[Intro:Konan]
This is my story
This is my story
Thissong isof Konantellingastoryof how hisstep-fathertragicallydied.Konan’s step-fatherCarlton
Nedwasmurdered whilsthe was protectingKonan, asitwassupposedtobe Konan as the intended
target due to gangviolence. Thissongisalsoabouttheirrise inthe musicindustry.
[Verse 1:Konan]
Came from radio, it was late
Left the car, went straight to my gate
Head straight
Didn'tevenlook left
Konanis reflectingonhisjourneywalkingtohishome,andthe lyricsgive the impressionthathe
sensesdangerapproaching.
Got my key out,started hearingfootsteps
Right over my shoulder
Had to act fast, I can hear themgettingcloser
Tryna' keepcalm and put my key into the door
Konanis statinghe can hear people approachinghim, andthathe knowsthat theywantto hurt him.
Thenhe realisesthattostayalive,he mustswiftlyenterhishouse,meaninghe mustbe quickand
calm.
Thinkingto myselfifI don't make it thenit'sover
He knowshe isgoingto die if he doesn’tmake itintothe house before theygettohim.
I don't know how I managed it
Ran intomy mum'sroom panicking
Mum shoutingat me "Karl what's happening?"
Carl shoutingat me "Karl what'shappening?"
Konan’sstepfatherKarl and hismumare wokenupsuddenly,andtheyshoutandquestionatKonan
‘whatis goingon?Theyare scaredto hear people enteringthe house toattackthem
How the hell did I getin this?
Tryna' hold the door but it'scoming offthe hinges
The hingesonthe doorwere comingoff because of the force againstthemfromthose whoare after
Konan.
Somebodywake me from thisdream now
Nothingseemedreal sohe washopinghe isina dream waitingforsomeone tosave himfromthe
nightmare.
Then I hear a gunshotand my mum scream out
Somebodycome and save the day
Somebodytake this pain away
Konan’smumwas scaredas the attackers fired agun. She gotshot inher stomach,bythe intruders
firinga gunbehindthe door.
How can I ask Godfor helpnow, whenI isn’tevenprayed today?
He felt thatbecause he has notprayed, he doesn’twant toask God for favours. Konanprobably didn’t
have time to pray, butbecause he is now in a crisis he wants the help of his God to get him outof it.
Is this how my life ends?(Nowhere torun, no place to hide in)
Konan is frightened thathis life will end, and he hasno way of escaping.
Carl ran out of the room tryna' fightthem
Two more gun shots, everything'ssilent
Carl saw the only optionto help savehis family was to run outof the roomthey were barricaded in,
andattack the intruders. However, the intrudersshothim andran-off. This resulted in him being shot
in the chest and he died instantly.
Mum ran downstairs,she'scrying
And I can't move a muscle but I'mtrying
Konanexplainshowhismumwasdownstairscryingandhow he couldnot comfortherbut he
physicallycannotmove because he isshockedof the eventsthattookplace.
Praying for an ambulance but I can't hear a siren
The ambulance was takinglong to arrive; at the time, it is mostneeded.
She saidhe'sshot I hope she'slying
I hear her shoutingout for help,I thinkhe'sdying
Konandoesn’twantto believe that the people who were after him, had just hurt a lovedone. His
mothersoundssofrantic thathe thinkshis step-dad’sdying.
I'm thinkingwhy him?Was it wrong place, wrong timing?
He was beggingfor answers (rhetorical) suchas Why didthey haveto kill him?Was it just wrong
place, wrong time, or did they do it to get at Konan? The fact that the attackershurt a loved onecould
harm someonemorethan killing them.
I see him at the bottom of the stairs
Mum shaking while the neighbourstryna' save him,heart racing, wishingI coulddisappear
Konanwas at the top of the stairs,staringdownat all the people surroundinghisstep-dad,andthey
were around himtryingto save hisstep-dadwhile himandhismotherstand andwatch helplessly.
Konan’sterrifiedandjustwantsitto all go away.
And it shouldof beenme but it'shim lyingthere
And I know it isn'tfair
The two boyswere after him (Konan)buthis stepfather was murdered. He knowsit shouldbe the
other way around.
