HiiiPoWeR
[Intro]
Everybody put three fingers in the air
The sky is falling, the wind is calling
Stand for something or die in the morning
Section 80, HiiiPower
[Verse 1]
Visions of Martin Luther staring at me
Malcolm X put a hex on my future, someone catch me
I'm falling victim to a revolutionary song, the Serengeti's clone
Back to put you backstabbers back on your spinal bone
You slipped your disc when I slid you my disc
You wanted to diss but jumped on my dick
Grown men never should bite their tongue
Unless you eating pussy that smell like it's a stale plum
I got my finger on the mothafuckin' pistol
Aiming it at a pig, Charlotte's web is going to miss you
My issue isn't televised, and you ain't gotta tell the wise
How to stay on beat, because our life's an instrumental
This is physical and mental, I won't sugar coat it
You'd die from diabetes if these other niggas wrote it
And everything on TV just a figment of imagination
I don't want plastic nation, dread that like a Haitian
While you mothafuckas waiting, I be off the slave ship
Building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs
[Hook]
Just call the shit HiiiPower
Nigga nothing less than HiiiPower
Five-star dishes, food for thought bitches
I mean the shit is, Huey Newton going stupid
You can't resist his HiiiPower
Throw your hands up for HiiiPower
[Verse 2]
Visions of Martin Luther staring at me
If I see it how he seen it, that would make my parents happy
Sorry mama, I can't turn the other cheek
They wanna knock me off the edge like a fucking widow's peak, uhh
And she always told me pray for the weak, uhh
Them demons got me, I ain't prayed in some weeks, uhh
Dear Lord come save me, the devil's working hard
He probly 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 the field full of land mines
Doing the moonwalk, hoping I blow up in time
Cause 2012 might not be a fucking legend
Tryna 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
[Hook]
Just call the shit HiiiPower
Nigga nothing less than HiiiPower
Five-star dishes, food for thought bitches
I mean the shit is, Bobby Seale making meals
You can't resist his HiiiPower
Throw your hands up for HiiiPower
[Bridge: Alori Joh]
Every day we fight the system just to make our way
We been down for too long, but that's alright
We was built to be strong, cause it's our life, na-na-na
Every day we fight the system, we fight the system
We fight the system (Never like the system)
We been down for too long but that's alright, na-na-na
[Verse 3]
Who said a black man in the Illuminati?
Last time I checked, that was the biggest racist party
Last time I checked, we was racing with Marcus Garvey
On the freeway to Africa 'til I wreck my Audi
And I want everybody to view my autopsy
So you can see exactly where the government had shot me
No conspiracy, my fate is inevitable
They play musical chairs once I'm on that pedestal
Frightening, so fucking frightening
Enough to drive a man insane, a woman insane
The reason Lauryn Hill don't sing, or Kurt Cobain
Loaded that clip and then said bang, the drama it bring is crazy
Product of the late 80's
Tryna stay above water, that's why we shun the navy
Pull your guns and play me, let's set it off
Cause a riot, throw a Molotov, somebody told me them pirates had got lost
Cause we been off them slave ships
Got our own pyramids, write our own hieroglyphs
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
[Hook]
Just call the shit HiiiPower
Yeah nothing less than HiiiPower
Five-star dishes, food for thought bitches
I mean the shit is, Fred Hampton on your campus
You can't resist his HiiiPower
Throw your hands up for HiiiPower
[Outro]
Thug Life! THUG LIFE!
HiiiPoWeR is a movement started by Kendrick in response to the destructive culture, especially hip-hop culture, in the present day US of A.
The three "i"s in HiiiPoWeR stand for the three most important qualities for an individual to have; heart, honour and respect.
One finger per "i" in HiiiPoWeR
The apocalyptic imagery represents the destruction modern hip-hop is doing. One must stand for a moral cause or fall to the destruction.
A reference to Section 8 housing, a low-income housing program that Kendrick grew up in. Also the title of the album.
Kendrick reflecting on the conflicting views on civil rights held by MLK Jr and Malcom X and wondering what MLK would think of him, as Kendrick is leaning towards the less peaceful views of Malcom X.
Kendrick is buying into the idea of revolution, just as the aforementioned civil rights leaders did. He compares this to the massive and awe-inspiring migrations of the Serengeti, a region in Africa.
Kendrick is here to get back at those who showed their support for him and went along with the hype for his album, but really wanted to call him out. He states that grown men should say what is on their mind, not hold back their thoughts.
A reference to the book Charlotte's Web, police officers, or pigs, won't be pardoned from Kendrick's lyrical wrath.
The societal issues looked at in Section .80 aren't always documented or televised. The wise are those who have experienced the problems first hand, and they don't need to be told about them because their lives are full of them. They also have no voice with which to talk about their problems, as their lives are instrumental.
The change supported by the HiiiPoWeR movement is in both how people act and how they think. It is also mental in the sense that it is a massive, crazy change.
Kendrick isn't going to make things seem better than they really are. Other people sugarcoat the problems so much that you could die from diabetes.
Kendrick is afraid that society is become fake due to the hollow programming on TV. "Dread that like a Haitian" is a play on words, as Haitians are known for their dreadlocks.
While everyone else is sitting around or buying into the "plastic nation", Kendrick is making progress for himself, breaking free of racism and the direction society is going in.
