[HOOK – Dark, rolling beat, slow bass loop] I neva write fo’ fame, I neva write fo’ gold I write fo’ da night, da stories untold From Pō come voice, from reef come name Dis chant goin’ break — not just play da game I neva bow to da throne, I no build da crown I chant fo’ da roots, not da ones up town Genealogy deep, not just alee’ie pride I wrote Kumulipo fo’ da ones who died [Verse 1 – Purpose and Birth] They say: "Compose da chant fo’ da high chief born" But I stay watch da sea, da fish, da storm Was mo’ than just show — dis moʻolelo real ʻIke from da past, laid out like meal Gotta feed da soul, not just feed da court No more truth if you always distort So I wen’ chant da reef, da limu, da shark Fo’ remind da world: all light start dark They thought it was PR, crown ceremony But I made each line fo’ balance da phony Ka-ʻI-ʻi royal, yeah, dat part true But he still got bones, just like me and you [HOOK – Emphasis shifts to change] I neva write fo’ da book, I write fo’ da shift Fo’ pull da people back from da rift Fo’ when power forget where it came from Fo’ da day da night get too numb You ask what da chant gon’ do? Gon’ remind That alee’ie come from slime, from time, from mind You no born a god, you rise from da line So act wit aloha, or break da spine [Verse 2 – Challenge to Power] Back in da day, we shared da poi bowl Now dey fence da land, divide da soul Kapu system stacking higher like wall But da ʻāina no forget — she remember all They used da gods to justify da pain But I knew da truth underneath da rain ʻAi kapu? Who dat serve? Who dat scare? I wen’ write Kumulipo to make ‘em care I put da earth back in da genealogy Fish, fern, fog — not just royalty Every crab get place, every reef get role Not just crown, but da whole damn shoal [Bridge – ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi over sparse drum] Mai ka pō mai ka ʻike, mai ka ʻike ka mana Mai ka mana ke kuleana — ola nā kānaka. (From darkness, knowledge; from knowledge, power From power, responsibility — life fo’ da people.) [Verse 3 – The Change He Hoped For] I like them see we all connected in thread No moʻo, no kanaka — da story stay dead If you remember da sea, you respect da sand You rule not by spear, but by understand I wrote fo’ da days dey forget da chant When all dey see is title and grant But dis moʻolelo gon’ outlive throne ʻCause Kumulipo planted in bone Maybe one day dey find dis scroll And it make one kid question da role Maybe da priest no gotta sacrifice Maybe da queen eat poi, no pay da price [Final Hook – Quiet, insistent] I neva write fo’ da crown, I wrote fo’ da tide Fo’ da birth in da mud, not da ride on da side Wen da night come back, when da stars get dim Dis chant still float, still pulse, still swim I neva chant fo’ da kings to feel big I chant fo’ da reef, da mud, da fig Fo’ da kupuna in da wind who stay Kumulipo gon’ speak even aftah I fade [Outro – Whispered, over ambient ocean sounds] ʻO ka pō ka hoʻomaka, ʻaʻole ka hopena. (The night is the beginning, not the end.)
