Kites
by N.E.R.D (featuring Kendrick Lamar & M.I.A.)

Album: NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Both Kendrick Lamar and M.I.A. jump on this reflection about refugees and Donald Trump's immigration policy. While K-Dot is well known for his socially conscious lyrics, British rapper M.I.A can speak from personal experience having arrived in the UK with her mother and siblings on her 11th birthday as refugees fleeing civil war in Sri Lanka.

    "[This] is about teenage life [and] living in a refugee situation because you were trying to find a different life," Pharrell Williams tod Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 Show. "And who better to enlist as feature on this song than the great Kendrick Lamar once again? And also M.I.A."
  • The track uses the image of a kite flying in the skies to overcome borders and barriers. No One Ever Really Dies is the first N.E.R.D. album that contains politically-orientated material. Explaining the reason for the change in direction found in his lyrics, Pharrell cited to The Guardian ongoing social and cultural changes:

    "I've made all kinds of songs in my career. People might say: 'Oh what about this song?' Yep, you're right. I recognize now. I get it. It was fun to me at the time, but the earth changes and the rules change. We have to remember that. Context is important."
  • An uncredited A$AP Rocky supplies the intro.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."