Dubioza Kolektiv - Warning
Dubioza Kolektiv - Warning
Lyrics:
Get ready for the battle ya, warm up the jaw
Adrenalin pumps with every cord of guitar
The match is on and the stakes are too high
Everyone involved wants a piece of a pie
Next round, you may fall to the ground
Rebound and move, just don't get downed
If you're knocked out, ascend, rise up
Find a force that will push you back to the top
Watch out, stay close, be original
There is a power in every individual
Don't believe all that seems logical
Between the lines, illusion is optical
Don't wait for a hero, be your own Superman
Move from zero, try to make a good plan
Nothing will happen, waiting for a miracle
Switch the alarm situation is critical
It's a warning, a warning, call everyone!
It is a warning, we call everyone
Do something, inaction is wrong
It is a warning, we call everyone
Start rolling, you gotta respond
Don't wait too long, gotta be strong
Have to survive till the last sound of gong
Pressure is rising, ropes are tight
Take up the stance and do what's right
Rise against injustice and oppression
There is no time so pay attention
Gotta find a way to stay awake
Just get up strong, don't ever break
Counter attack, this is unforgivable
Have to move quick, be invincible
The righteous road is full of many obstacles
Stay positive, all is possible
If you bend down, future is terrible
Put your head up, force is incredible
Nothing will happen, waiting for a miracle
Switch the alarm situation is critical
Nothing is potentially more exciting than a musical fusion of two very different cultures. Of course, one thing that makes such a project exciting is the possibility that it will result in musical disaster, and one might be forgiven for expecting exactly that outcome from a fusion of reggae, hip-hop, and Balkan brass band music. Throw in some regionally specific politics and you only make the recipe more volatile. As it turns out in this case, however, the results are mostly very tasty. A sonic and conceptual model for this group would seem to be Asian Dub Foundation, who very successfully blended bhangra, reggae, hip-hop, and jungle in the U.K. in the 1990s (less successfully in the 2000s), and indeed there are tracks on Wild Wild East that reference the ADF formula more or more explicitly: the especially hip-hoppy "Warning" and the especially dubwise "Move Ya," for example. But other songs explore less familiar territory: "90's Surprise" is a weird sort of funk with a slow and rather disjointed groove, while "Whistleblower" has a straight-up vintage punk feel and "U.S.A." moves on a stiff-legged beat around which the horns do a minor-key dance. Music that's this much fun can make it easy to overlook lyrics that say things like "Celebrate the riot/Pull the government down" -- lines that should perhaps give a thoughtful person pause.