Uploaded January 2009 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Track 11. 'Financial Leprosy'. From the album 'Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury'
Written by M. Franti
Hiphoprisy is:
Michael Franti & Rono Tse
Musicians:
Michael Franti - Vocals
Rono Tse - Angle Grinder, Tire Rims, Chains, Break Drums, Electronic Springs, Sheet Metal & Steel Drums
Charlie Hunter - Guitar
Programming and Musical Arrangements by Mark Pistel & Michael Franti
Mixed by Jack Dangers, Mark Pistel
Engineered by Mark "Spliffler" Pistel, John Baker
Post production engineering by Jeff Mann
♪♫ [1st Commentary: "The consumer is in no position right now to lead the country out of recession....." 2nd Commentary: "We look at dollars coming out of one pocket of the of the institutions going to the other pocket. The issue is larger than are there dollars to educate our children, the issue is do we want to educate our children....."]
Financial leprosy
We got to get up
And wait in line
For the soup, toilets
And things to read
Fill out 11-0-1's
And take a seat
But then we got to
Find a place to sleep
We got to lay down
Upon newspaper, cardboard
Concrete, and plastic sheets
Effects of "Eighties" public policy
We used to buy
Full shopping carts
And buy useless products
Trained to drain
Not to remain
Red line economy
"I have a dream"'s reality.
Well self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjuction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
Designer glasses to see designer clothes
Designer cologne to wave under a designer drug nose
That sniffs through the perfume scented
Magazines
Try to make sense out of dollars
Often heard of, rarely seen
As an ear listens to the dial tone
I pretend to talk on a cellular phone
That I know I can't afford
Well I used to own this street
And now I'm living on Market Street
Well self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjunction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
[3rd Commentary: "Narco-gangsters concern us all....we will need speed and bass....bass........" 4th Commentary: "It's a matter of priorities when in California 42% of the kids in CYA are African-American and are about 8% of the population. It's a priority when 40% of those in the federal corrections are African-American"]
Thieves generating revenues
Lottery poverty tax
Druglords and
Landlords
And "praise the lords"
They prey upon us
How did they ever
Manufacture consent
A meal in every trashcan
Myth of the "Happy Hobo"
COINTELPRO (COunter INtelligence PROgram)
The Cosby Show
Why did they cut the Pell
Grant, so they can build cells
Ten years in prison
But no tenure at the University
Is this ethnic diversity?
Or is it public policy
[5th Commentary: "The ones who need education the most are not getting it"]
Chemical bullets
Aimed at the Afro-Diaspora
A genocidal ghost
Manipulates a suicidal host
And as high technology
Eliminates the need for manual labor
And Mercedes-Benz® logos replace peace signs
On the necks of our youth
There goes self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjuction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
[6th Commentary: "The poverty industry.......the poverty industry...they can find 750,000 a week to pay police but we can't pay community based organisations for after school activities......the poverty industry.............the poverty industry................................the poverty indust"](END) ♪♫
[Mercedes-Benz® is a registered trademark of Mercedes-Benz Corp.]
Note: This album is dedicated to Tahan K. Jones, the first African-American conscientious objector from the Iraqi slaughter, and to all others who refused to kill or be killed in the name of the New World Order, and to the infamy of those who did and were.
~ [Many thanks to the copyright owners UMG for allowing this to be heard on YouTube] ~ ☺
Track 11. 'Financial Leprosy'. From the album 'Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury'
Written by M. Franti
Hiphoprisy is:
Michael Franti & Rono Tse
Musicians:
Michael Franti - Vocals
Rono Tse - Angle Grinder, Tire Rims, Chains, Break Drums, Electronic Springs, Sheet Metal & Steel Drums
Charlie Hunter - Guitar
Programming and Musical Arrangements by Mark Pistel & Michael Franti
Mixed by Jack Dangers, Mark Pistel
Engineered by Mark "Spliffler" Pistel, John Baker
Post production engineering by Jeff Mann
♪♫ [1st Commentary: "The consumer is in no position right now to lead the country out of recession....." 2nd Commentary: "We look at dollars coming out of one pocket of the of the institutions going to the other pocket. The issue is larger than are there dollars to educate our children, the issue is do we want to educate our children....."]
Financial leprosy
We got to get up
And wait in line
For the soup, toilets
And things to read
Fill out 11-0-1's
And take a seat
But then we got to
Find a place to sleep
We got to lay down
Upon newspaper, cardboard
Concrete, and plastic sheets
Effects of "Eighties" public policy
We used to buy
Full shopping carts
And buy useless products
Trained to drain
Not to remain
Red line economy
"I have a dream"'s reality.
Well self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjuction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
Designer glasses to see designer clothes
Designer cologne to wave under a designer drug nose
That sniffs through the perfume scented
Magazines
Try to make sense out of dollars
Often heard of, rarely seen
As an ear listens to the dial tone
I pretend to talk on a cellular phone
That I know I can't afford
Well I used to own this street
And now I'm living on Market Street
Well self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjunction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
[3rd Commentary: "Narco-gangsters concern us all....we will need speed and bass....bass........" 4th Commentary: "It's a matter of priorities when in California 42% of the kids in CYA are African-American and are about 8% of the population. It's a priority when 40% of those in the federal corrections are African-American"]
Thieves generating revenues
Lottery poverty tax
Druglords and
Landlords
And "praise the lords"
They prey upon us
How did they ever
Manufacture consent
A meal in every trashcan
Myth of the "Happy Hobo"
COINTELPRO (COunter INtelligence PROgram)
The Cosby Show
Why did they cut the Pell
Grant, so they can build cells
Ten years in prison
But no tenure at the University
Is this ethnic diversity?
Or is it public policy
[5th Commentary: "The ones who need education the most are not getting it"]
Chemical bullets
Aimed at the Afro-Diaspora
A genocidal ghost
Manipulates a suicidal host
And as high technology
Eliminates the need for manual labor
And Mercedes-Benz® logos replace peace signs
On the necks of our youth
There goes self effacing and mirror hating
The ethnic notions and potions
But I still smell bad
Skin fader, tanning booths
In conjuction with their plastic boobs
And diet pills
ALL MEANS TO ATTRACT AND DISTRACT
[6th Commentary: "The poverty industry.......the poverty industry...they can find 750,000 a week to pay police but we can't pay community based organisations for after school activities......the poverty industry.............the poverty industry................................the poverty indust"](END) ♪♫
[Mercedes-Benz® is a registered trademark of Mercedes-Benz Corp.]
Note: This album is dedicated to Tahan K. Jones, the first African-American conscientious objector from the Iraqi slaughter, and to all others who refused to kill or be killed in the name of the New World Order, and to the infamy of those who did and were.
~ [Many thanks to the copyright owners UMG for allowing this to be heard on YouTube] ~ ☺
