Attica Blues were a 90's trip-hop band, with a trademark sound including do… Read Full Bio ↴Attica Blues were a 90's trip-hop band, with a trademark sound including downtempo yet funky rhythms, obscure jazz samples and soulful female vocals. Their sound was a perfect mixture of past and actual sounds.

The band was formed in 1993 by Tony Nwachukwu and Charlie Dark. Charlie Dark was a part time journalist and DJ and had been approached by James Lavelle to produce and engineer tracks for his Mo Wax record label.

Their first release, Vibes, Scribes and Dusty 45's Ep, contained the down tempo classic Contemplating Jazz. Featuring the vocals of third member Roba El-Essawy, Attica Blues' sound contained the trademark trip-hop aspects like heavy beats, vocals and deep dark atmospheres. They released a follow up album, Blueprint.

Attica Blues were also often solicited for remixing and producing.

After the Mo Wax album Blueprint, they released a second album, Test,Don't Test on Sony Records.

What Do You Want
Attica Blues Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Know you as a jet black angel

Watching over me like cctv

24/7 you see everything

365 and i'm no mastermind

Dealt with mood swings mad behavior

Controlling me like you own me

Feels like it's your world i just live here

365 and it's bad comprimise

I want to know X2

Am i what you want or am i what you need X2

Patience wearing sent to test me

Pressure building mercury rising

Feels close to overload, feels close to overload

365

I want to know X2

I wanna know

Am i what you want or am i what you need X4

What do you want X2

Am I what you want X2

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Attica Blues's song What Do You Want explore a relationship in which one person feels trapped and controlled by the other. The singer describes feeling watched over constantly by the other person, who seems to know everything about them. They are manipulated and feel as though they are living in the other person's world, rather than their own. The lyrics repeat the question "Am I what you want or am I what you need?" suggesting that the singer is unsure of their value in the relationship and whether they are truly wanted by the other person. The pressure and strain of the relationship are evident in the line "feels close to overload."

The song's title is also repeated several times throughout the lyrics, asking "What do you want?" This adds to the sense of uncertainty and confusion in the relationship. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of unease and tension in a relationship where one person feels trapped and undervalued.

Line by Line Meaning

Know you as a jet black angel
I know you as a dark figure always present in my life.

Watching over me like cctv
You keep a constant eye on me, like a surveillance camera.

24/7 you see everything
You are always watching, observing every move I make.

365 and i'm no mastermind
Every day of the year, you know everything that's going on in my life, even though I am not particularly clever or sneaky about hiding things.

Dealt with mood swings mad behavior
You have to put up with my unstable emotions and irrational actions.

Controlling me like you own me
You exert power over me, as though you have full ownership of me.

Feels like it's your world i just live here
I feel like I'm just a mere inhabitant in your world, and don't really have any say in what happens around me.

365 and it's bad comprimise
Every day of the year, I feel like I'm constantly having to make sacrifices, and it's taking a toll on me.

I want to know X2
I am eager to find out more about my situation.

Am i what you want or am i what you need X2
I am questioning whether I am fulfilling your desires and needs, or if I am just filling a void for you.

Patience wearing sent to test me
I feel like you are testing my patience, and mine is running thin.

Pressure building mercury rising
The stress is getting to me, and I feel like I'm going to snap.

Feels close to overload, feels close to overload
I feel like I'm at my breaking point, and any more pressure will cause me to collapse.

I want to know X2 I wanna know
I really want to find out what's going on, and I'm not going to stop asking until I do.

Am i what you want or am i what you need X4
I am desperate to know if I am truly what you desire, or if I am just fulfilling some basic need you have.

What do you want X2 Am I what you want X2
I really need to know what you are seeking from me, and if I am capable of providing it.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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