da na‘au, da stomach, where knowledge sit deep No Cartesian split, we think when we weep Used to be shame fo’ cry, now I recognize That tears is da archives of kupuna-wise They say “listen to yo elder” — yeah, listen to da tide ‘Cause ʻāina she whisper all da truths we denied He leo wale nō — da wind speak kaona You feel da mana when yo grandma do prayer on ya We don’t separate da mind from da muscle Our knowledge come embodied, like canoe hustle [Chorus] 🎤 “Nāna i ke kumu, look to the source (uh) Wisdom in the roots, not the force-fed course (nah) Nāʻau not brain, ‘cause da truth stay live From da land, from da fam, from da spirit inside” (Repeat) [Chorus] 🎤 “Nāna i ke kumu, look to the source (uh) Wisdom in the roots, not the force-fed course (nah) Nāʻau not brain, ‘cause da truth stay live From da land, from da fam, from da spirit inside” (Repeat) [Verse 2] He said, “Go school, go college,” but I neva see me In da textbooks, da lessons—felt invisible, brah, believe me But da pohaku remember, da rain get voice So I dropped out the system, made my own choice Wit’ da kūpuna ghosts, I walk shoreline Aumakua guide like constellations align Knowledge no get stuck in some classroom chair It breathin’ in da forest, it movin’ in da air I get my degree from da lo‘i kalo patch From chant cadence, not test match Western mind split—our mind stay entwinin’ With da ‘āina, da tides, da stars aligning They call us mystical, irrational fools But we build heiau wit’ no blueprint tools Talkin’ empiricism? We had our own Five senses plus visions when we all alone Nāʻauao, that’s na‘au intelligence—deep Like feeling da mana when da ocean sleep Our school get ocean, mountain, kupuna chair You can’t colonize that kind of air [Chorus] 🎤 “Nāna i ke kumu, look to the source (uh) Wisdom in the roots, not the force-fed course (nah) Nāʻau not brain, ‘cause da truth stay live From da land, from da fam, from the spirit inside” (Repeat) [Chorus] 🎤 “Nāna i ke kumu, look to the source (uh) Wisdom in the roots, not the force-fed course (nah) Nāʻau not brain, ‘cause da truth stay live From da land, from da fam, from the spirit inside” (Repeat) [Bridge - Spoken Word, DOOM-style scratchy sample voice filter] “I ka ‘ōlelo no ke ola, i ka ‘ōlelo no ka make” Don’t sleep on da kaona — sometimes silence get breath. [Verse 3] I get degrees in pounding kapa and decoding signs Not in regurgitated Western lines We no dumb—we got deep ontologies We just no quantify da wind’s apologies Hawaiian philosophy, that native science Stay relational—our truth is in alliance From ‘āina hanau to da lehua bloom Every petal, every stone got its own classroom Culture restore culture, we rise like mists From ma uka to makai, da knowledge persists It ain’t dead—it’s just been ignored, sidelined But da na‘au, she patient, just wait for da time So I rap wit’ kupuna, my mic get prayer Every verse I spit come from somewhere rare Nāna i ke kumu—respect da spark And let da na‘au light yo path through da dark [Chorus - Final Hook] 🎤 “Nāna i ke kumu, look to the source (uh) Wisdom in the roots, not the force-fed course (nah) Nāʻau not brain, ‘cause da truth stay live From da land, from da fam, from the spirit inside” (Repeat) [Outro – DOOM-style echo-fade] “Da real university? Stay under your feet.” “Look to the land. Look to your kupuna. Look to da source.”
