The incident was a major setback that suspended his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Although dismayed and discouraged, SLAINE was determined to prevail, and began a new pursuit towards his entertainment goal… Music.
His discovered his love for hip hop early in his life. "I started writing rhymes when I was nine years old, I use to record on my boom box with a pair of headphones plugged into the microphone jack. I felt they were just words on a page because I didn’t have an outlet to perform them.” Determined and focused, SLAINE spent his nights as a club promoter to survive in the hard lonely streets of New York City, while at the same time, recording and being managed by hip-hop legend MC Shan. While recording a demo in a studio operated by the Lordz of Brooklyn, SLAINE was introduced to Danny Boy O'Connor of House of Pain.
That introduction led to a production deal with DJ Lethal of House of Pain, which in turn led to the mix tape release ‘The White Man is the Devil: Volume 1’ and the formation of the group Special Teamz, with Boston rap legends Edo G and Jaysaun. Special Teamz dropped a self-titled street CD, which garnered critical acclaim and allowed the group to tour in Europe. In a very short time, SLAINE had gone from living in poverty with a drug habit to traveling the world and working with hip-hop icons such as DJ Premier, Ill Bill, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, The Alchemist, and a host of other talented artists. He also became part of the collective LA COKA NOSTRA, alongside Ill Bill and all three members of House of Pain - Everlast, DJ Lethal, and Danny Boy. La Coka Nostra’s debut album, "A Brand You Can Trust" debuted at #84 on the Billboard Top 200 and #6 on the Rap charts, sending a message to the masses that the group’s brand of gritty hip-hop was exactly what fans of the genre had been waiting for.
SLAINE's name continued to grow far past his hometown of Boston due to the exposure he has received in publications such as The Source, XXL, The New York Times, The Boston Herald, and his sold out performances across the globe. SLAINE has been nominated for a Boston Music Award and received 4 trophies at The Mass Industry Committee's hip-hop awards, including and award for Best Lyricist.
As his music career expanded, a personal battle with drugs became a focal point that reared its ugly head. After overdoses, hospital visits and a whirlwind of drugs and violence, SLAINE finally checked into rehab. Instantly, he found himself with homeless drug addicts and realized he was no different than any of them. "Everybody had a story to tell. That was where the idea and the hunger for "The White Man is the Devil" was born. "The White Man" is a cocaine reference, not a declaration of self hate."
Since conquering his addiction, SLAINE has been presented with many new and exciting possibilities… such as acting. A chance of a lifetime presented itself through an unexpected ally, hometown hero and Academy Award winner Ben Affleck. SLAINE made his acting debut with his portrayal of Bubba Rogowski in Affleck's return to screenwriting and directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone". The film was critically acclaimed and led to a larger role in the blockbuster “The Town” featuring Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), and Jon Hamm (Mad Men). He is also been in films, “The Crack Down” and “Bad Blood” and in the upcoming movie “Cogan’s Trade” with Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta and James Gandolfini.
While Slaine’s acting career has allowed him to blaze new paths, his venomous lyrical attack burns hotter than ever on his debut solo album, "A World With No Skies 2.0", which drops August 16th , 2011 through Suburban Noize Records. With hard-hitting lyrical content, and a vicious delivery, "A World with No Skies 2.0" instantly takes hip-hop back to its grimy roots on the streets. To execute his dark musical vision, Slaine enlisted the help of his La Coka Nostra brothers Everlast and ILL BILL, as well as Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, to create a dark hip-hop album that hits squarely in the jaw. "Even though I started my career as a solo artist by hustling my ‘The White Man is the Devil’ mixtapes, I think people are more familiar with me from Special Teamz and La Coka Nostra,” commented Slaine. “With this album I set out to create a soundscape that brings you into my world as an individual which is a bad place to be. The record is hard, dark and aggressive, from the beats to the lyrics. It’s a deeply personal trip through my life and the things that made me who I am today. A ‘World with No Skies’ is a look into my psyche and a vision of my dreams, nightmares, and realities."
Despite ups and downs throughout his career, SLAINE is living his life to the fullest. "I love making music that means something to me, I am grateful for all the experiences that I have had—good and bad. I am lucky to be alive, but my past also made me who I am today.”
