Under occupation we cannot be waiting

We can stop debating, when one of us dies

Ten jump in line ready to box the satan

You can't take our freedom or take our soul

Take our freedom or take our soul

You are not the one that's in control

You are not the one that's in control

La ilahe il Allah, no power's greater than God

Go ahead and divide your plans, at the end of the day

You are just a man

(More lyrics, from rapgenius.com)

Khaled M told us that at first he did not want to speak up about the rebellion or urge people to protest. He did not want to speak for people in Libya since he was not living there, but he says Libyans asked him to be their voice.

So he wrote "Can't Take Our Freedom." The song mentions his father, who had escaped from jail as a Libyan dissident years earlier. It also mentions his uncles who were tortured or killed. He says the song is meant to urge people in oppressed societies to use their voice.

KHALED M: "Basically, it was just an encouraging song to let people in Libya know, and also other countries facing oppression, know that to use your voice and to just stand up and speak out is not a waste and it's not done in vain. You know, people were dying and being slaughtered for just holding up signs. And we just wanted to let them know that we were with them and the struggles weren't for nothing, and not everybody realizes that. And also, this was at a time when media, foreign media, hadn't yet infiltrated Libya, and the world wasn't yet in the know about what was going on. This was before NATO's involvement."