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A Kind Of Biography EP

by Isatta Sheriff

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1.
Rooftop Scenes © Isatta Sheriff 2020 ℗ Doctored Sound 2020 Verse 1 Listen DJ spin it My words won’t even leave the room till I’ve finished How’d you make the tune so cold Mind your business Their too concern with image Or with who can rap the quickest Can I get a witness You know I got the fitness Everyone it’s they’re the sickest My stories pull at strings Like I was a violinist I’m doctoring my sound Join the clinic I’m tryna save a large sound I’m talking bout the biggest We’re tryna work out If we can be black and British But if the Kingdom weren’t united Then they’d have to call us English Imagine that never that Used to call me Tor It’s return of the Brrrap! Always did it for the art Plus I never made the racks They can never come around me and chat about the blacks Or us women you’ll get facts In the tunes deal with that Watch them pull that riddim back Plus an insomniac That means I don’t sleep on the talent Listen we bring balance Never sleep on a challenge Don’t you have manners It was always gonna happen though Our stage ain’t rigged Like a Tower Hamlets Ballot I always wanted a Chevenion Jacket My brother used to shop in Roman Road and buy Hacket By any means necessary found the funds to back it I’m from the East End with the well dress addicts Chorus It’s the borough that they buried The sounds from the rooftops are coming like a medley built Canary Wharf Still the underground was messy But the kids that they left built the scene they think’s heavy They weren’t ready Verse 2 Right now I’m using all these laid back flows To make tracks cold Head are rocking’ Ain't that so They throw bows From Stepney and not from Bow But E1’s close We’d battle out who’s got best clothes Still ain’t got dough I wish took some more photos In 90s pose would have never happen I don’t like insta now so I’ll have to build this picture on the studio mic though I’m cold with nostalgia It’s a rhythmic slideshow I go To the depth of my psyche In the valley Consciousness taking steps right up to Alley Pally Where Major Ace Rallied When nobody whore a Bally If you’re heartless in the Room Well the Clash Will Get Agee My Mum cooked with Maggie While we’d sit there watching Annie And then we’d switch it over Watch Janine and Barry While Blasting UK Apache I think that I was happy I don’t care if it all sounds tacky I had my whole family Now I’ve lost a couple Now days I smile inside When I meet a new uncle I think deep about this when I drive through Blackwall tunnel Reflecting on you life Yeah it can really make you humble Chorus It’s the borough that they buried The sounds from the rooftops are coming like a medley built Canary Wharf Still the underground was messy But the kids that they left built the scene they think’s heavy They weren’t ready
2.
Eerie Alleys 03:36
Eerie Alleys © Isatta Sheriff 2020 ℗ Doctored Sound 2020 Verse 1 Cool living Cool breeze Tag a group of MC’s Tryna find the real me won’t see that in IG But I might be Spinning in your ends That’s my new chill Chan’t write ne off Cause I cough Yeah that means I’m Ill You know that I’ve been real Show respect to even those without a record deal Cause you know the games shallow Your people from day Won’t even text to say hello Can you walk in my shadow Would you even notice it People in my ends We stay living in the deficit I’m equip Holy Spirit in the bits But the cranes in the air Make me sick Building up the place Like we don’t live in it They said that we’ll love it But the truths opposite Let it RIP I don’t posses no P’s But I still write a hit And hype it up with my G’s That’s me Chorus So what's kraken’ whats crackin Monday made the beat Then on Tuesday put the rap in Uh cause we do this outta passion Putting in peas Even though we ain’t gone platinum Uh so whats happening whats happening I’m in three year old trainers While their bussin’ high fashion Uh well you can just imagine Won’t get a round of applause But still we keep the beat clappin’ Verse 2 Watching films up in Genesis And in the evening You might hear me in the Premises Making tunes about the past And tryna reminisce About our schemes Someone would say “Pass me a tenna quick” You know you had that clique Where friends would really click The love was really deep But not the kind that’s intimate Banter was really sick Come like we”re Phif and Tip One would start a sentence And the other one would finish it And there was one Who always took it too far And one that always had the P’s And had a nice car And one who always had beef And tried recruiting ya Na I don’t want no fights today Look I’m going yard At some point The talk would make it back to music And the kid that’s mad illusive Starts to spit the bars that stupid And when the wack one Tries to grab the mic We have to mute it I don’t have to tell you Cause your crew has been through it Chorus So what's kraken’ whats crackin Monday made the beat Then on Tuesday put the rap in Uh cause we do this outta passion Putting in peas Even though we ain’t gone platinum Uh so whats happening whats happening I’m in three year old trainers While their bussin’ high fashion Uh well you can just imagine Won’t get a round of applause But still we keep the beat clappin’
3.
Ode To The Heads © Isatta Sheriff 2020 ℗ Doctored Sound 2020 Verse 1 This is deep thought This is meditation This is staring at the sky In deep concentration It’s profound thoughts And heavy contemplation It’s considering the rising From a hibernation It’s a demonstration Music stimulation It’s a fixed gaze Right into a new creation I got a few things to show The future generation Take it all on board Might get some nominations And some of this was learned Through my frustrations But it’s clear now That was all just preparation And now I’m switching up my occupation It’s possible If you’ve had the right foundation In primary they seemed to be Obsessed with radiation Or over population But never once mentioned graduation _some education The worst thing is the time it took For realisation Chorus This is my declaration And yeah I know you been waiting It’s my standing ovation Ode to the beat Generation Verse 2 This is what life has taught This is my observation One of my biggest goals in life Is culture preservation Raising aspirations No negotiations Say your birth given name Without no hesitation Because the reason you’re embarrassed Is through orchestration They didn’t tell you bout The way we built this nation I bet you heard about the deporations Or complaints about nuff immigration Now who needs education I’ve had the grammar Since Wretch punctuation So never try and twist my conversation Exclamation Now they don’t like my pronunciation But I possess the voice of a nation I don’t need nobodies validation Africa don’t need your donations But perhaps a change in legislation The imposed dept cancellation Watch the way we Thomas Sankara up The situation Chorus This is my declaration And yeah I know you been waiting It’s my standing ovation Ode to the pirate generation Verse 3 We loss great leaders To cruel assasination But still I say their names In celebration Just see this as a narration Mental elevation Surreal quotations The peoples publication The media’s too western, Oneacen Vice Versa imitation Leads to our depreciation Even if it's our creation Their fascination Only ends up in our suffocation The violation When will we come into this realisation I’m from the place Where kids are Black, White and Asian Where we all came up Playing pirate stations A good example of our land’s integration That doesn’t mean I didn’t experience racism Can’t idealise London’s modernisation They said I’m ungrateful They said that’s not So I pledge allegiance through the stations Chorus This is my declaration And yeah I know you been waiting It’s my standing ovation Ode to the new generation
4.
A Kind Of Biography © Isatta Sheriff 2020 ℗ Doctored Sound 2020 Verse 1 Well they’re all not ready The first three tracks Are deep and heavy I can’t lie The end are very messy To lighten up the room We just do a Garage Medley Make the crowd say Boo No I don’t know a Betty A room full of tunes Hot it up, it’s getting sweaty Room full of love Their are friends There is envy Dancing next to that boy Who could have been pro or semi They said it ain’t true I seen his shoot Na it’s deadly Two finger pose We were DMX ready Back then it was just aunty Doing the Jazeppi MC’s in the room On the mic getting tekky How many did I Kill? I’ll just state Many many There’s estate wars The reasons are empty Work in JD Cause it made us feel trendy People can be bandmind But many more are friendly Boy’s got 10 girls But still calls one a Jezzy, really? Chorus I know we had a good time But my memories hazy And we don’t wanna keep falling That’s why we play Sade And will we ever see change Well my heart it says maybe But I know this place made me Verse 2 It was all about Grime And though Hip Hop was edgy Not many did it But you know me already Bethnal green hot sauce First Peri Peri Nandos everyday It was unnecessary Tryna break the cycle So we play Mary Mary They’re tryna spill my tea Even though they haven’t met me Friends that’s always gossiping They make me really weary Used to make friend easily But now I find it scary Either way I say this year’s About to be legendary These days I’m really into Making documentaries done know I was that kid always singing in assembly Hitting high notes I don’t know why I’m an MC I even did a little bit of dance And some contemporary Expressing how I live And I did it so intensely I told myself that every situation Only temporary Disappointed every year This time I won’t be leaving empty Bridge Now we’ve all changed our plans You know already Many tryna rebuild Outta the debrey Imma drop these tunes Yeah they might be rough and ready But I’ve been making music Through every adversary We hung out in the youth club Their were some in Stepney Now I look around And I’m not seeing any Tryna find solutions This is my commentary A kinda biography So now they can’t forget me Chorus I know we had a good time But my memories hazy And we don’t wanna keep falling That’s why we play Sade And will we ever see change Well my heart it says maybe But I know this place made me

