On “Thanks,” Burna Boy partners with J. Cole to deliver one of the most introspective cuts on the “I Told Them” album. This song emphasizes how Burna looks back at everything he’s overcome and how people only show love when you’re shining. “Thanks” isn’t just about appreciation but about surviving the noise and still standing tall enough to say it.
[Intro]
Finish him
[Verse 1: Burna Boy & J. Cole]
Is this the motherfuckin' thanks I get
For makin' my people proud every chance I get? (Yeah)
It's okay, I get (Cole World)
This Naija, no love
Only Jah know where it started from
Oluwa Burna still apply pressure
Sneak up on you on a silent one
Ooh, who be that person
That showed you how to really do this thing?
Oluwa Burna na the blueprint of course
And I gave you Afrofusion
No words can describe all of my waka waka
No place I no go to
If e dey hurt you
Na like this I dey hustle
[Chorus: Burna Boy]
E go dey your mind, woto woto, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
You go dey reason am rough, rough, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Soro soro, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
Is this the motherfuckin' thanks I get?
[Verse 2: Burna Boy]
Too many people no dey fear God
What you think He created hell for?
Mankind so jealous
Wetin dem no know dem dey tell us, tell us
Walahi mi i fe mo
Oluwa Burna mo ti je lo
My fall is unheard of
You never hear them say I fell off, fell off
[Chorus: Burna Boy]
E go dey your mind, woto woto, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
You go dey reason am rough, rough, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Soro soro, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
Is this the motherfuckin' thanks I get?
[Verse 3: Burna Boy & J. Cole]
Say my mama dance for Fela
Say I no get baby mama
Say that I'm cancelled again
You say I shoot person for Cubana (Yeah)
Because I wan collect person woman (That's how they act, right?)
Is this the motherfuckin' thanks I get
For makin' my people proud every chance I get? (Let's go, yeah)
[Verse 4: J. Cole]
Burna and me, we runnin' this shit for eternity
I fathered a couple of styles, I take a paternity leave
Permanently, they hatin', I'm brushin' the dirt off my sleeve
Steadily talkin' Ms to me, it's like I'm learnin' to read
Sounded it out, takin' my time, countin' it out, slowly
Dust collectin' on the Rollie, me and these beats is holy
Matrimony, feelin' like acts of folly
In Beverly Hills, coppin' whatever I feel
Cole and Burna, Shaq and Kobe
Winnin' a ring, then we gon' repeat and three-peat
Them nerds hate, they see geeks
They peepin' us on the low, we like a cheat sheet
Get paid for phrases, I don't believe in free speech
I said it, I meant it, no takebacks
I don't even need the receipts
So please miss me with the PC, I be in NYC
On a bike with the hood up like I'm E.T.
These rappers ain't like me, I'm knee-deep in the concrete
Forever cemented, don't you ever forget it
[Chorus: Burna Boy]
E go dey your mind, woto woto, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
You go dey reason am rough, rough, olohun
Pasa pasa, olohun
Sare sare, olohun
Kiamasa, olohun
Soro soro, olohun
Laiye laiye, olohun
Oh, olohun
Is this the motherfuckin' thanks I get?
[Outro: J. Cole]
Burna, I see you
You got the whole world on smash right now
This whole shit is yours, for however long you want it
Know what I mean?
