Asian Dub Foundation is an alternative electronica band from London, Engla… Read Full Bio ↴Asian Dub Foundation is an alternative electronica band from London, England. Formed in 1993, their style blends breakbeat, dub, dancehall, hip-hop and reggae with distinct Asian influences.

Band members include John Pandit (aka Pandit G) (turntables), Deeder Zaman (aka Master D) (vocals) and Aniruddha Das (aka Dr Das) (bass), later joined by Steve Chandra Savale (aka Chandrasonic) (guitar and adf mastermind), Sanjay Tailor (aka Sun-J) (midi, soundeffects), and Bubble-E (dancer).

Master D left the band in 2000, shortly after that the band was joined by new members:
Pritphal Rajput (aka Cyber) (dhol, tabla), Rocky Singh (drums), MC Spex (vocals), MC Lord Kimo and Akhtar Ahmed (aka Aktarv8r) (vocals), the latter recruited from the band's ongoing education project ADFED.

In 2005 with the release of 'Tank' the band was joined by Ghetto Priest. In August 2007 Asian Dub Foundation started playing with two new vocalists, Al Rumjen (previously with King Prawn) and Aktarv8r returned after MC Spex was asked to leave the band. In November and December 2007 Asian Dub Foundation recorded a new album, Punkara, that was released in spring 2008. The current line-up of the band consists of Chandrasonic, Sun-J, Al Rumjen, Cyber, Aktarv8r, Pandit G and bassist Martin Savale (C-Sonic's brother).

They describe their sound as a mix of "...hard ragga-jungle rhythms, indo-dub basslines, searing sitar- inspired guitars and 'traditional' sounds gleaned from their parents' record collections, shot through with fast-chat conscious lyrics."

Most of their lyrics are politically oriented.

Sites: YouTube.

TH9
Asian Dub Foundation Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The police a chase we
The beast can't catch me
When I see his big stick
him deal me a lick
Tower Hamlets Nine have to go free
Not even a fine
for the Tower Hamlets Nine
Youth Connection

Stop this infection
Defenfing defending defending the community
Some fascists in Brick Lane looking for a fight
Police doing nothing:
One rule for Black
One rule for White

ADF, we're about to strike

Time is getting short
Elections in May
Give the fascist man a gunshot
That's the only way
There are many different languages spoken in this land
But only one language that the fascist understand
Why don't you
Kick the fuckers in the head
Kick the fuckers in the head
Why don't you?

Master D Adlib

"Every institution in this city, right
is prejudiced against us
There's no accountability
There's no servant of the Police Force
Or his DI or whatever
Who is accountable for his attitudes"

Our parents had to sit tight
Weren't allowed to fight back
physically
just a mental strain
Restraint!
Now I think I've found a remedy to this recurring pain
Not passive but resistant
Your assumptions were wrong:
Like coffee without milk
Too black to strong
For too many years man you've had your fun
Now it's time
Now it's time
For us to hit and run
'Cos we're second generation
but we're not second class
Now the wrath of the Asian will hit you like a blast
Now the wrath of the Asian will hit you like a blast

In this time there is no justice or peace
In this time there is no trust in the police
Quddus Ali saw no justice or peace
Altab Ali saw no justice or peace

Stephen Lawrence saw no justice or peace
Too many people still waiting for release

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Asian Dub Foundation's song "TH9" articulate the political frustrations and anger felt by many young British Asians in the mid-1990s. The song references specific incidents of police discrimination and violence against Asian youth in London's Tower Hamlets district, including the case of the "Tower Hamlets Nine" who were arrested and charged for resisting police officers. The lyrics challenge the authority and legitimacy of the police, and suggest that violence may be necessary to resist fascist threats and injustice.

The song opens with a defiant challenge to the police: "The police a chase we / The beast can't catch me." The line conjures up an image of racialized police violence, with the "beast" representing the police as a monstrous, predatory force. The reference to a "big stick" suggests the use of physical force to assert police power, and the line "him deal me a lick" conveys the experience of being beaten or struck by a police officer. The refrain "Defending defending defending the community" echoes the language of self-defense, solidarity, and collective action.

Line by Line Meaning

The police a chase we
We are in a situation where the police are chasing us

The beast can't catch me
I am too quick for the police to catch me

When I see his big stick
When I see the policeman's baton

him deal me a lick
He hits me with the baton

Tower Hamlets Nine have to go free
The Tower Hamlets Nine must be released

Not even a fine
They should not be punished with even a small fine

for the Tower Hamlets Nine
The Tower Hamlets Nine were fighting for their community

Youth Connection
The young people are united

Stop this infection
We must put an end to this problem

Defending defending defending the community
We are standing up and fighting for our community

Some fascists in Brick Lane looking for a fight
There are racist people in Brick Lane who want to fight

Police doing nothing:
The police are not doing anything to stop them

One rule for Black
Black people are treated unfairly

One rule for White
White people are treated better

ADF, we're about to strike
Asian Dub Foundation is ready to take action

Time is getting short
We need to act quickly

Elections in May
There will be an election in May

Give the fascist man a gunshot
We must take forceful action against the racist person

That's the only way
Violence is the only solution

There are many different languages spoken in this land
People from diverse backgrounds live here

But only one language that the fascist understand
The only language that racist people understand is violence

Why don't you
Why don't you take action yourself?

Kick the fuckers in the head
Take physical action against the racist people

Master D Adlib
Master D adds his commentary

"Every institution in this city, right is prejudiced against us There's no accountability There's no servant of the Police Force Or his DI or whatever Who is accountable for his attitudes"
The institutions in this city are prejudiced against us, and there is no accountability for the police force or their attitudes

Our parents had to sit tight
Our parents were not able to take action against racism

Weren't allowed to fight back physically just a mental strain
They were not allowed to fight back physically, and were only able to suffer mentally

Restraint!
Our parents had to show restraint

Now I think I've found a remedy to this recurring pain
Now we have found a solution to this recurring problem

Not passive but resistant
We are not going to be passive, but will resist

Your assumptions were wrong:
Your assumptions about us were incorrect

Like coffee without milk
We are strong on our own, like coffee without milk

Too black to strong
We are too strong to be defeated

For too many years man you've had your fun
You have oppressed us for too long

Now it's time
Now is the time for us to take action

For us to hit and run
We will take swift action, then retreat

'Cos we're second generation
We are the children of immigrants

but we're not second class
We are not inferior to anyone

Now the wrath of the Asian will hit you like a blast
Our anger and strength will hit you hard

In this time there is no justice or peace
There is no justice or peace at this time

In this time there is no trust in the police
We do not trust the police

Quddus Ali saw no justice or peace
Quddus Ali did not experience justice or peace

Altab Ali saw no justice or peace
Altab Ali did not experience justice or peace

Stephen Lawrence saw no justice or peace
Stephen Lawrence did not experience justice or peace

Too many people still waiting for release
There are still too many people waiting for justice

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANIRUDDHA DAS, JOHN ASHOK PANDIT, LISA THORPE, SAIDULLAH ZAMAN, STEVE CHANDRA SAVALE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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