IAM may refer to:
IAM (pronounced as English "I am") is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton (Philippe Fragione), Shurik'n (Geoffroy Mussard), Khéops (Eric Mazel), Imhotep (Pascal Perez), and Kephren (François Mendy). 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars' ('Invasion from Mars', 'Mars' is frequently used as a metaphor for Marseille in IAM's songs). Another meaning is Imperial Asiatic Man, while AKH often refers to L'homme Impérial Asiatique.
One of IAM’s central themes in its songs is Africa. The group is one of the pioneer French rap groups and draws heavily on allusions to Africa, and particularly to ancient Egypt, in its music. Their 1991 song "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" was one of the first French rap hits and the first song to deal expressly with the issue of slavery [needs citation]. Using a sample of a Stevie Wonder song, "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" focuses on the “abduction of its inhabitants, the Middle Passage, and the plantation system in the Americas.”
CHORUS
Won't throw no shame on you
Don't wanna put you through
Those lives you've lived before
Coz I can give you more
Baby take my hand
And try to understand
That I'll be here for you
Just the way you want me to
Girl like you're wastin all your time
You're going outta your mind
Well all the tears you been cryin
And I don't want the things he's putting you through
The cheatin only can prove
You never know what to do
Yeah
Just tell me what you feel inside
Stop thinking about foolish pride
Coz I could see me in your eyes
The pain that you've been holding tight
It's time to begin to feel
The kind of love that's really real
Yeah
Girl let me tell you the deal
CHORUS
Won't throw no shame on you
Don't wanna put you through
Those lives you've lived before
Coz I can give you more
Baby take my hand
And try to understand
That I'll be here for you
Just the way you want me to
It's time for you to decide
What you want from your life
Don't want to compromise
Coz I can give you everything that you need
Open your eyes and you'll see
That I can set you free baby
You come to me with a broken heart
You'll feel the love from the very start
It's time for you to part
From a man that leaves you in the dark
It's time to find a man to break you from the trance
Now baby here is your chance
CHORUS
Won't throw no shame on you
Don't wanna put you through
Those lives you've lived before
Coz I can give you more
Baby take my hand
And try to understand
That I'll be here for you
Just the way you want me to
[Repeat 2x]
I know just what you're going through
You need love that'll always be true
Look at my eyes
Girl I'll give it to you
The way you want me to
CHORUS
Won't throw no shame on you
Don't wanna put you through
Those lives you've lived before
Coz I can give you more
Baby take my hand
And try to understand
That I'll be here for you
Just the way you want me to
[repeat 3x]
The way you want me to
[repeat to fade]