Strangers
Slaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living my life alone, I'm trying to keep a grip with my ice that's on
A glove hanging on tight, don't slip, love life
Broads in strip clubs, the glare of a starry night
Selling pussy ain't wrong but it's hardly right
I hardly write anymore, becoming numb
Plus no one could understand where my words are coming from
Just a lost soul, birthed to the wrong earth
Plus I'm cynical and always thinking crooked at first
And these chemicals are gonna have me put in a hearse
So in general I'd say I got one foot in the dirt
In my words of a man on his last stand, damn
The foul odor coming out the dirty trash can stinks
You can smell it, why you listen what the last man thinks
Speak your own mind, be your own man, not your own kind
Or is it really that you're just scared to walk a long climb?
[Chorus: x2]
A thug changes and love changes
And best friends become strangers I guess
Are we really just strangers?
Cause I don't wanna be strangers
[Verse 2:]
It's like that, all gone with the wind
Stranded in the past, god damnit I want it again
All I want is my friend
Wanna write this story to the end
We're weaving our tale, I ain't putting down the pen
Cause I have been walking through the streets hearing sirens
Violins, putting rhymes to the violence
Wake up and do it again
It's an ugly world searching for a beautiful thing
Everywhere I look it's Lucifer and Judas' king
Streets full of evil, needles you can shoot in your skin
Who couldn't sin? We slide then we sinfully grin
We gotta do what we gotta, fucking pencil me in
Cause
[Chorus x2]
[Verse 3:]
So these are the days of our lives
And sometimes in sadness there's so many ways you can cry
Without never shedding a tear out the hazelest eyes
And fear walks around in the strangest disguise
But who's strangers? Are we strangers?
Can we never go back where we came from?
I been saying the same thing from day one
Now you wanna just turn backs and play dumb
I understand, hun but we knew the rain could come
That would be the true test so I guess you ain't the one
You aim that gun, I'll take that slug
Girl, the love change her now you hate that thug
But
[Chorus x2]
In "Strangers" by Slaine, the rapper speaks about the loneliness he feels in his life. He talks about his struggles to keep his life together, with the metaphoric use of gloves to grip and hang on tight so he can avoid slipping out of control. He acknowledges the brothels and strip clubs, accepting that selling sex isn't right, but still fights with the idea that it is wrong. He feels like he is becoming numb and that his words aren't connecting with others, as if he is a lost soul in the wrong world. He admits to being cynical and thinking negatively at first about things, it's like he already expects the worst to happen, and these thoughts sometimes lead him to use drugs, which will eventually cost him his life. Slaine's thoughts are often bleak, and he feels like he has one foot in the dirt or the grave.
The chorus's repetitive line goes, "A thug changes and love changes and best friends become strangers, I guess are we really just strangers cause I don't wanna be strangers." He is vocalizing his fear of losing those who were once close to him because he has changed or their love has changed, and he doesn't want to become strangers with them. In the second verse, Slaine reminisces about how all has been lost with the wind, and he feels like he is stranded in the past. He wants to reconnect with his friend and complete the story of their lives. Slaine admits that the world we live in can be an ugly place, full of temptations to sin. Evil and temptation are everywhere, and he paints a picture of streets full of needles filled with drugs leading to consequential sinful actions.
In the third and final verse, Slaine speaks about sadness and the many ways people can cry, even if they never shed a tear with the hazelest eyes. He talks about the hardships life throws at people that change them, but he questions whether we are all strangers, and is there a way back to where we came from, to a time and context where we understood one another. However, Slaine also acknowledges that it may be challenging to go back to our roots and reintegrate with old friends. He speaks of romance, how love can change and turn into estrangement, leading to the hatred of oneself because of the change that it brings.
