We the People....

Album: We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
Charted: 77
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from We Got It From Here, Thank You For Your Service finds Q-Tip and Phife Dawg rapping about racial and religious discrimination in America:

    All you Black folks, you must go
    All you Mexicans, you must go
    And all you poor folks, you must go
    Muslims and gays, boy, we hate your ways
    So all you bad folks, you must go


    Q-Tip and Phife had in mind the then-looming election, when as part of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, he said that he wanted to deport 11 million people.
  • Q-Tip spoke to Beats Radio about the call-to-arms to rise against the voices of bigotry, saying:

    "We're just lovely musicians and artists and that's all we do, is speak and paint pictures and try to speak to a climate but hopefully we will call some sort of uprising internally in that young Jimmy Carter and that young Angela Davis. Hopefully we will, 'cause that's the type of thing we do. And that's why 'We The People' is more of an encompassing and not just us - it's all of us as people."
  • The song's tense feel is enhanced by a sample of Black Sabbath's "Behind the Wall of Sleep" from their 1970 self-titled album. Beck borrowed from the same track for his Odelay tune "Hotwax."
  • A Tribe Called Quest performed this song on the November 12, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live, which was guest-hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle. Q-Tip, Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad took to the stage twice as the musical guest, performing "The Space Program" as well.
  • The Tribe was working on We Got It From Here when Phife Dawg died from diabetes complications in March 2016. The album's title was the one the late rapper wanted, and although the other members did not understand its meaning, they went with the name as he liked it.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Eagles Lyrics Quiz

Eagles Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Lots of life lessons in these Eagles lyrics - can you match them to the correct song?

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.