Racailles Lyrics in English Kery James

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Racailles by Kery James from French to English.

Intro

You've had enough, huh

You've had enough of that gang of thugs

We'll get rid of them for you

Thugs

We oughta power-wash you with a Kärcher

The day the people wake up

You're gonna pay big, thugs

We feel that going to vote

Means choosing which of you

We wanna get screwed by, thugs

Republicans or Socialists

Stash your promises in your Hermès bags, thugs

You've never known hardship

You live far from our realities, thugs

The street thinks it, I put it to music

And for those who still ignore it

I make it public

I back no party

I don't buy into your schemes anymore

Your election programs

Are just nursery rhymes, thugs

We take the same ones and start again

The same promises

The same lies

The same guys dip into the till

The same ones go down

The same ones live the hustle

The same ones eat, thugs

The same liars doctor the same books

The same lackeys serve the same big shots

The same sons of the poor get jailed

The same sons of the rich get trained to rule

While we wait for a man of the people to rise

It's rare to find an elected official with a clean record

My hatred of the system's still intact

Which of you can throw a stone at Cahuzac

Claude Guéant, Balkany, Jean-François Copé

Philippe Herman, Harlem Désir, Alain Juppé

All those I named were convicted

They're the guys from the projects

That they treat like the damned, thugs

You were shocked by the group Tandem

You do the same to France

Till she bleeds

Till she sinks like Greece or Italy

You've wounded the country to agony, thugs

Multiple mandates, how far will you go

Is it multiple salaries you want

Thugs

Like all grassroots France

I don't believe in politicians anymore

I keep fighting, I believe in a citizen awakening, thugs

To change things you gotta want it

You have no deeper cause

Except power, thugs

You do politics with no conviction

Sometimes you do it

Just to dodge prison, thugs

The real crooks wear suits and ties

You don't believe in anything anymore

Nobody believes in you anymore, thugs

Just look at the abstention rates

Don't treat people

Like idiots too much, watch out, thugs

Feel the wind turn like your jackets

Between you and the street

There's only the riot cops left, thugs

Out of breath

Your system's at a dead end

Struggling to flail about

Like a legless man, thugs

You're elected for a job

You don't even do it

You do the opposite, besides

And it doesn't bother you, thugs

And if the people think of rebelling

You've got an army of cops

Well trained and zealous, thugs

Social dialogue lies in a coffin

Cops fire flash-balls

You can lose an eye, thugs

You raise anti-police feeling

Using the police like a private army

The politician, woman or man

For me anyway, for now

Maybe tomorrow I'll change my mind

Is useless now, just a service provider

Those f*cking debts, right

That p*ss off everybody

That knock nations flat

That put them on their knees and so on

We can't manage to wipe them out

Just like you politicians

You can't get them wiped out

Those f*cking debts

Because the bank's stronger than you

Thugs

Everyone knows it, it's obvious

You're totally submissive to finance, thugs

You pass the laws the rich dictate

After 49-3, nothing surprises me, thugs

We work more but earn less

We're just waiting for the European spring

We pay in for pensions

We might never see

All the money we bring in

You take it back from us, thugs

Overdrawn at the end of every month

We feel like slaves to the banking system, thugs

Even the rich know the game

Enjoy tax loopholes

Small businesses collapse under payroll charges, thugs

Speed camera, we pay, Toll, we pay

Pollution, we pay, thugs

What are you doing with all that cash

What the hell was Eric Zemmour doing on a public channel

Thugs

Paid to spread his hate

Sow seeds harvested by the FN

For you even Marine Le Pen

Has become acceptable

Anyone who fights Islam

Can sit at your table, thugs

Unable to govern you divide, thugs

Unable to unite you stigmatize, thugs

Blinded by power your hearts are veiled

Way more than that veiled woman's face, thugs

All your supposed secular principles

Don't apply to that Saudi woman

On the Champs-Élysées

For you everything's negotiable

Everything's about dough

You're even ready to hand over

The suburbs to Qatar, thugs

Your game is murky, thugs

Your speech is double, thugs

In the so-called land of human rights, thugs

The state of emergency's become the norm

And you claim to lecture the whole world

Impose democracy with mortar shells

Pitiless you iced Gaddafi

Now look at Libya's state

The street knows it, I put it to music

Your media stay quiet, I make it public

I stand up to you like a guy from Les Minguettes

Is this the kind of text

That could get me an S-file

Straight in my boots

I never drop my pants

Head high I'm upright

I do Hip-Hop

You call that n*gger music

I release independently

You'll never see me again

Set foot at Skyrock

They don't like what I am

What I stand for, what I carry

It goes both ways

They twisted R-A-P

I'm one of the survivors

They praised mediocrity

They turned Hip-Hop into pop

They staged beefs to divide us

As long as it gets ratings, we can burn each other

When a rapper gets shot

They'll organize a concert in the name of peace

I make protest music

You sell advertising slots, thugs

I sacrificed myself for my little bros

You play stuff

That sends them to the graveyard, thugs

Cash and violence in your playlists

You dumb mine down, the elites love it, thugs

You used me, I used you

So my message reached the widest crowd

Now I can do it without you

I've got a crowd that backs me

I've done things, the people remember

The street swarms over you, I make it public

Nothing's changed since Letter to the Republic

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racailles — scum / riff-raff

Racailles is a strong, derogatory term that translates to "scum," "riff-raff," or "rabble." It's a politically charged word often used to describe marginalized youth or those perceived as delinquents.

In Kery James's song, he reclaims this insult, turning it on the politicians and the corrupt system, effectively calling them the true "racailles." This inversion of meaning makes the word incredibly impactful and central to the song's message of social critique.

Racailles is Kery James’s fiery reply to the French political class that once labeled young people from the suburbs “thugs.” With biting irony, the rapper flips the word back onto those in power, exposing corruption, double standards, and a widening gap between the ruling elite and everyday citizens. Name-checking convicted officials and highlighting scandals, he paints a portrait of leaders who seem more interested in luxury bags and cushy salaries than in the struggles of the “France d’en bas.”

Amid rapid-fire rhymes and pounding beats, Kery James condemns police violence, austerity measures, media complicity, and the ever-tightening grip of finance on democracy. Yet the song is not only an accusation; it is a call to action. Refusing to align with any party, the MC urges a réveil citoyen – a grassroots awakening – reminding listeners that real change begins when the people reclaim their voice. The result is a hard-hitting protest anthem that channels anger into awareness and turns music into a megaphone for social justice.

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Kery James Racailles Lyrics