I phone Skanks, phone Shook,my whole body'sin shock, I couldn'tevensheda tear
Trapped in this nightmare,how did I get here?
Konan went to call hisfriends andtell them whathappened. Buthe’s so shockedthathe doesn’t
knowwhat to do andisn’teven able tocry, after what hadhappened.
[Hook: Konan]
This is my story
All the pain, all the things, fallingonme
All the blood,sweat and tears but don'tworry
Flashinglights,seenmy life flashbefore me
This is my story
This is my story
The songis telling the story of Konan’slife. His life has been difficult, the phrase “blood, sweat and
tears” is often used to describe difficulty and struggle. Then the flashing lights all are a part of the
memory for when his father was shot. Thisis almostlike a flashback imagery for Konan, ashe cannot
forget this memory.
[Verse 2: Krept]
Woke up to a pingon my blackberry
A “ping”is notificationyoucan send to Blackberry phoneusing Blackberry Messenger. It alerts the
receiver with a soundaswell as a vibration. It’susedto get attention, and in thissituation, it
emphasisesthe fact howKonanwas tryingto contact him.
It was a message from Kone saying"somebodytriedto kill me and got my family"
Konan’s explaining to Krept that someone was after him or out to murder him, but they got
his family instead.
I rubbed my eyes,isthis a dream or reality?
he never thoughtthiswould happento Konan.
Kone said "Krept who the fuck was this mad at me?"
God,how we gone solve this catastrophe?
A “catastrophe”is an eventthat bringsa suddendamage/tragedy. Thenhe asks ‘‘Whowas this mad?’’
enoughat Konantomurder his family.
Then Godgave us 'Otis' it was a blessingfromhim
Cos it stoppedus from going gettingrecklesson him
The duo’s Krept& Konan’s“Otis”was a blessing in disguisefor them, since that it was alleged that Jay
Z himself ordered it tobe removedafter it gained 5 million views on YouTube. They took it all in stride
though, andhaveadded toa dedicatedfan basein the result of the incident.
Thinkingto quitmusic
Thinkingto go and do somethingstupid
Theyhad thoughtsaboutquittingmusicandgoingback to gang-banging. Thisisbecause afterthe
deathof hisstep-father,he wasthinkingtogetrevenge forthe murder.
Then thingsfell in place and started improving
That's why I say the music chose us,we didn'tchoose it
Musicstarted to work outfor them duringthe hard time-period they were goingthrough, even
though they were beginningof thinkingtoquit music andgo back to the road-life. As of thisreason he
thinksthatmusic is their destiny.
Bearing in mindKone started from scratch
Fedstook his house,money,clothes,he neverhad jack
Konanhadnothingwhen they started rappingcoming from “Startedfrom scratch”. This meansthat
he started withoutanything, because‘’feds’’ (Londonslangfor police) took everythinghe had;
because of an arrest. If thingsare boughtwith drugmoney, the courtswill have thoseassetsseized.
“He never hadjack” means he didn’thaveanything, mentioningagainthat the musicliterally saved
their lives.
Then I got a call from Vash
He told us the plan so we got up in the lab
Vash is the founderof PlayHardRecords, which manages artistssuch asSneakboandKrept and
Konan. The“lab” his talking aboutis the studio, he usesthe word “lab” because it is somewhere they
make money, makingcomparisonstoadrug lab.
Then thingsstarted to pick up evenmore
Suddenly, Krept& Konan’sfanbaseand hadraised even more and they were beginning togain more
recognition.
Skepta holleredat me,said that we should come on tour
Skepta don'tevenrealise what he did for us
Well ifyou're listening, thankyou for helpfixingus
From the tour, all these showsstart coming in
Skepta(another major UK Artist) broughtKreptand Konanontourwith hima few years ago, where
they opened the showseverywhere aroundthe UK. Kreptgives his thankstoSkeptafor letting them
come on tourwith them because it helped them gain recognition. This helped themgo througha
roughperiod, butthankstoSkeptawho helped them stay ontheir feet, they stuck with music.