Line by Line Meaning
Living my life alone, I'm trying to keep a grip with my ice that's on
I'm living alone, trying to hold on tight to my life, which is slipping away
A glove hanging on tight, don't slip, love life
I'm holding on tight, but I'm worried that I might slip and lose everything I love in life
Broads in strip clubs, the glare of a starry night
I see women selling their bodies in strip clubs under the bright lights of the city at night
Selling pussy ain't wrong but it's hardly right
Prostituting oneself may not be legally wrong, but it's morally questionable
I hardly write anymore, becoming numb
I don't write much anymore, and I'm losing my passion for life
Plus no one could understand where my words are coming from
Nobody can fully comprehend the depths of my thoughts and emotions
Just a lost soul, birthed to the wrong earth
I feel like I don't belong here, like I was born in the wrong place or time
At a crossroads, cursed with a thirst to look at the worst
I'm at a crossroads in life, cursed with a desire to see the worst in people and situations
Plus I'm cynical and always thinking crooked at first
I have a cynical outlook on life, and I always assume the worst in people initially
And these chemicals are gonna have me put in a hearse
I'm afraid that my drug use will be the death of me
So in general I'd say I got one foot in the dirt
In general, I feel like I'm slowly dying
In my words of a man on his last stand, damn
In my words, I sound like a man who's about to die
The foul odor coming out the dirty trash can stinks
The unpleasant smell emanating from the garbage can is repulsive
You can smell it, why you listen what the last man thinks
You can smell the stench, so why are you listening to the opinions of someone who's already failed
Speak your own mind, be your own man, not your own kind
Express your own thoughts, be unique, don't conform to societal expectations
Or is it really that you're just scared to walk a long climb?
Perhaps the reason you're not being true to yourself is that you're afraid of the difficult journey it might require
It's like that, all gone with the wind
Everything has disappeared, like dust in the wind
Stranded in the past, god damnit I want it again
I feel trapped in the past, and I desperately want to relive it
All I want is my friend
All I want is to reconnect with my friend
Wanna write this story to the end
I want to finish telling this story of my life
We're weaving our tale, I ain't putting down the pen
We're creating our own story, and I'm not giving up on it
Cause I have been walking through the streets hearing sirens
I've been walking through the city, listening to the sirens of police cars and ambulances
Violins, putting rhymes to the violence
The sound of violins is a metaphor for the violent and chaotic nature of the world, and I'm trying to express it through my lyrics
It's an ugly world searching for a beautiful thing
The world is an ugly place, but I'm searching for something beautiful to make it worth living
Everywhere I look it's Lucifer and Judas' king
I see evil everywhere, and it seems to be ruling the world
Streets full of evil, needles you can shoot in your skin
The streets are full of temptation and danger, such as drugs that can be injected into your veins
Who couldn't sin? We slide then we sinfully grin
It's easy to give in to temptation and sin, and sometimes we do it with a playful and reckless attitude
We gotta do what we gotta, fucking pencil me in
We have to do what we have to, so go ahead and mark me down as present and accounted for
So these are the days of our lives
These are the moments that we live in and will remember forever
And sometimes in sadness there's so many ways you can cry
When we're sad, there are many different ways that we can express our pain and sorrow
Without never shedding a tear out the hazelest eyes
Even without physically crying, we can still feel deep emotional pain and sadness
And fear walks around in the strangest disguise
Fear can disguise itself in unexpected ways and can be difficult to recognize
But who's strangers? Are we strangers?
Who are the real strangers here? Are we truly unfamiliar with each other?
Can we never go back where we came from?
Is it impossible for us to return to the way things used to be?
I been saying the same thing from day one
I've been expressing my thoughts and feelings since the beginning
Now you wanna just turn backs and play dumb
Now you want to ignore what I've been saying and pretend like nothing is wrong
I understand, hun but we knew the rain could come
I understand your hesitancy, but we both knew that tough times were inevitable
That would be the true test so I guess you ain't the one
The challenging times we face now will reveal who is truly loyal and trustworthy
You aim that gun, I'll take that slug
You can try to hurt me, but I'll endure the pain
Girl, the love change her now you hate that thug
You used to love me, but now you hate the person I've become
Contributed by Lillian E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bosco
“Cause im cynical and always thinkin crooked at first,” that shit knocks the wind out of me every time. Everything gets uglier the closer you look, and my mind is a fucking microscope. Love from Boston.
Tomas Tufka
this is the art.
Evol
Raw and Uncut,
LeaderV8
What song is this beat?
TheGreatDeciever55
less views means less advertisments----i say its a fair deal
Georg Keller
maaan he needs better beats