KWAKU

I was born in Asokore, Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana
And I started schooling in a one room school house, you know
Now I can look back and say everybody was poor
But erm we didn't know we were poor
Because we had food all the time, a loving family
The main problem was trying to go fetch water
Because erm there was no running water in the house
And erm the bathroom is somewhere there outside

We didn't have the clean shoes that еverybody had
We didn't have good clothing erm
It wasn't particularly vеry comfortable
Being under British colonial domination
And then I erm came to the United States in 1977
Just before the winter
Chicago then had a murder rate of around close to a thousand a year
It was very violent city
That's when it earned it's nickname as the Beirut on the lake
But again, that did not scare me erm
I went to 63rd
We used to say that 47th street was so dangerous
That if you died, the parents may not come for your body
If you were in the 47th streets
Yeah, it was bad, but still, the city was fun
Well, when I had a son and I just thought that
It's better we stay in Chicago, raising kids

The good thing about Chicago, is you learn the truth about America
There's no sugar-coating nonsense in this town
I got scared though, I got scared because I thought you could be shot
And when you started getting in trouble, I started grieving
I started grieving very fast, my heart was beating, I was having nightmares
Because you were having real problems with the police
But in the meantime, I'm called to come and look for the police station
Where my son could be
I was really, really scared that one of these days
I may be called to the mortuary to identify your body

Your growing up in Chicago gave me a lot of heartache and headache
But around the time you did the Innanetape
The enthusiasm with which you handled that
And the friends all around you, how mature they've become
You know, all of it just made me like 'Okay, this kid's made it'

I think my father in his grave would be very happy
That erm I brought up some good kids in America
And particularly also I see it as a great success
If I leave I have very few regrets