Back on our feetnow the moneystarted floodingin
Investedinclothes and moneystarted doubling
Now so much for struggling
They investedin “Play Dirty”, the clothing line owned by themselves. They use different artiststo
promotetheir clothing line representedby rapperssuch as Yungen. Thisline is foreshadowingthe line
“Now Play Dirty’son the upfucking up the streets”(later-on in the song), and it’s a massiveclothing
brandwithin the teenage community, especially London.
WatchingKones gettingback up on hisfeet
Thinking"how'she coping",I couldn'tifit was me
Kreptadmires that Konanisgetting back upafter the event where hisstep-father haddied.
Now Play Dirty'son the up fucking up the streets
Kreptand Konanhavenow touredwith many artists suchas Skepta, Boy Better KnowandTinie
Tempah.
Everyday a newcity that we reach
But eventhoughwe turned around a mess
I'm sittingin my yard thinkingthat I couldbe next
Thinking"did I give anyone his address?"
Even thoughthey turnedaroundfrom the road-life to legit musicmoney, he still wondersif he is the
next target. This also suggeststhathe is askinghimself if he gave anybody hisaddress.
That shit that happenedto Kone still playingin my head
The events thathappenedto Konan’sstep-dadisstill onhis mind, as he doesn’t want a tragic such as
thatto happento him.
Thinking'bout he day it happened,whenI saw his mum
And she told me "please lookafter my son"
Kreptwas reminiscing when Konan’smotheraskedKrepttolook after his son (for him be his guardian
angel), after the shooting. Sincethen, Kreptand Konanhavebeen friends since a very youngage, and
they have witnessed andwent throughexperiences together.
Not a single tearon her face showing
Even though I know her heart'sbroken
Staying strong eventhough we're stressing
Cos she lost her husband and that beingthe second
Being Konan’sstep-father, Konanhadalready losthis father, and nowhis mother hadnow lost two
husbandsandstill managedto stay strongdespite Kreptand Konan goingthroughtheir hardtimes.
That's why the music isa must to us
Kone he'sgoing to make it up to her
He’s already mentioned aboutbeing successful in the musicindustry, andit also being their destiny
‘’Thenthingsfell in place and startedimproving
That’swhy I say the music choseus, we didn’tchoose it’’
The only way outto succeed in life is to be successful in the music industry
[Hook: Konan]
This is my story
All the pain, all the things, fallingonme
All the blood,sweat and tears but don'tworry
Flashinglights,seenmy life flashbefore me
This is my story
This is my story
The songis telling the story of Konan’slife. His life has been difficult, the phrase “blood, sweat and
tears” is often used to describe difficulty and struggle. Then the flashing lights all are a part of the
memory for when his father was shot. Thisis almostlike a flashback imagery for Konan, ashe cannot
forget this memory.
In conclusion, thistask helped meunderstand thelyrics, and thein-depthmeaning. AsofNovember
2016, thissong hasnowreached 4.5 million viewsand is oneof the biggestmusicvideosin UK grime.
They used socialmedia to promoteit, such asTwitter, Instagramand Facebook;therefore, different
audiencescould hearabouthisjourney to whereheis now. ThroughouttheYouTubecomments, there
were signsof sympathy beingshown asitis a sensitivetopic when talking to an audienceofhow a
family memberhad passed away. Wechosethissong aswe could try useour own ideasto comeup
with ourown narrative, and to improveourmedia skills. In ourmusic video pitch, we talked on howwe
could re-createa similarmeaning ofgetting theaudienceto sympathise with a loss of a family
member. This‘’story’’ isalso very realistic asit doeshappen in areasin theUK, so it is very relatable.
We will try to avoid theoriginalmusicvideo, as thatis notbeing innovativeand coming up with our
own ideas, so as a group wedecided to create a differentnarrativeto theoriginal. Thiswill involve a
lossof a brother, and theartistrapping aboutit. Thissong iseasy to understand, and issuitableacross
all ages, asit is a story being told, and howthey overcameit. This conformsto Tzvetan Todorov’s
theory whereall narrativesfollow a three-partstructurewherethey begin with equilibrium, where
everything isbalanced, progressassomething comesalongto disruptthatequilibrium, and finally
reach a resolution, when equilibriumisrestored. In relation to themusicvideo, theequilibriumis
where they were doing musicand everything wasgood, thebalancewaspresent. Thedisruptionis the
killing of Konan’sfather, and thestrugglehaving no-money, and struggling fora period of time. Then it
is restored when they began to getrecognition in thegrimescene, and nowthey are very popular.

