High for Hours

Album: single release only (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This politically charged, contemplative track was dropped by J. Cole on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2017. Cole calls out "American hypocrisy" throughout the country's problematic history and also rhymes about contemporary social issues such as police brutality that "make you want to let go."
  • The lyrics of the second verse center around a meeting Cole had with Barack Obama, as the rapper details what it was like to meet the president:

    I had a convo with the president, I paid to go and see him
    Thinking bout the things I said I'd say when I would see him
    Feeling nervous, sitting in a room full of white folks
    Thinking about the black man plight, think I might choke
    .

    It's likely Cole's conversation took place on April 15, 2016 when he, Alicia Keys, Chance the Rapper, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj and Wale attended a White House sit down with President Obama to discuss criminal justice reform and the My Brother's Keeper Initiative. Cole's recounts how he directly asked the POTUS: "Does he see the struggles of his brothers in oppression?"
  • The song was produced by Chance the Rapper collaborator Cam O'bi and Dreamville in-house producer and Cole's manager Elite who also worked on 4 Your Eyez Only. Elite tweeted: "Cole was zonin wrote like 5 verses in his hotel room on tour text me and @iamCam like i need a beat so we cooked up on the bus."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.