Tell The Kids (single) by Cho Lewis

Local trilingual rapper Cho Lewis flexes his lyrical chops in his self-produced single, “Tell The
Kids”.

Donning a surgical face mask for the video, Lewis puts the haters on blast. Strong political
overtones pervade the track, from commentary on “kids trying to impress the system” to the poetic
invocation of “tell them to hold a sword against the devils”. Posted in May 2020, the geopolitical
relevance of these themes is made plain as the song addresses artifice and oppression both in the
private and the public spheres.

When it comes to delivery, Lewis effectively keeps listeners on their toes by switching up his flow in
the middle of the song. The jarring gear change serves as a lyrical semi colon, splitting the track in
two and trading flagrant call-outs for imagery-laden introspection. Philosophical musings comment
on the deeper personal underpinnings of the first half, with Lewis calling himself out for moments of
lapsed judgement. He warns of the dangers of greed, detailing “the only thing I see [..] is the
countless souls that I killed for the throne I seized”.

Tell The Kids is equal parts angry and foreboding, confident and humble. Lewis lays bare his own
shortcomings to reinforce his point, sharing lessons he has gleaned from past mistakes whilst
lambasting the societal structures and fallacies that led him (and countless others) astray.

Check out Cho Lewis on Youtube.

By Jasmine Gould-Wilson

Be Sociable, Share!