Lyrics analysis

  • 1.
    [Intro:Konan] This is mystory This is my story Thissong isof Konantellingastoryof how hisstep-fathertragicallydied.Konan’s step-fatherCarlton Nedwasmurdered whilsthe was protectingKonan, asitwassupposedtobe Konan as the intended target due to gangviolence. Thissongisalsoabouttheirrise inthe musicindustry. [Verse 1:Konan] Came from radio, it was late Left the car, went straight to my gate Head straight Didn'tevenlook left Konanis reflectingonhisjourneywalkingtohishome,andthe lyricsgive the impressionthathe sensesdangerapproaching. Got my key out,started hearingfootsteps Right over my shoulder Had to act fast, I can hear themgettingcloser Tryna' keepcalm and put my key into the door Konanis statinghe can hear people approachinghim, andthathe knowsthat theywantto hurt him. Thenhe realisesthattostayalive,he mustswiftlyenterhishouse,meaninghe mustbe quickand calm. Thinkingto myselfifI don't make it thenit'sover He knowshe isgoingto die if he doesn’tmake itintothe house before theygettohim. I don't know how I managed it Ran intomy mum'sroom panicking Mum shoutingat me "Karl what's happening?" Carl shoutingat me "Karl what'shappening?" Konan’sstepfatherKarl and hismumare wokenupsuddenly,andtheyshoutandquestionatKonan ‘whatis goingon?Theyare scaredto hear people enteringthe house toattackthem How the hell did I getin this? Tryna' hold the door but it'scoming offthe hinges The hingesonthe doorwere comingoff because of the force againstthemfromthose whoare after Konan. Somebodywake me from thisdream now Nothingseemedreal sohe washopinghe isina dream waitingforsomeone tosave himfromthe nightmare.
  • 2.
    Then I heara gunshotand my mum scream out Somebodycome and save the day Somebodytake this pain away Konan’smumwas scaredas the attackers fired agun. She gotshot inher stomach,bythe intruders firinga gunbehindthe door. How can I ask Godfor helpnow, whenI isn’tevenprayed today? He felt thatbecause he has notprayed, he doesn’twant toask God for favours. Konanprobably didn’t have time to pray, butbecause he is now in a crisis he wants the help of his God to get him outof it. Is this how my life ends?(Nowhere torun, no place to hide in) Konan is frightened thathis life will end, and he hasno way of escaping. Carl ran out of the room tryna' fightthem Two more gun shots, everything'ssilent Carl saw the only optionto help savehis family was to run outof the roomthey were barricaded in, andattack the intruders. However, the intrudersshothim andran-off. This resulted in him being shot in the chest and he died instantly. Mum ran downstairs,she'scrying And I can't move a muscle but I'mtrying Konanexplainshowhismumwasdownstairscryingandhow he couldnot comfortherbut he physicallycannotmove because he isshockedof the eventsthattookplace. Praying for an ambulance but I can't hear a siren The ambulance was takinglong to arrive; at the time, it is mostneeded. She saidhe'sshot I hope she'slying I hear her shoutingout for help,I thinkhe'sdying Konandoesn’twantto believe that the people who were after him, had just hurt a lovedone. His mothersoundssofrantic thathe thinkshis step-dad’sdying. I'm thinkingwhy him?Was it wrong place, wrong timing? He was beggingfor answers (rhetorical) suchas Why didthey haveto kill him?Was it just wrong place, wrong time, or did they do it to get at Konan? The fact that the attackershurt a loved onecould harm someonemorethan killing them.
  • 3.
