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Penguin Are You African
Penguin-Are-You-African-Best-Of.mp3
Penguin-Are-You-African-Best-Of.mp4
Penguin-Are-You-African.mp3
Penguin-Are-You-African.mp4
Penguin-Are-You-African-intro.mp3
[Intro]
(Penguin, are you African?)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(… ’cause I’m not so sure)
[Verse 1]
Penguin…
Are you African
(Barely alive)
Are you starvin’
(Tryin’ to survive)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m askin’ once again)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
[Chorus]
No (know) solution
(For humanity)
Their evolution
(Wrapped in vanity)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m cryin’ once again)
Penguin…
You’re dyin’
(Much to our chagrin)
[Verse 2]
African
(Penguin)
Here we hear
(Nature’s callin’)
As we thrive… we drive
(No penguin’s chillin’)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m askin’ once again)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
[Chorus]
No (know) solution
(For humanity)
Their evolution
(Wrapped in vanity)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m cryin’ once again)
Penguin…
You’re dyin’
(Much to our chagrin)
[Outro]
Penguin…
(Where to begin)
… Well, man’s bent on hell…
(Hellbent is what I meant)
Can you understand man?
(’cause it makes me wanna cry)
Knowing you’ll die
(African penguin)
What’s man doin’?
Penguin, are you African?
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
Just think…
(Extinct.)
ABOUT THE SONG
The number one KingArthur song of 2025 is “Penguin.” I originally wrote it about the Emperor Penguin.
The song grew out of grief — the same grief I feel every time I write about extinction. Its earliest spark came from the paper Antarctica, Inevitable Sea-Level Rise, and the Cascading Impacts of Climate Change. Writing scientifically about extinction demands clinical phrasing like:
“Wildlife Collapse: Emperor penguins and other species face extinction as their habitats vanish.”
But music lets me tell the truth emotionally — without filters, without footnotes.
“Penguin” became the place where I could finally let the pain through, turning the cold statistics into something human.
Heartbreakingly, a new report shows the crisis extends far beyond Antarctica.
A newly published study has revealed that African penguins off the coast of South Africa likely starved to death en masse after a catastrophic collapse of their primary food sources, sardines and anchovies.
The specific species of penguin that starved to death en masse off the coast of South Africa is the
African penguin (Spheniscus demersus).
This species is the only penguin native to the African continent and is now classified as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The findings — from the University of Exeter and South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology — are devastating:
Mass Starvation: An estimated 62,000 breeding penguins died between 2004 and 2011.
Colony Collapse: On Dassen Island and Robben Island, 95% of the penguins breeding in 2004 were gone within eight years.
Species Status: African penguins are now Critically Endangered, with a global population decline of nearly 80% in just 30 years.
Why did this happen?
Two driving forces:
Commercial Overfishing — Sardine and anchovy exploitation reached nearly 80%, stripping the ecosystem bare.
Climate Change — Warming oceans and shifting salinity patterns have pushed the remaining fish far from traditional penguin foraging zones. Penguins can’t travel more than ~40 km from their nests to hunt. When the fish move, they starve.
So today, I’m writing and recording “African Penguin.”
If the song moves even one person to care, to act, to push for change, then maybe it can make a difference.
Please — before it’s too late — stop climate change now.
URGENT CLIMATE WARNING
Our climate model — incorporating complex social-ecological feedback loops within a dynamic, nonlinear system — projects that global temperatures could rise by up to 9°C (16.2°F). This far exceeds earlier projections, which estimated a 4°C rise over the next thousand years, and signals a dramatic acceleration of planetary warming. We are entering a phase of compound, cascading collapse.
At this level of heating, many regions will become uninhabitable due to heat stress, sea-level rise, food system failure, and forced migration. Wet-bulb temperatures in the U.S. are already nearing 31°C (87.8°F) — a physiological limit beyond which human life cannot be sustained outdoors for long, even with water and shade.
This is not hypothetical. The climate system is tipping now.
Tipping points and feedback loops drive the acceleration of climate change. When one tipping point is breached and triggers others, the cascading collapse is known as the Domino Effect.
