Remus Sam Langi is serving 38 years to life on a second-degree murder conviction. In prison, he’s become a guitarist and songwriter. And recently, he wrote a song about the people he harmed.
Remus’s song of remorse and healing is adopted from an ancient Tongan ceremonial tradition.
"I stole her sunshine / Robbed her blind in the middle of the night," from the song "Heaven Please."
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More songs by Remus Sam Langi
Remus, who goes by the artist name “Sky Boii” performed three songs in the Uncuffed radio studio. He was accompanied by guitarist Joseph Kaufman, who is also incarcerated. Listen to the songs and read the lyrics below.
Heaven Please
I stole her sunshine hmmm
Robbed her blind in the middle of the night hmmm
With a phone call
Bearing bad news
The dreadful kind
The kind you’d never want
Ya mother to hear
Her worst fears and nightmares
All in one
A tough pill to swallow
An uphill battle
Choked up in tears of sorrow
She’s never felt so broken
She’s never felt so broken
And shattered
Heaven please
Help her
Make it through the night
Heaven Please
Let her see
A better tomorrow
I stole her smiles
From waking up to see you smile
Robbed her of the joy and laughter
And proud tears
Lectures and failures of failure prevention
Headaches and heartaches
Would of been well worth it
A mother’s love for her baby boy
And now it’s all gone
Hell ain’t looking too bad
Now it’s all gone
Shadows and darkness surround her
No apology will make it right
And bring him back
Lead Break
Heaven please
Help her
Make it through the night
Heaven please let her see
A better tomorrow
Send the Rain
Under the gun extreme pressure
Got the weight of the world
Crack’n ya spine like scoliosis
.38 in ya face
All in ya snub noses
Silent protest
Humble you like Moses
With only dreams of the promised land
Ya like a fiend
Chasing the high like when were teens
Life can be so mean, total B
Gone for awhile M.I.A.
They’re gonna miss you
They just want to help you but
It’s just bad on the means
Send the rain down low
Quench this here thirst
It’s been scorching tormenting
Trouble my soul
It’s been a hard time all the time
It’s all I know
Memory lane is like a torture chair
Sometimes feel like the movies
I’d imagine yeah it hurts like hell
Water boarding tryna drown like I feel
The pain, regrets, remorse I feel
The disappointments that I dealt her
I broke her heart shattered to pieces
For countless times dear momma forgive me
Hard times comes around
A natural part of life
Live and you learn
Is how you live life
Send the rain down low
Quench this here thirst
It’s been scorching and tormenting
Troubling my soul
It’s been a hard time
All the time
It’s all I know
Life’s a B
Life’s a B sometimes
If it itch don’t scratch
They say
It irritates her and aggravates her
Driving me crazy, tryin my patience
She stings like a mutha
And she will cut ya
Like a real butcher
They call her fate
And others call her karma
But I say
Life’s a B plus four letters
Don’t scratch. Don’t irritate her
Don’t scratch. Don’t aggravate her no
A shady game she likes to play
Outside lookin in I can’t explain
Frustration got you calling her a B
And you’re all out in public actin foolishly
Like I say it’s not the hand ya dealt playa
Don’t hate the game neither
It is what it is how them dices roll
Life’s a B like I mentioned before
How them dices roll
That’s just how it’s gonna go
How them dices roll
That’s just how it’s gonna go
He served nearly 30 on a 15 to life
Big Homie Tai “Ofa Atu”
Send mines to the big Bruh
George Langi I’ll feel better when we holla love
Gone too soon yet I’ll never curse the sky
Under the moon my wounds
Dear Lord for the dearly departed
Why the good die young?
I be wondering why
A note from Remus Sam Langi
After our story was published, Remus Sam Langi recorded three more songs for our website, and wrote this note:
I am thankful for the CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], the DRP [Division of Rehabilitative Programs], Arts In Corrections, KALW, and all the brothers at “Uncuffed,” for the platform to share my message and my music to invoke healing and restorative justice for those we have harmed. I pray to God that we can continue this journey on a path of redemption and those that hear this: ” Do Not Discard,” “The Black Sheep,” who are all “Praying For Better Days.” We hope you enjoy these three new songs.
Malo ’aupito for all of your wonderful support for the music and the message of Sky Boii. God Bless you.
Remus Sam Langi
Joseph Kaufman
—Sky Boii
Don't Discard
Black Sheep
Better Days
KALW’s radio training program in prisons is supported by the California Arts Council, with funding from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The producers fact-check content to the best of their ability. All content is approved by a prison information officer.
The interview with Remus Sam Langi first aired on Crosscurrents on March 4, 2019 with the headline “A song of remorse after a murder conviction.