HiiiPoWer (2011)
HiiiPower (also stylised as HiiiPoWeR) is the debut single by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 12, 2011 as the lead single from his independent digital album Section.80 (2011). The conscious hip hop song was released as the first single for the album.[1]
Key Lyrics
Visions of Martin Luther staring at me
If I seen it how he seen it that would make my parents happy
Sorry momma I can't turn the other cheek
They wanna knock me off the edge like a fucking widows peak, ugh
And she always told me pray for the weak, ugh
Them demons got me, I ain't prayed in some weeks, ugh
Dear Lord, come save me, the Devils working hard
He probably clocking double shifts on all of his jobs
Frightening, so fucking frightening
Enough to drive a man insane
I need a license to kill
I'm standing on a field full of landmines
Doing the moonwalk hoping I blow up in time
'Cause 2012 might not be a fucking legend
Try and be a fucking legend
The man of mankind
Who said a black man in the Illuminati
Last time I checked, that was the biggest racist party
So get up off that slave ship
Build your own pyramids, write your own hieroglyphs
Interpretation
The song was created to further explain the HiiiPoWeR platform or the ideas driving it. While carrying a strong racial theme, the lyrics contain a mix of conspiracy theories about the government's involvement in famous murders, criticism of society, and encouragement to build the future. Kendrick Lamar makes multiple references to high-profile black activists of the 20th century, including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and Fred Hampton. He claims that many of these activists, specifically noting Black Panther Party's leaders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, lived by the ideals of HiiiPoWeR. His lyrics also connect to the militancy of the Black Panthers by referencing cop-killing ("I got my finger on the mothafuckin' pistol/ Aiming it at a pig, Charlotte's web is gonna miss you"). Using Kurt Cobain's suicide and Lauryn Hill's recent troubles as examples, he repeatedly states in the lyrics of the song that society pushes people to act in crazy or evil ways.[2]
Movement
Reference
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/section80 "Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar"]. Metacritic. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ↑ HiiiPoWeR. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
