He is noted for an asthmatic whispering lyrical style that is half-rapped, half-sung. As a producer and a musician he is known for having an aversion to perfection preferring to build up a dark, rich and layered sound. Culturally, Tricky bridges white and black Britain particularly in his fusion of rock and hip-hop, high art and pop culture. He drew his influences from rap (Public Enemy) to post-punk (he covered a Siouxsie and the Banshees's song Tattoo).
Throughout his work, Tricky blurs the normally clear sexual definitions found within hip hop. Despite the heavy influence he drew from American hip hop in his debut album, Maxinquaye, he fights against typical sexual representations by, for example, dressing as a woman on the side sleeve of his album cover. Within many of his tracks he blends elements of varying types of music, and use his lyrics to create a much more ambiguous and blurry reality of sexuality.
Maxinquaye remains his most commercially and critically successful album to date. About it, Tricky originally said in an interview with Raygun in October 1996 that he wanted to make an 'out-an-out punk record' and that "I thought it was going be heavier. I thought it was just going to be an out-an-out punk record. But you end up straying. What I wanted to do was a total fast album. Some of the tracks are fast and hard, but they didn't come out like that." He also said that he hated being stuck with the trip-hop tag so "That's why I did Nearly God, and that's why I did Pre-Millennium Tension. You can't see them as trip-hop albums. So I just keep running away from it. But the farther you run, it's still there. They'll find you." Ever since, Tricky' style has evolved away from obscure, sample-based textures to a more contemporary, electronic sound.
Tricky was in Massive Attack and appeared in the movie The Fifth Element as well as the music video for Parabola by Tool. He has collaborated extensively with other artists on tracks on his various releases, including Bjork, Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, Anthony Kiedis , John Frusciante and Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers), Martina Topley-Bird, and Alison Goldfrapp of Goldfrapp also many others.
After his initial success in the latter 1990's, he started his own label called Durban Poison. Currently he is heading a new imprint called Brown Punk.
Ghetto Youth
Tricky Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me come from straight dung ina the ghetto
Seen, Rockfort, Warica
Seen, Matches Lane
Jungle Heights
All I and I are one.
Me a tell ya
All Bull Bay Heights and dem heights dey.
Yeah
Big dem up
Seen, I you a hear me
Wicked ina de ghetto mi bredda
Wicked to the max
And you done know the man have youth and youth
A come up (translation- boys become men)
And you see when
And the father drop out
Dem no know no father so dem come up tun gunman. (tun=turn)
Me done know, because a so de ghetto (so=how)
Run a so the politician do it
Dem bring in a bag a gun
And barrage a ting and seen run pon youth and then
When you check it out.
Dem send dem police friend to come for dem gun
And dem say dem not running gun and dem tings deh.
And bere tings in a ghetto (translation-that's how
Things are in the ghetto)
Seen, man no stop kill man.
Seen, man no stop rob man.
A no dem tings deh we want ina Jamaica (trans.- we
Don't want those things in the ghetto)
We want love, unity, seen, strength and energy.
Yeah, we want a whole heap of things to go on for the
Ghetto youth all next year.
You done know me as one a dem uprighting ghetto
Youth,
Seen, so we a start from way down dey so.
"we start at the bottom of the barrel")
We no just a come from no way and a come up ya so.
(trans- we don't just come from nowhere, we're right here)
A way dung de so man a come from.
Say man a come way from the rock, when me say de rock,
Me mean the rock,
Seen
Dem have flour mill and cement company
The most worst industry inna di whole Caribbean country
Man know from man did bawn(born)
We no got no royalty, know what me say?
Yeah, buil'(build)up all one place we dem call Texaco
Them sinting(thing)we'(where) dem a store.
Gas fi'(for) plane, gas to this, gas to that, gas to everything.
An' if a likkle fire ever get weh?=(If a little fire ever gets away i.e. started
Wow, mi nu' say di word.
Mi' don know seh(I already know that) my little friend over there .
Chu, mi nah lef' him at all(I'm not leaving him at all
See Tricky?
Gwan hol' tings.(Keep doing your thing)
You don' know yuh a up front man.(You already know you're an honest man)
Yes me brother, Sky de yesuh.(Sky is over here)
And a easy we a easy an' a buss one reason and tings.
I tell ya, the youth.
You a god blessed picnee, trust me.
I want to show y'all a thing about the ghetto.
See the ghetto
Yu'(you)see Kisco pop (cheap)
Sugary soda that was sold in Jamaica and many other
Third World British exploited countries), lollipop, an all of them pop there.
Yeah, I and I a juggle them from mi a' nine from down dessuh (there).
See yu know is cool me just a go a sister mammy
See ya don't know man a'(is) ghetto youth, see?
Straight boy original, see?
Yeah, and noboby can fool we and no bigga' heads
(those who think they're more powerful)can come use we.
Yeah, that's the way we run things.
We just DEAL wid tings, we sell suck suck an' them things.
An' ping pong and them thing an'star and daily news an' enquire
And X news for earn our own paper.