Kendrick making progress is HiiiPoWeR, he is advancing through heart, honour and respect.
The ideas Kendrick has been sharing with listeners are as quality as meals from a five-star restaurant.
Huey Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary organization that fought for civil rights, notated for its militantism in contrast with MLK's peaceful stance. Huey Newton going stupid means Huey Newton fully supporting his cause, which demonstrates HiiiPoWeR.
Three fingers in the air, the symbol for the HiiiPoWeR movement.
Kendrick is once again wondering what MLK would think about him. His parents would perfer it if Kendrick took a peaceful stance like MLK's as opposed to Malcom X's stance, which Kendrick supports more.
Kendrick can't be peaceful and turn the other cheek because there are people who want him to fail, to be knocked off the edge like a widow's peak, an outcrop of a hairline in the center of a person's forehead. Widow's peaks are often removed, as some individuals and groups want to do to Kendrick.
Kendrick's mom used to tell him to pray for those who were less fortunate, but demons are eating at Kendrick, who hasn't prayed in weeks. He asks for the Lord's help, as the devil is trying to corrupt him, possibly trying to get him to prey on the weak. "clocking double shifts on all of his jobs" is a reference to the biblical character Job, who's faith was tested by Satan. Kendrick compares himself to Job, who had his house burnt down and his children and animals killed, yet remained faithful to God.
The threat the devil poses is terrifying, enough to make Kendrick go crazy and become a killer.
Kendrick is doing something groundbreaking (the moonwalk) hoping that he gets famous (blow up). He is just as likely to figurativley blow up as he would be to literally blow up in a field full of landmines.
Kendrick wants to get his ideas out before the world ends (which it was rumored to in 2012). He wants to be legendary, like Will Smith's character in I Am Legend.
It is ridiculous to think that successful African-Americans are in the Illuminati, because black people have been so oppressed that they couldn't possibly be part of the New World Order. Furthermore, just because Jay Z or Kayne West or Barack Obama are successful African-Americans doesn't mean they needed a secret society to do so.
Kendrick is saying that everyone has to do as he does and make themselves successful, specifically through HiiiPoWeR.
Kendrick is comparing Bobby Seale, another Black Panther Party co-founder, sharing knowledge with others to him cooking them five-star food. The line also alludes to the Free Breakfast for Children Program, which the Black Panthers started in 1969, and a recipe book Seale published after the fall of the Panthers.
As with Huey Newton going stupid, Bobby Seale is demonstrating HiiiPoWeR.
Kendrick and those like him who have grown up surrounded by crime and poverty have always had to fight for everything they've had. Doing so has become their lives and they have gotten good at fighting due to how much they've had to do it.
Kendrick repeats his belief that black people can't be in the Illuminati, and that they don't need to be apart of some conspiracy to be successful. Kendrick also repeats "last time I checked" to emphasize his point.
Marcus Garvey was a Black Nationalist who supported the idea of Africans moving back to Africa as one community and taking back the continent. After gaining a fair amount of attention in the United States he was deported to his home nation of Jamaica. The lines illustrate Kendrick racing back to his roots, or Africa, as Marcus Garvey thought should be done.
Kendrick's movement back to his roots will go on until he wrecks his Audi. This line has two key meanings. First, even though he is racing back to his routes, he is doing it in a luxury car, symbolizing how hard it is to escape western consumerism. Secondly, he won't stop until he is stopped by having his car crash. The following lines conspire that when Kendrick does stop, it won't be from personal error or uncontrollable circumstances, but instead from government intervention preventing him from continuing, as the government did with Marcus Garvey, and possibly with others such as JFK and MLK.
The idea that JFK, MLK and Tupac were assassinated by the US government isn't a conspiracy, but a fact. Like Kendrick they spoke out against the establishment.
Once Kendrick has reached a point where he can share his thoughts with the masses, the government plays musical chairs. They remove chairs until they remove the one Kendrick is standing on, eliminating Kendrick as a result. Kendrick suggests the same thing happened to MLK, JFK and Tupac, and that the same thing will happen to whoever comes next.
The many who want successful people to fail, be in the government or jealous individuals, places a ton of pressure on those in the public eye. Kendrick says that pressure is what caused Lauryn Hill to end her music career and Kurt Cobain to kill himself.
Kendrick and the problems he speaks of in this album are products of the late 80's and the crack epidemic that occurred during them.
Kendrick and those who grew up like him are doing their best to survive, or keep their heads above water. The Navy conducts lots of underwater activity, and the military recruits out of lower income areas because they are more likely to enlist. As a result, Kendrick and those like him shun the Navy.
Kendrick isn't afraid of literally fighting for what he believes in and rebelling against the culture and system that is doing so much harm.
Those who were coming for Kendrick backed off and avoided conflict with him, using the excuse that they "got lost".
Kendrick and everyone else victimized by the problems of the 80's pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and made themselves successful, all through HiiiPoWeR.
Fred Hampton was a prominent member of the Black Panthers who did a lot of public education and outreach. Him spreading his knowledge once again demonstrates HiiiPoWeR.
A reference to Tupac's Thug Life movement. Pac was one of Kendrick's biggest inspirations, and Kendrick hopes his movement will be as strong as Tupac's.
