Président Lyrics in English Gaël Faye , Bonga

Gaël Faye and Angolan legend Bonga paint a razor-sharp political cartoon in “Président.” Over a bubbling Afro-hip-hop groove, they sketch the archetype of the “eternal ruler,” the man who wins elections at “99 %,” fills his pockets while the nation sinks into debt, and silences every critic with exile or worse. Faye lists the whole toolbox of dictatorship: ethnic favoritism, Western complicity hungry for oil and minerals, shadowy militias, and the promise that the only real term limit is death. The chorus in Kimbundu and Portuguese floats like a chant from across the continent, urging Africa to wake up while pleading, “have pity on the people.”

As the track unfolds, the satire turns personal. The tyrant’s passing triggers curfews, barricades, whispers of lootings and famine, then full-blown civil war. In a heart-rending final verse, an anonymous lover scribbles a farewell letter while soldiers close in, proving that grand politics always end up inside someone’s living room. “Président” is part protest song, part love poem, and part news bulletin, reminding listeners that behind every headline about coups and cabinets lie ordinary lives hoping simply to grow old together.