about

‘A Kind Of Biography’ is the first in a series of self-produced projects from Isatta Sheriff that provide a snapshot of the east London borough of Tower Hamlets and its surrounding areas. An industrial soundscape showcases inner city markets, transport services, eerie pathways and the overbearing commotion coming from building sites that engulf the gentrified area. Isatta’s debut production project is accompanied by a host of talented collaborators from the classical and jazz world.

Isatta expresses, “I wanted to produce a project that sounded like east London and included hip hop. The association of grime and Tower Hamlets is common knowledge but I wanted to demonstrate that hip hop ran alongside this movement. My goal is to integrate slower hip hop tempos and the industrial soundscape of grime, while merging live instruments that represent my musical journey and the people I have met along the way”.


Cover by Dharma77

A 2 minute film by Isatta Sheriff on YouTube:
Search 'A Kind of Biography - A Film About Tower Hamlets & Artwork'

credits

released May 7, 2021

Written and produced by Isatta Sheriff
Engineered by: Isatta Sheriff
Mixed by: Isatta Sheriff & Jon Hockley
Mastered by: Jon Hockley
Artwork: Dharma77
Sax: Xvygo (Track 2)
Keys: Dominic McCannon (Track 1 & 2)
Live Guitar & Bass: Luke Wynter (Track 3 & 4)
Additional Guitar: Luke Wynter (Track 2)
Live Volin: Lizzie Ball (Track (1 & 4)
Harp: Eleanor Turner (Track 3)
Scratches: DJ Bobafatt (Track 2)

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Isatta Sheriff London, UK

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