1. A British rapper
2. A Finnis… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists with this name:
1. A British rapper
2. A Finnish rock band
1. Mike Skinner (born November 27, 1978), more commonly known by his stage name The Streets, is a rapper from Birmingham, England. He was born in Barnet in North London and that's where his accent, sometimes called 'Mockney' by the press, comes from. You can hear his actual accent on the start of 'Fake Streets Hats' from his album The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living recorded in 2006. He moved to Birmingham shortly after he was born and is a Birmingham City fan. He has suffered from epilepsy since he was five.
He signed a five album record deal in 2002, and has fulfilled his contract by releasing five albums: Original Pirate Material (2002), All Got Our Runnin's (2003), A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004), The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living (2006), Everything Is Borrowed (2008) and Computers and Blues (2011).
When playing live, Skinner is joined by Kevin Mark Trail on backing vocals, Johnny Drum Machine on drums, Wayne Fibes on guitar and bass, Chris Brown on keyboards and Magic Mike on samplers.
In January 2011, Skinner's management announced that Skinner will no longer perform as The Streets.
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2. The Streets was a band originated from Turku, Finland in the early 1980's. Their most known song is Kestääkö siivet from the album Kestääkö siivet (1980), which is also featured on the soundtrack of Mika Kaurismäki's film Arvottomat (The Worhless) 1982.
The Streets were:
Asmo Kärkkäinen, guitar
Jouni Hemberg, lead vocals
Kari Laihonen, keyboard
Tapio Vesa, bass guitar
Eero Valkonen, drums
Fake Streets Hats
The Streets Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
Two days before I finally snap from (?) a gig
Johnny drums see peeps leaving trailing gaps putting face cream on between the breaks and tracks
I needed to stop this, draw the last of my ways
Twenty minutes to go the floor manager says
Been a long summer (?) band's an age I wanna dry my eyes and all the band on the stage
(I wanna see the whole crowd in Belgium)
Dead silence not very nice to feel so depressed and violent
(He's fuckin' puttin' moisturizer on, he's fuckin' moisturisin' his face... I know yeah)
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
(Some cunt is bringin' up a load of fucki'n shithole streets hats)
Oi, oi, (?) down the day before the crafts the hats were bought by Warner staff thought they were fakes,
Not thought to ask
So I (?) the audience found under the stage but I'd only just spoken Ted Mayham has never seen me so
Darn broken
The very next day in bed in London
With a girl I have little memory of
Unable to feel anything much which was the reason why I bought my first suit
Wasn't thinking at that bit on stage
The fake streets hats were actually not fake!
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you don't like what's going down
You need to change something round
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
(My ears who's that cunt? tell him to fuck off man "the streets" no look what what oh yeah no go go go yeah mate stop (?) you know it is made so hard)
The lyrics of The Streets' song "Fake Streets Hats" touch upon the topic of changing oneself and one's perception of things. The first verse emphasizes the need to alter one's outlook on life and suggests that we should change the things we can and the way we think about the things we can't. The rest of the song tells a story of a gig where lead singer Mike Skinner had a negative experience due to his own behavior and the behavior of his bandmates. He realizes the need to change and reflects on his frustration before finding out that the hats labeled as fakes were actually real - a metaphor for his own misguided assumptions about the people and things around him.
Skinner openly shares his feelings of being down and frustrated, and his realization that he needs to change something in his life is raw and honest. The lyrics suggest that sometimes we might be too quick to judge, and that our own biases can influence our perception of reality. However, Skinner also offers hope in his lyrics, suggesting that we have the power to change our own thought processes and ultimately change our lives for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
If you don't like what's going down
When something is happening that you don't like, it's important to take action
You need to change something round
To change the situation, you need to make a change in your actions or thoughts
And what you can't change you've got to change the way you thought about
If you can't change something, you have to change your perspective on it in order to accept it
Two days before I finally snap from (?) a gig
At a recent performance, the stress was getting to be too much for the artist
I was being a twat the bass player behind the (?) cap he's Belgium another bright screaming gang
The artist was acting foolish and the bass player was wearing a hat from Belgium
Johnny drums see peeps leaving trailing gaps putting face cream on between the breaks and tracks
The drummer noticed that people were leaving and also saw someone putting on face cream between songs
I needed to stop this, draw the last of my ways
The singer recognized that their behavior needed to change
Been a long summer (?) band's an age I wanna dry my eyes and all the band on the stage
It had been a long tour and the artist was ready for it to be over
(I wanna see the whole crowd in Belgium)
The artist was thinking about the Belgium crowd and wanting to see them again
Dead silence not very nice to feel so depressed and violent
The silence was uncomfortable and the artist felt depressed and angry
(He's fuckin' puttin' moisturizer on, he's fuckin' moisturisin' his face... I know yeah)
The drummer was putting on face cream and the singer found it amusing
(Some cunt is bringin' up a load of fucki'n shithole streets hats)
Someone was bringing up fake Streets hats
Oi, oi, (?) down the day before the crafts the hats were bought by Warner staff thought they were fakes,
The hats were purchased by the Warner staff but were believed to be fake
Not thought to ask
No one thought to ask if the hats were real or fake
So I (?) the audience found under the stage but I'd only just spoken Ted Mayham has never seen me so Darn broken
The singer found a box of hats under the stage and was upset about the situation
The very next day in bed in London
The artist was in bed in London the following day
With a girl I have little memory of
The artist had been with a girl but couldn't remember much about her
Unable to feel anything much which was the reason why I bought my first suit
The singer didn't feel anything and decided to buy their first suit
Wasn't thinking at that bit on stage
The singer wasn't thinking clearly during their performance
The fake streets hats were actually not fake!
The hats that were believed to be fake were actually real
(My ears who's that cunt? tell him to fuck off man "the streets" no look what what oh yeah no go go go yeah mate stop (?) you know it is made so hard)
Someone is causing a disturbance and the artist is trying to figure out what's going on
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL GEOFFREY SKINNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind