HiiiPoWer (2011)

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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

Kendrick Lamar and his Black Hippy cohort Ab-Soul, describe "HiiiPoWeR" as a movement, adding that they treat it as if it were a religion. In an interview, Lamar claims that although it originated in Los Angeles, "HiiiPoWeR" is now "spreading like wildfire." It is a response to the ever-increasing destructive nature of the culture in the US, both the mainstream culture and more importantly the hip hop culture, which some would say is wallowing at an all-time low since its birth in the 1970s. Lamar continues, to explain that the three 'i's in the word "HiiiPoWeR" stand for heart, honor and respect—the three main things that people should have and live by.[3]

Lamar often connects the HiiiPoWeR movement back to Tupac Shakur, one of his biggest influences. He claims to have had a dream or hallucination in which Shakur came to him one night and said, "Keep doing what you're doing, don't let my music die." Lamar cites this experience as what inspired him to write the song partly to continue the messages that Shakur tried to carry.[4]

Reference

  1. "Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar". Metacritic. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  2. HiiiPoWeR. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. Steven Horowitz. "Kendrick Lamar Speaks On The Meaning Behind "HiiiPoWeR," Working With J. Cole". 1 July 2011. Hiphopdx.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. Steven Horowitz. "Kendrick Lamar Recalls Having A Vision Of Tupac Shakur In His Sleep". 13 July 2011. Hiphopdx.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.