Kärkiryhmä - Tulevaisuuden johtajat (Future Leaders)

This song was made for the movie Tyttö sinä olet tähti, where it is performed by the fictional rap group Kärkiryhmä. It's a drama comedy of a rich aspiring RnB star Nelli and a hiphop DJ Sune, who fall in love. It's, like, THE hiphop movie of Finland. The song was composed by Jukka Immonen and lyrics were written by Joonas Saartamo (who plays Kondis in the movie; aka Jonde, aka Alarik), Kimmo Laiho aka Elastinen and Matti Salo aka Asa aka Avain.

Original Finnish lyrics

Kasvan kaupungis, elämä vasta aluillaan

Mahollisuudet tehdä ihan mitä haluukaa

Mä lähdin pohjalta tulevaisuuden johtaja

Mä oon valmiin vastukset yksin kohtaamaa

En pety enää koko ajan kasvaa vastuu

Mutsi potki himasta ja lukuu puskee lasku

Oon omillani tolpillani omil jaloillani

En pyydä sun apuu mä aion selvitä tavallani

Tai sitten toisel mut silti pää pyöräl

Skolesta lakkii tai beifit handul lyödään

Ja samallaki handul sä duunii ruinaat

Monet stoppaa huumeet ja löi sitä muijaa

Kello käy ja mä seison risteyksen keskellä

Valan suun tätä esteet estetä

Tarkotus vaihtoehdot ainaki karkottaa

Mä elän täysil mitä ikin se tarkottaa

En löydä mistään järkee

Kasva ja paikkoi särkee

Tää päivä ainoo tärkee

(Päivä kerrallaan niinku kaikki muutki)

Käsitä väärin tai ymmärrä yskää

Paranna mut tai mä teen mitä lystää

Potkasin ristiin pomoni sukset

Ammatit jäi, mä petin äidin odotuksen

Luokassa pohtii, juomassa pohjii

Keibralinnaan piilotin palkkani sohviin

Köyttö pöydällä, koulust vapaana

Nainen vieressä, instituutti takana

Tytär sylissään, kumarra ketään

Lepään elossa, oon haudassaki elossa

TV:st kasvo vähän isommat kaverit

Rivi pois, kirjas tän päivän paperil

Isukin pojat, turbo ja se turaa

Yks elämä aikaa saada kansamme kuvaa

Oppilaista ylin unohdetut lapsii

Kärkiryhmä tekee aikuisista lapsii

En löydä mistään järkee

Kasva ja paikkoi särkee

Tää päivä ainoo tärkee

(Päivä kerrallaan niinku kaikki muutki)

K-R!

Ja tarinat on totta

Elämän vankilassa, tarinan vankina

Heikoilla jäillä, hahmona vahvana

K-R! Nyt hoitamassa pottia

K-R!

Ja tarinat on totta

Elämän vankilassa, tarinan vankina

Heikoilla jäillä, hahmona vahvana

K-R! Nyt hoitamassa pottia

En löydä mistään järkee

Kasva ja paikkoi särkee

Tää päivä ainoo tärkee

(Päivä kerrallaan niinku kaikki muutki)

English translation

I'm growing up in town, life just about to begin

Possibilities to do whatever I want

I came from the bottom, future leader

I'm ready to face the resistance alone

I won't be disappointed anymore, responsibility growing

Mom kicked me out and bill is pushing numbers

I'm on my own, on top of my game, on my feet

I won't ask for your help, I'm gonna survive my own way

Or another, but still my head's spinning

Get a hat from school or get the fake ID on hand *1

And with that same hand you beg for a job

Many are stopped by drugs and hit that chick

Clock is ticking and I'm standing in the middle of a crossroads

I cast a mouth this obstacles stopped *2

Meanin' to at least drive away the options (note: to a Finnish speaker, a clear wordplay of the expression "kartoittaa vaihtoehdot", "to map out the options", where as this is "karkottaa vaihtoehdot", "drive away the options")

I'm livin' life to the fullest, whatever that means

Cannot find sense in anything

Growin' and aching in places

This day's the only one that's important

(A day at a time, like everyone else)

Misconstrue or get the hint

Cure me or I'll do whatever I like

I kicked the skis of my boss and they crossed *3

Didn't do careers, betrayed mom's expectations

In the class pondering, drinking "the bottoms" *4

In the Keibra Castle (?) I hid my salary in the sofas

Tied up on the table, free of school

A woman by the side, institute left behind

Daughter in his lap, (not) bowing to anyone

I rest in life, I'm even alive in the tomb

From TVs face/grew guys that are a bit bigger (note: it's a double - "kasvot" = "face", "tv-kasvo" = lit. "tv face", a person who's on tv regularly; but also "kasvoi" = "grew")

A line out, booked today's paper

Daddy-o's sons/boys, turbo and he messes up *5

One life's time to create our nation's image

Highest of the students, forgotten children

Kärkiryhmä / Lead Group turning adults into kids

Cannot find sense in anything

Growin' and aching in places

This day's the only one that's important

(A day at a time, like everyone else)

K-R! (note: as in Kärkiryhmä)

And the stories are true

In the prison of life, captive of the story

On thin ice, a strong figure

K-R! Now dealin' the pot (note: 😂 the Finnish bar doesn't imply dealing drugs, they're just "managing" a "jackpot", a big amount of money)

K-R!

And the stories are true

In the prison of life, captive of the story

On thin ice, a strong figure

K-R! Now dealin' the pot 

Cannot find sense in anything

Growin' and aching in places

This day's the only one that's important

(A day at a time, like everyone else)

______

*1 Not quite sure about the latter part, because of the slang. Google says "beiffit", with two F's, means fake ID, or in this case, could also mean lying in your resume, having fake papers that say you have a certain level of education. "Handu" is a slang word taken directly from English/Swedish and it means "a hand". If "beifit" means fake school papers, a direct translation of the latter half of this bar would be "striking fake school papers with a hand". But I assume it's more like, the narrator has them in hand and presents them in a job interview, to get a job & an income without actually having the education the papers claim he has. 

*2 Don't know what he means, I just translated all words directly. "Valan suun" = "I cast a mouth", although "vala" is also "an oath". "Tätä" = "this", "esteet" = "obstacles". "Estetä" is a conjugated form of "estää", "to stop/block/prevent/etc". The conjugation implies there might be the word "ei", "no", right before it, changing the meaning to "didn't stop/block/prevent/etc". From the audio it even sounds like there's a long "ee" sound in the middle, which is how the word "ei" often sounds in spoken Finnish - "esteet, 'ee' estetä". But Asa (one of the lyricists) also has a tendency to cut words for the sake of the rhyme scheme, so the implied word could also be "estetään", "is stopped/clocked/prevented/etc". There. I think you now know just as much as I do. Sorry for the imperfect translation. Rap is very hard to translate because of the slang (especially!) and the doubles and the long verses... This is the first week I'm regretting making this April my "hiphop translations" month.

*3 "Sukset meni ristiin" translates literally to "skis crossed" (like your feet went towards each other when wearing skis, overlapped and then you stumble and fall), but it's also a common idiom for a situation where two people do NOT get along with each other. They fight and then they refuse to communicate with the other. In this song, the narrator fought with his boss. And it sounds like the narrator was the one initiating the fight, since he "kicked the skis". That's a new twist to the idiom that I haven't seen elsewhere besides this song.

*4 The last sips of someone else's drinks, usually because you can't afford to buy drinks of your own and your friends are feeling generous, so they give you the last sips of all the drinks they drink.

*5 One of the characters in the movie is Isukki, "Daddy-o".