Pig Feet by Denzel Curry + Terrace Martin feat. Daylyt, Kamasi Washington, and G Perico (2020)

From blackwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor from Los Angeles, California. Martin is a multi-instrumentalist whose music yield encapsulates everything from funk and jazz to traditional music and soul [1]

Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American artist, musician and composer. Brought up in Carol City, Florida, Curry began rapping in 6th grade and started chipping away at his first mixtape in 2011, when he went to school. [2]

Key Lyrics

Pig Feet Cover

“Helicopters over my balcony

If the police can't harass, they wanna smoke every ounce of me”

Go to jail and get murdered

Murder was the case they gave us

Manipulate the system so the prison could save us, ayy

Nothin' can save us”


“I pray today, 'cause life is crazy

JAY-Z, a school for hard knocks

They want us crucified with stones and hard rocks”


“Stop fuckin' screamin', what happened? (Oh God, they shot him)

They killed the homie? (They shot him, the fuckin' police shot him)

The police? (Oh my God)

The police killed him? (Oh no, no)

They just killed the homie, cuz (Oh my God)”

(Terrace Martin & Denzel Curry.  Lyrics to “Pig Feet.” Genius, 2017, genius.com/Terrace-martin-and-denzel-curry-pig-feet-lyrics#.)[3]

Protest on Black Racism

"Pig Feet" is a protest track by Terrace Martin featuring vocals by Daylyt and Denzel Curry describing vast quantities of racial inequality brought upon Black Americans by systemic oppression in all facets of the country's culture. The two touches on the subject of police brutality since the album was published in the wake of the George Floyd riots in America. The title plays on the term “pig,” used to derogatorily describe police officers.[4]

Clocking in at almost six minutes, the clip opens with gunshots followed by a declaration, "This video is going on right outside your house." A woman (accredited as Britney Thomas) yells, "They shot him! He didn't even have a knife!", on the blaring helicopter.

The video end credits roll quietly down the screen, showing an overwhelming number of Black people killed by the police—including Tyree Bell, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and others—with George Floyd reading the final paragraph.

"Somebody asked, how do I feel about it? ” Martin said in a statement. “I told them hurt, fearless, angry, aware and fully ready to protect me, my family and my people at all cost. I got together with black men that felt the same way and created a work of truth.[5]

On "Pig Feet", however, the rappers are not giving air to the injustice that is smothering them. Instead, they're spinning it to a sound of empowerment. "I'm here to remind n***** we kings", Daylyt sings.

The video itself is a clear social statement: through fast-cutting black and white videos, it assembles scenes of recent uprisings with a sharp emphasis on the savagery instigated by law enforcement. We see police cruisers assailing protesters, while some are assailing people on foot in their cars. The last two minutes are the soberest; it concludes with an infinite scroll of those lost to state-sanctioned abuse against Black citizens. Martin is no stranger to protest anthems—he was the gateway to the creation of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright". "Pig Feet" strikes a similar note, but the message is more combative .[6]

Reference

  1. Terrace Martin. en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.
  2. Denzel Curry. en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.
  3. Pig Feet. genius.com. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.
  4. Genius.com Contributors. Pig Feet. genius.com. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.
  5. Martoccio, Angie. Denzel Curry, Kamasi Washington Guest on Terrace Martin’s Protest Song ‘Pig Feet’. June 2, 2020. rollingstone.com. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.
  6. Moore, Marcus J.. Terrace Martin Castigates Police Brutality On His Urgent Song 'Pig Feet'. June 1, 2020. npr.org. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2021.