Yeah, cause we nah let nu'(we're not gonna let)
Some boy come tell about 6 to 6 and 6 to 12
And nuh half hour this and
Half hour dat and you drink champagne and cock up (put up)
Yu' foot an' inna place an' ting unda' AC(ting=things)
(unda'=under)
An' we ah out dessuh a bruk our hand and our neck fi yu'
(And we're out there breaking our hand and neck for you)
We nuh work dem de ways(We don't work those ways)
That's how the ghetto youth live.
That's why them ever try to elevate us, I and I ya see?
Dem nuh want (they don't want)I and I elevate out of the slum.
Cause dem know who, we have 'hole heap of wisdom
Same way we mek paper, we mek use of dat too
See?
We done know seh(we already knew that)
Our mother and our father never have nothing, from way down dessuh.
Trust me me brother.
See that's how I and I come up.
Go to school without lunch money and them sittin' (things) there.
That's why I and I no love nuh big heads(conceited older person).
Only thing I love a'the little youth dem a wear khaki suit
(Jamaican school children uniform)
From yu' wear uniform me and you nuh friend me brother.
I tell ya, mi nuh shame fi talk or chant or anything ya want.
I and I know.
Liberty a liberty, yu see?
Reality a reality see?
We no promote none of them boy over there.
See them stay over one side and go and eat them
Turkey and drink them what they want to drink them.
De way dem a gwan' suh when dem drink dem Guinness
And kick back and go and meditate and see?
Yeah, live with people mek people live with we.
Ya know what me say?
Yeah, 'cause when I tell ya me brother,
See a pure chain and bondage dem a have we unda, see?
Babylon release the chain but them a use dem brain, see?
Trust me.
That's why I and I nuh gauze(bother) fi dem see?
Guy dem we a buil' up dem big pretty church and nah build nuh school.
The lyrics of Tricky's "Ghetto Youth" are a candid and provocative commentary on life in the ghetto. The song begins with the singer emphasizing his status as a "ghetto youth," someone who has come from the bottom rung of society in areas like Rockfort, Warica, Matches Lane, and Jungle Heights. He speaks of how some boys become gunmen because their fathers are absent and how politicians have brought guns into the ghetto, leading to violence and chaos. Despite all the difficult circumstances, the "ghetto youth" want love, unity, and strength in their community.
The singer also explains the dire conditions in which the ghetto people live- they work in flour mills, cement companies, and other similar industries which only give low wages. The community depends on small-scale businesses such as Texaco. The song speaks of the lack of educational and employment opportunities, and how the ghetto youth must work harder than those who are more fortunate. Tricky emphasizes that those who live in the ghetto merely "deal with things," from selling small treats and candies to reading newspapers.
The song is a raw portrayal of life lived on the outer edge of society. It embraces the ghetto's unique way of life, trying to maintain their cultural roots despite the hardships that come with living there.
Line by Line Meaning
Me's a ghetto youth
I am a young person from the ghetto
Me come from straight dung ina the ghetto
I come from the depths of the ghetto
All I and I are one.
We are all united as one
All Bull Bay Heights and dem heights dey.
All the different heights in Bull Bay are included
Big dem up
Praise them, give them respect
And you done know the man have youth and youth
And you already know that the man has many children
A come up
They are growing up and maturing
And dem say dem not running gun and tings deh.
And they say they are not involved in gun violence and such things
We want love, unity, seen, strength and energy.
We desire love, unity, strength, and energy
You done know me as one a dem uprighting ghetto
You already know that I am one of those standing up for the ghetto
We no just a come from no way and a come up ya so.
We didn't just come from nowhere and rise up here
A way dung de so man a come from.
We are coming from the deep parts of this place
The most worst industry inna di whole Caribbean country
The most terrible industry in the entire Caribbean country
Gas fi'(for) plane, gas to this, gas to that, gas to everything.
Fuel for planes, fuel for different purposes, fuel for everything
Mi' don know seh(My) little friend over there.
I already know that my little friend is over there
You don' know yuh a up front man.
You already know that you are an honest man
I tell ya, the youth.
I'm telling you, the young people
Cause dem know who, we have 'hole heap of wisdom
Because they know that we have a lot of wisdom
We done know seh(we already knew that) Our mother and our father never have nothing
We already knew that our parents didn't have anything
Only thing I love a'the little youth dem a wear khaki suit
The only thing I love is when the young kids wear their school uniform
See them stay over one side and go and eat them Turkey and drink them what they want to drink them.
They stay over there and enjoy their luxuries while we are left behind with no opportunities
Babylon release the chain but them a use dem brain, see?
The authorities may have released the physical chains, but they are still controlling us mentally
That's why I and I nuh gauze(bother) fi dem see?
That's why we don't care about them
Guy dem we a buil' up dem big pretty church and nah build nuh school.
The authorities are building big beautiful churches, but neglecting to build schools
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADRIAN NICHOLAS MATTHEW THAWS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind