Début d'empire [English translation]

[Stanza 1 : Bigflo]

Letting your friends go

Spending the night in the lab with Oli

Bringing Hip-Hop back to life

We just assembled the rhymes and the chords

And we haven't changed the world, no, not yet

I cancel the truce and then I attack

My friend told me

"You're living your dream while I'm working at uni

So I don't give a shit if you complain, you gotta integrate yourself

Here, we'd all like to have your problems"

He's right, but it's not that easy

The pressure of all these new things happening to me

Oli and I, we told each other we'd never give in

I want whoever's listening to this knowing that it's true

Yeah, I want them to know all I have in my gut

That I write what I scream, that I live what I rap

That I work with will even though I stagger

That I work all night long so my sun shines brighter

The desert, walking for hours on end

And we won't stop 'till we're te best

This is only the beginning, the tournament is not over

We'll never be trendy but we'll always be here

The pros are liars, don't think we're anything like them

They forget that you don't calculate music, you feel it

So go fuck yourselves and all your colleagues

My true victory is that they're singing my songs in my old school

Thank you for your support

To all the hands in the air, to all the aspiring rappers

We need you, the visionaries that lift us up

Sit down, you're the directors of our dreams/you're the dream fulfillers*

It hasn't been long since I changed, I accepted myself

I went through the mirror, I embraced my reflection

Hugging myself, it might seem crazy

But if you feel hate, you should do the same

Being an adult isn't drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes

It's respecting your family and taking care of your close ones

And I know I can do better

I could become one if I don't have to become serious

I'm still proud, obviously

Of all these shows to fill, of our starting empire

I decided to clean up, and I got my 2-floor tour bus

I put Pikachu in a box, see you friend

I have to grow up, it's hard to tell myself I'll be 24 soon

Things are playing out to be wonderful

With the hermano** in osmosis in the cosmos

Dad your sons are becoming men despite their bohemian lives

We always give it all, careful with our poems

The start of a kindman, brother's holding each other's hands

All of that in a single album, imagine the second one

[Chorus : Bigflo & Oli] x2

And altough few people believe it

We took an appointment, we're waiting for our hour of glory

They told us "It's crazy, you haven't changed

Don't forget we're you're from, you could go back anytime"

[Stanza 2 : Oli]

Sometimes the future whispers but I can't hear it

Yanis tells me "Real life, all our problems, when are you gonna talk about that?"

I'm acting like a fool but I'm scared

Did you see what we just went through?

Think about it for the next song

Great encounters on the way

Hypocrites don't count

I think about my dad and his guitar without any contract

In the studio, my bohemian life creates barriers

Scared of saying "sorry, I've got a concert" on the day of my wedding

I wanna give up sometimes when this world disgusts me

But there's this dad whispering to me "Guys, my son listens to your music"

My grandmother is from Algeria, hard like her month's ends

I'm gonna celebrate my 20th at the Zénith and the Olympia

I chose to be honest, and to kick the truth

Don't give a shit, I'm enjoying it, if it stops I didn't deserve it

We'll sing and change the world at the same time

I write to hear Flo's "Good job" when he listens to my stanzas

Thanks guys, for your help

For all your words when I've got the blues

Brothers, do it well but please don't talk about Toulouse

Death, give me an hour to rap one last time

Chasing happiness that might be behind me

I wanted to live it with my brother, I wanted all of our dreams to grow

I don't care about the sea villa if I'm alone in it

My friends tell me "Do it for us"

They think I'm a fool

At the concert I saw my young self, with my hands up in the crowd

In the field of possibilities, I planted a seed last night

Impolite, I talk with my mouth full, yeah full of hope

Two brothers, a visionary

Life isn't just money, it's being happy... and a millionaire

I'm depressed chasing an honest girl

They tell me "Beware, love is rare and the worst remedy"

Meanwhile I manhandle my body and put my heart in quarantine

And I go from town to town, from cries to laughs, from scene to scene

Alone, Cap' square, I think about my future

My ennemies are behind me but I can see them coming

I pass a Mc Donald's, I have friends working there

They're working after uni, and I'm rapping and I'm complaining, that's the worst

They pay me to see me, we make girls cry

I feel stupid because deep down, I've never saved lives

Yeah we work one, it's only the beginning, be sure of that

In front of the wall they censor but I know talents last

Fists clenched, my friend swore on Mecca

Since I don't have a religion, I swore on my mother

We swore to never forget, on my head on his head

He held out his hand and I swore to do the same

Dear critics, I'll soon be the best, you gotta admit it

I'd rather push at open doors than throw myself out the window

Thank you for your letters, it's hard to read them all to be honest

When we meet for the first time, I feel like I know you

Why me? a southern guy who lacks confidence

I cross my fingers, my head still full of yesterday's dreams

I can't believe it but I'm slowly seeing it

And you, imagine all you could do

It's the end of the sold who lie in front of the mic

She says "I'm happy for Oli but I miss Olivio"

I stare at the void up in my tower

A foot in the real word, I wanna be the best

[Chorus : Bigflo & Oli] x2

And altough few people believe it

We took an appointment, we're waiting for our hour of glory

They told us "It's crazy, you haven't changed

Don't forget we're you're from, you could go back anytime"

*play on words on "réalisateur" which both means "director", but also from the idiom "réaliser ses rêves", "to make one's dreams come true"

**brother

• Artist:Bigflo et Oli