Paris is from the the San Francisco Bay Area and has been nationally known since 1990. -- His fifth album, "Sonic Jihad," is his first since 1997. -- "Never one to mince his words," says the web site guerrillafunk.com, "[Paris] remains relentless in his quest to match bomb tracks with messages that range from passionate to incendiary." ...
AWOL
By Paris
Sonic Jihad (2003)
http://www.guerrillafunk.com/paris/sonic_jihad/awol.html
I remember how it started, remember the time
I was watchin Rap City bout
a quarter to nine
Commercial said the military givin money for
school
Caught the bus up to my campus -- they was signin recruits
And met
this dude named Diablo, was some kinda vet
He explained the situation, told
me what to expect
He said, "Well help you pay for college -- and train you
for work"
Said I could take computer classes and could quit if I want
But
best of all was the fact Id -- have my own shit
Id have my own space and
have my own place to kick it
On top of that Id travel -- and visit the
world
Hell, Diablo said the women overseas was the pearl
Didnt even call
my girl -- lets get it on fo sho
Signed my name, took some tests and I was
outta the door
A true soldier for America -- ready to go
On the road - a
vacationll be good for the soul
Dont mind what they sayin, no
They lie in what they say fa sho
They
dont play when it come to war
Ya know they get down, they get down, they get
down
I showed up at basic training, but what a mistake
Cause this motherfuckas
yellin at me all in my face
In this dirty-ass latrine, fifty men in a
room
Runnin laps up in the mud at 4 o clock in the mornin
Was scrubbin
toilets, doin laundry, and feelin the pain
If I didnt know no better Id
think Boy was my name
Same bullshit line -- so many bit fore me
Got a
nigga twisted up in this illusion of freedom
Fuck this shit -- Im out
tomorrow, made up my mind
Everything Diablo said Im findin out was a
lie
Thats when my unit got the call, the Commander in Chief
Wanted ground
troop assignments keepin peace in the East
What a relief, Im thinkin
finally something new
Shipped us off and twenty hours later we was en
route
Touched down around eleven -- the desert was brutal
Then the ground
split and caught us by surprise from the shootin
Dont mind what they sayin, no
They lie in what they say fa sho
They
dont play when it come to war
Ya know they get down, they get down, they get
down
It was all surreal, seen em blow the spine out his back
In a mine field,
we was reelin from the attack
Seen the MOs hand upon the receiver, still
attached
With no arm in it -- set off the beacon, then I mashed
To the
first truck, blood and guts splashin' my face
Cuttin kids down, couldnt
have been no older than 8
What the fuck is goin on? Who we fightin and
why?
Killin kids killin killers, who the fuck is supplyin?
Im cryin
out for protection, but none of it came
So I dumped in all directions til
the heater was drained
But that night vision shit, wasnt helpin us
win
Caught a round of friendly fire but it wasnt so friendly
We simply
got lucky -- headed back to the base
Seen a soldier rape a woman, shot her
dead in the face
Guts stuck to my clothes, body parts galore
If this a
peace-keepin mission, I aint ready for war
And now Im back home bitter,
and sick and contagious
And knowin we some bullies, thats why everyone
hates us
Still broker than a motherfucka, niggas is starvin
And that job
trainin shit is only good for the Army
I guess I shoulda been a C.O., and
kept up a file
Shoulda listened when my homie said we murder for oil
Now
Im fuckin with this wheelchair, aint nothin the same
And Im knowin
confrontations more than video games
War is pain