The Climate Crisis: Violent Rain | Deadly Humid Heat | Extreme Weather Events | Insurance | Trees Deforestation | Air Pollution | Rising Sea Level | Food and Water | Updates
The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
From the album “Brink“
View all episodes
By Penguin-Are-You-African-Best-Of.mp3
Penguin-Are-You-African-Best-Of.mp4
Penguin-Are-You-African.mp3
Penguin-Are-You-African.mp4
Penguin-Are-You-African-intro.mp3
[Intro]
(Penguin, are you African?)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(… ’cause I’m not so sure)
[Verse 1]
Penguin…
Are you African
(Barely alive)
Are you starvin’
(Tryin’ to survive)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m askin’ once again)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
[Chorus]
No (know) solution
(For humanity)
Their evolution
(Wrapped in vanity)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m cryin’ once again)
Penguin…
You’re dyin’
(Much to our chagrin)
[Verse 2]
African
(Penguin)
Here we hear
(Nature’s callin’)
As we thrive… we drive
(No penguin’s chillin’)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m askin’ once again)
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
[Chorus]
No (know) solution
(For humanity)
Their evolution
(Wrapped in vanity)
[Bridge]
Penguin, are you African?
(I’m cryin’ once again)
Penguin…
You’re dyin’
(Much to our chagrin)
[Outro]
Penguin…
(Where to begin)
… Well, man’s bent on hell…
(Hellbent is what I meant)
Can you understand man?
(’cause it makes me wanna cry)
Knowing you’ll die
(African penguin)
What’s man doin’?
Penguin, are you African?
Will you or the Emperor endure
(’cause I’m not sure)
Just think…
(Extinct.)
ABOUT THE SONG
The number one KingArthur song of 2025 is “Penguin.” I originally wrote it about the Emperor Penguin.
The song grew out of grief — the same grief I feel every time I write about extinction. Its earliest spark came from the paper Antarctica, Inevitable Sea-Level Rise, and the Cascading Impacts of Climate Change. Writing scientifically about extinction demands clinical phrasing like:
“Wildlife Collapse: Emperor penguins and other species face extinction as their habitats vanish.”
But music lets me tell the truth emotionally — without filters, without footnotes.
“Penguin” became the place where I could finally let the pain through, turning the cold statistics into something human.
Heartbreakingly, a new report shows the crisis extends far beyond Antarctica.
A newly published study has revealed that African penguins off the coast of South Africa likely starved to death en masse after a catastrophic collapse of their primary food sources, sardines and anchovies.
The specific species of penguin that starved to death en masse off the coast of South Africa is the
African penguin (Spheniscus demersus).
This species is the only penguin native to the African continent and is now classified as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The findings — from the University of Exeter and South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology — are devastating:
Mass Starvation: An estimated 62,000 breeding penguins died between 2004 and 2011.
Colony Collapse: On Dassen Island and Robben Island, 95% of the penguins breeding in 2004 were gone within eight years.
Species Status: African penguins are now Critically Endangered, with a global population decline of nearly 80% in just 30 years.
Why did this happen?
Two driving forces:
Commercial Overfishing — Sardine and anchovy exploitation reached nearly 80%, stripping the ecosystem bare.
Climate Change — Warming oceans and shifting salinity patterns have pushed the remaining fish far from traditional penguin foraging zones. Penguins can’t travel more than ~40 km from their nests to hunt. When the fish move, they starve.
So today, I’m writing and recording “African Penguin.”
If the song moves even one person to care, to act, to push for change, then maybe it can make a difference.
Please — before it’s too late — stop climate change now.
URGENT CLIMATE WARNING
Our climate model — incorporating complex social-ecological feedback loops within a dynamic, nonlinear system — projects that global temperatures could rise by up to 9°C (16.2°F). This far exceeds earlier projections, which estimated a 4°C rise over the next thousand years, and signals a dramatic acceleration of planetary warming. We are entering a phase of compound, cascading collapse.
At this level of heating, many regions will become uninhabitable due to heat stress, sea-level rise, food system failure, and forced migration. Wet-bulb temperatures in the U.S. are already nearing 31°C (87.8°F) — a physiological limit beyond which human life cannot be sustained outdoors for long, even with water and shade.
This is not hypothetical. The climate system is tipping now.
Tipping points and feedback loops drive the acceleration of climate change. When one tipping point is breached and triggers others, the cascading collapse is known as the Domino Effect.
The Climate Crisis: Violent Rain | Deadly Humid Heat | Extreme Weather Events | Insurance | Trees Deforestation | Air Pollution | Rising Sea Level | Food and Water | Updates
The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
From the album “Brink“