    I see himat the bottom of the stairs Mum shaking while the neighbourstryna' save him,heart racing, wishingI coulddisappear Konanwas at the top of the stairs,staringdownat all the people surroundinghisstep-dad,andthey were around himtryingto save hisstep-dadwhile himandhismotherstand andwatch helplessly. Konan’sterrifiedandjustwantsitto all go away. And it shouldof beenme but it'shim lyingthere And I know it isn'tfair The two boyswere after him (Konan)buthis stepfather was murdered. He knowsit shouldbe the other way around. I phone Skanks, phone Shook,my whole body'sin shock, I couldn'tevensheda tear Trapped in this nightmare,how did I get here? Konan went to call hisfriends andtell them whathappened. Buthe’s so shockedthathe doesn’t knowwhat to do andisn’teven able tocry, after what hadhappened. [Hook: Konan] This is my story All the pain, all the things, fallingonme All the blood,sweat and tears but don'tworry Flashinglights,seenmy life flashbefore me This is my story This is my story The songis telling the story of Konan’slife. His life has been difficult, the phrase “blood, sweat and tears” is often used to describe difficulty and struggle. Then the flashing lights all are a part of the memory for when his father was shot. Thisis almostlike a flashback imagery for Konan, ashe cannot forget this memory. [Verse 2: Krept] Woke up to a pingon my blackberry A “ping”is notificationyoucan send to Blackberry phoneusing Blackberry Messenger. It alerts the receiver with a soundaswell as a vibration. It’susedto get attention, and in thissituation, it emphasisesthe fact howKonanwas tryingto contact him. It was a message from Kone saying"somebodytriedto kill me and got my family" Konan’s explaining to Krept that someone was after him or out to murder him, but they got his family instead.
  • 4.
    I rubbed myeyes,isthis a dream or reality? he never thoughtthiswould happento Konan. Kone said "Krept who the fuck was this mad at me?" God,how we gone solve this catastrophe? A “catastrophe”is an eventthat bringsa suddendamage/tragedy. Thenhe asks ‘‘Whowas this mad?’’ enoughat Konantomurder his family. Then Godgave us 'Otis' it was a blessingfromhim Cos it stoppedus from going gettingrecklesson him The duo’s Krept& Konan’s“Otis”was a blessing in disguisefor them, since that it was alleged that Jay Z himself ordered it tobe removedafter it gained 5 million views on YouTube. They took it all in stride though, andhaveadded toa dedicatedfan basein the result of the incident. Thinkingto quitmusic Thinkingto go and do somethingstupid Theyhad thoughtsaboutquittingmusicandgoingback to gang-banging. Thisisbecause afterthe deathof hisstep-father,he wasthinkingtogetrevenge forthe murder. Then thingsfell in place and started improving That's why I say the music chose us,we didn'tchoose it Musicstarted to work outfor them duringthe hard time-period they were goingthrough, even though they were beginningof thinkingtoquit music andgo back to the road-life. As of thisreason he thinksthatmusic is their destiny. Bearing in mindKone started from scratch Fedstook his house,money,clothes,he neverhad jack Konanhadnothingwhen they started rappingcoming from “Startedfrom scratch”. This meansthat he started withoutanything, because‘’feds’’ (Londonslangfor police) took everythinghe had; because of an arrest. If thingsare boughtwith drugmoney, the courtswill have thoseassetsseized. “He never hadjack” means he didn’thaveanything, mentioningagainthat the musicliterally saved their lives. Then I got a call from Vash He told us the plan so we got up in the lab Vash is the founderof PlayHardRecords, which manages artistssuch asSneakboandKrept and Konan. The“lab” his talking aboutis the studio, he usesthe word “lab” because it is somewhere they make money, makingcomparisonstoadrug lab.
  • 5.
