By Anna Antwi
‘High For Hours’ by J Cole was released on Martin Luther King Day in 2017 and in this song, reflects on the social and political issues in the US’s society today.
In the first verse, Cole addresses the contradictions in the US system both today and in the past. An example of this would be in the first few lines:
“American hypocrisy oh let me count the ways
They came here seeking freedom
Then they end up owning slaves
Justified it using Christianity which saves
Religion don’t mean shit, there’s too much ego in the way”
Here Cole reflects on the hypocrisy of American values as the country often preaches about being the “land of the free” and are proud of how their European ancestors fought for freedom. However, they went on to participate in the slave trade stripping people from other countries of their freedom whilst using the Christian bible to justify their actions which Cole expresses as contradictory.
Cole notes another contradiction in the following lines:
“That’s why ISIS is a crisis
But in reality this country do the same shit
Take a life and call it righteous
Remember when Bin Laden was killed supposedly?
In a hotel lobby after a show, was noticing
These white ladies watching CNN, covering the action
They read the headline and then they all started clapping
As if LeBron had just scored a basket at the buzzer
I stood there for a second
Watched them high five each other
For real? I thought this was ‘thou shall not kill’”
In these lines, Cole reflects over the idea that the US is killing as well but it is celebrated and viewed as “righteous” in comparison to the deaths caused by ISIS. This brings up the argument of whether killing is ever justified.
In the third verse, Cole speaks about human nature and its role played throughout history and even today. For example in these lines:
“See, the people at the top
They get to do just what they want
‘Til after a while the people at the bottom finally get smart
Then they start to holla revolution
Tired of living here, destitution.”
This shows how history is always repeating itself in terms of how humans behave. Those higher up hold the power in society but eventually those who feel like they’re being forgotten or taken advantage of fight back against their oppressors and this has been seen in so many revolutions throughout history.
However, Cole argues that this can be dangerous when violence is involved as it leads to an endless cycle of fighting instead of solving the problem and finding peace. This is explained in the following lines:
“Fuck that looting
Can you tell me what’s the best solution?
I used to think it was to overthrow oppressors, see
If we destroy the system, that means we’ll have less of greed
But see, it’s not that simple.”
“The children in abusive households grow up
Knocking girlfriends out cold, that’s called a cycle
Abused becomes the abuser that’s just how life go”
MY FAVOURITE LINES:
“Change is slow, always has been, always will be
But fuck that, Imma bust back ‘til they kill me”
“So understand
You get the power, but you know what power does to man?
Corruption always leads us to the shame shit again”
“What good is taking over when we know what you gon’ do?
The only real revolution happens right inside of you”
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