01
The Brass
Triumphant horn phrases answer the vocal like a procession crossing from memory into the present.
Discography0:00 / 2:45
Strange Country · Track 01
OTHERS LIKE US
“They tried to bury the seed but they didn’t know it could grow.” A brass-lit roll call for every young king and queen from Kingston to Accra, London to Brooklyn.
OTHERS LIKE US
Funk Doc Meth & The Standard Bearers · Strange Country
Free preview · plays through the end of verse 2
Just released
History in the horn. The future in the hands.
The story
WE WERE ALWAYS HERE.
From the pyramids of Kemet and Mansa Musa’s gold to Garrett Morgan’s traffic light, Benjamin Banneker’s stars and Mae Jemison in orbit, the record turns a roll call of Black achievement into a living cipher.
Verse two carries it forward — New Orleans jazz into Afrobeats, Mandela’s cell into the Haitian revolution — while the hook keeps repeating the promise: the ceiling was glass, and the youth look around and see others like us.
STAND TALL. HOLD YOUR CROWN.
The collaboration
NEW YORK TO NEW ORLEANS TO LAGOS.
In 2023, Alberta-based Funk Doc Meth met Jamie and Glowie of New Orleans duo The Standard Bearers at a poetry event in New York. Their conversation became a collaborative process of writing and research into Black excellence, connecting lived experience across Canada, the American South, Africa and the wider diaspora.
As they worked, the trumpet language and jazz traditions of New Orleans began to resonate with the music of Fela Kuti. That connection deepened when Jamie and Glowie travelled to Lagos for Felabration and learned that Funk Doc Meth was one of the architects who worked on the New Afrika Shrine, the cultural landmark run by Fela’s son Femi Kuti.
The three artists have since collaborated on several unreleased tracks. “Others Like Us” is the first of that body of work to be released, arriving on 12 September 2026 across 22 major music platforms.
- Artists
- Funk Doc Meth and The Standard Bearers
- Written by
- Funk Doc Meth and The Standard Bearers
- Release
- 12 September 2026 · 22 major music platforms
02
The Drums
A rugged boom-bap pocket gives every historical reference enough weight to land and enough space to breathe.
03
The Lesson
Every name in the verses — Kemet, Mansa Musa, Banneker, Morgan, Jemison, Mandela — is an invitation to go read further.
The lyrics
WORD FOR WORD
[Intro]
Funk-Doc-Meth in the building.
To every young king and queen — from Kingston to Accra, London to Brooklyn.
Turn the trumpets up. Look in the mirror, man — look who you are.
[Chorus]
They tried to bury the seed but they didn't know it could grow,
From the rhythm in our blood to the status we show, yeah.
The ceiling was glass but we shattered the dust,
Now the youth look around and see others like us.
Stay, stay — stand tall, hold your crown, never bow to the stress,
Built the world with our hands, we're the definition of excellence.
[Verse 1]
Yo, look at the geometry, the architecture grand,
They tried to erase the blueprint written in the sand.
From the pyramids of Kemet rising high to the sun,
To Mansa Musa's gold, yeah, the wealth was never done.
They brought the chains, brought the pain, tried to lock up the brain,
But the genius kept flowing like the tropical rain.
Garrett Morgan with the lights, Banneker with the stars,
We were mapping out the universe while breaking the bars.
So little brother in Lagos, don't you doubt your own life,
Your ancestors gave the world a sight in the mind.
[Chorus]
They tried to bury the seed but they didn't know we could grow,
From the rhythm in our blood to the status we showed, yeah.
The ceiling was glass but we shattered the dust,
Now the youth look around and see others like us.
Stay, stay — stand tall, hold your crown, never bow to the stress,
Built the world with our hands, we're the definition of excellence.
[Verse 2]
Now hear the trumpet blow, watch the rhythm advance,
From the jazz in New Orleans to the Afrobeats dance.
We took the trauma, made it groove, made the whole planet bounce,
Every lyric, every cadence, every heavy ounce.
They said the hurdle's up high just to watch if we trip,
But we flew right past them on a rocket ship.
Mae Jemison orbiting, drifting through space,
Shrugging off the limitations they put down on our race.
Little sister in Harare, know the power you hold,
Your DNA is royal and it's purer than gold.
Rise up diaspora, Africa unite,
The dark of the past only made us more bright.
[Verse 3 — full release only]
You are the authors, the doctors, the chiefs,
The builders of nations defying beliefs.
Can't stop the wave when the ocean is deep,
Wake up young world, no time to sleep.
From Mandela in the cell keeping dignity whole,
To the Haitian revolution, the sparks in the soul.
We are the innovators, creators of style,
We walk through the fire with a confident smile.
The glass on the floor, yeah, we stepped on the shards,
Flipped the whole system when they dumped us the cards.
So keep your chest out, don't you ever feel less,
You're looking at a history of pure excellence.
[Outro]
Funk-Doc-Meth on the track, leaving truth in the trust,
Go conquer the world 'cause there's others like us.
Yeah — others like us, man, everywhere you look.
Believe in your heritage, walk with pride. One love.
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Official video
WATCH OTHERS LIKE US
The full visual for Others Like Us. Press play, then send the link to anyone who needs to see it.
Others Like Us — official video
https://funkdocmeth.com/others-like-us#video