    Then thingsstarted topick up evenmore Suddenly, Krept& Konan’sfanbaseand hadraised even more and they were beginning togain more recognition. Skepta holleredat me,said that we should come on tour Skepta don'tevenrealise what he did for us Well ifyou're listening, thankyou for helpfixingus From the tour, all these showsstart coming in Skepta(another major UK Artist) broughtKreptand Konanontourwith hima few years ago, where they opened the showseverywhere aroundthe UK. Kreptgives his thankstoSkeptafor letting them come on tourwith them because it helped them gain recognition. This helped themgo througha roughperiod, butthankstoSkeptawho helped them stay ontheir feet, they stuck with music. Back on our feetnow the moneystarted floodingin Investedinclothes and moneystarted doubling Now so much for struggling They investedin “Play Dirty”, the clothing line owned by themselves. They use different artiststo promotetheir clothing line representedby rapperssuch as Yungen. Thisline is foreshadowingthe line “Now Play Dirty’son the upfucking up the streets”(later-on in the song), and it’s a massiveclothing brandwithin the teenage community, especially London. WatchingKones gettingback up on hisfeet Thinking"how'she coping",I couldn'tifit was me Kreptadmires that Konanisgetting back upafter the event where hisstep-father haddied. Now Play Dirty'son the up fucking up the streets Kreptand Konanhavenow touredwith many artists suchas Skepta, Boy Better KnowandTinie Tempah. Everyday a newcity that we reach But eventhoughwe turned around a mess I'm sittingin my yard thinkingthat I couldbe next Thinking"did I give anyone his address?" Even thoughthey turnedaroundfrom the road-life to legit musicmoney, he still wondersif he is the next target. This also suggeststhathe is askinghimself if he gave anybody hisaddress.
  • 6.
    That shit thathappenedto Kone still playingin my head The events thathappenedto Konan’sstep-dadisstill onhis mind, as he doesn’t want a tragic such as thatto happento him. Thinking'bout he day it happened,whenI saw his mum And she told me "please lookafter my son" Kreptwas reminiscing when Konan’smotheraskedKrepttolook after his son (for him be his guardian angel), after the shooting. Sincethen, Kreptand Konanhavebeen friends since a very youngage, and they have witnessed andwent throughexperiences together. Not a single tearon her face showing Even though I know her heart'sbroken Staying strong eventhough we're stressing Cos she lost her husband and that beingthe second Being Konan’sstep-father, Konanhadalready losthis father, and nowhis mother hadnow lost two husbandsandstill managedto stay strongdespite Kreptand Konan goingthroughtheir hardtimes. That's why the music isa must to us Kone he'sgoing to make it up to her He’s already mentioned aboutbeing successful in the musicindustry, andit also being their destiny ‘’Thenthingsfell in place and startedimproving That’swhy I say the music choseus, we didn’tchoose it’’ The only way outto succeed in life is to be successful in the music industry [Hook: Konan] This is my story All the pain, all the things, fallingonme All the blood,sweat and tears but don'tworry Flashinglights,seenmy life flashbefore me This is my story This is my story The songis telling the story of Konan’slife. His life has been difficult, the phrase “blood, sweat and tears” is often used to describe difficulty and struggle. Then the flashing lights all are a part of the memory for when his father was shot. Thisis almostlike a flashback imagery for Konan, ashe cannot forget this memory.
  • 7.
    In conclusion, thistaskhelped meunderstand thelyrics, and thein-depthmeaning. AsofNovember 2016, thissong hasnowreached 4.5 million viewsand is oneof the biggestmusicvideosin UK grime. They used socialmedia to promoteit, such asTwitter, Instagramand Facebook;therefore, different audiencescould hearabouthisjourney to whereheis now. ThroughouttheYouTubecomments, there were signsof sympathy beingshown asitis a sensitivetopic when talking to an audienceofhow a family memberhad passed away. Wechosethissong aswe could try useour own ideasto comeup with ourown narrative, and to improveourmedia skills. In ourmusic video pitch, we talked on howwe could re-createa similarmeaning ofgetting theaudienceto sympathise with a loss of a family member. This‘’story’’ isalso very realistic asit doeshappen in areasin theUK, so it is very relatable. We will try to avoid theoriginalmusicvideo, as thatis notbeing innovativeand coming up with our own ideas, so as a group wedecided to create a differentnarrativeto theoriginal. Thiswill involve a lossof a brother, and theartistrapping aboutit. Thissong iseasy to understand, and issuitableacross all ages, asit is a story being told, and howthey overcameit. This conformsto Tzvetan Todorov’s theory whereall narrativesfollow a three-partstructurewherethey begin with equilibrium, where everything isbalanced, progressassomething comesalongto disruptthatequilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibriumisrestored. In relation to themusicvideo, theequilibriumis where they were doing musicand everything wasgood, thebalancewaspresent. Thedisruptionis the killing of Konan’sfather, and thestrugglehaving no-money, and struggling fora period of time. Then it is restored when they began to getrecognition in thegrimescene, and nowthey are very popular.