Baddadan is a powerful grime style song released in 2023 by British artists. Its lyrics may sound as gritty depictions of urban life at first, but they are actually about self empowerment. The song beat and atmosphere are very refreshing and innovative, while the “baddadan” phrases are intriguing, having the word derived from “badder than”. Their mistery is explained here.
| Original Lyrics | Plain English Translation |
|---|---|
| Baddadan, baddadan, baddadan | Worse than, worse than, worse than, |
| Anywhere we see dem, we ah bang ‘pon another one | Anywhere we observe them, we fire another shot at them. |
| Buss up four-five nanko and Remington | Retrieve my 45. Caliber and my Remington 12 Gauge, |
| Any boy diss Balla, turn him inna skeleton | If any person speaks ill of me, I shall be forced to end their life. |
| Badman, you know wi vibes can’t dun | Men of ill character, our reputation cannot be tarnished, |
| Vibes can’t dun, wi kill ah sound boy fi fun | Our reputation cannot be tarnished and we would end the life of a live sound technician for entertainment. |
| Big bad man from outta England | Large men of ill character from the United Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Bassline drop ah tear the whole place down | When the baseline drops it will do so with such force that the very structure of the building may be compromised. |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Baddadan, baddadan, baddadan | Worse than, worse than, worse than, |
| Bad from me born | I’ve been unpleasant since I was born |
| Where you get your badda from? | Where do you get your unpleasantness from? |
| Ting weh me get could ah come from Afghanistan | Firearms I obtain could have come from Afghanistan |
| They don’t wan’ see this Ras mic, me have inna me hand | The people don’t want to see this rediculous microphone |
| Bad-bad-badda man, you know me vibes can’t done | that I have in my hand |
| Lyrics them-a fire like a bullet from ah gun | My poetry is so fierce it is akin to the discharge of a firearm |
| Big badda man from outta England | Large men of ill character from the United Kingdom of Great Britain, |
| When me lyrics start fire, watch a sound boy run | When my poems spontaneous combust, watch the live sound technician flee the building |
| Yo, walk with the rupa-pum-pum | Hello, travel whilst carrying a firearm |
| From a guy diss the programme, shot a slam-slam | With regards to the people who speak ill of me, I will shoot at them |
| Dem say dem-a badman, mi haffi ark, “Which one?” | They claim to be men of ill character, I will have to ask them which of them is |
| When we ah fire shot, pull pin and fling bomb | When we shoot at people, we also throw grenades(?) |
| Dem dead, we haffi trample dem like King Kong | They are then dead, and we proceed to walk over their bodies, like a giant fictional gorilla |
| Dargs pull up at your foot and none of dem nah sing-song | Our friends arrive and none of them speak to the police |
| Balaclava ‘pon face, ‘matic inna hand | Balacalva on my face, automatic firearm in my hand |
| We nah have time fi waste with the rupa-pum-pum | We have no further time to waste with gun battles |
| Shot a slam, we badda dan | Fire your gun, we are worse than |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Baddadan, baddadan, baddadan | Worse than, worse than, worse than, |
| Baddadan, baddadan, baddadan | Worse than, worse than, worse than, |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |
| Nobody badder than we | There is nobody worse than us |