beats & oo oxygen.
The Stupendium released The Data Stream on Fri Jun 18 2021.