Released: July 2, 2011

Featuring: Ab-Soul

Songwriter: Terrace Martin Kendrick Lamar Ab-Soul

Producer: Terrace Martin

[Verse 1: Ab-Soul & Alori Joh]
What's your life about? Enlighten me
Is you gon' live on your knees or die on your feet?
It's fire in the street, fire in my Swisher
Fire in between the two legs of your lil' sister
Just get a sip of this elixir
Before they crop us out of the picture
I've never seen a crop circle
But I've seen cops circle the block
I puff squares, but I swear, one day, I'ma stop
My nerves itch
On the brink of my career
While my peers struggle for employment
Can you hear these screams?
(Uncle Sam ain't no kin to me)
One, two, three, four grams and a fifth of Hennessy
A bad bitch, fuck the penitentiary
Section 80s babies, blame Ronald Reagan
We raising hell, hell (Oh)
Lord forbid, the homie got wet, so we trying to soak it in
The president is black, but you can't vote for skin
You vote for the better man
Come to our show, you can see the diversity
Unify the people, they gon' peep it universally
We might not change the world
But we gon' manipulate it, I hope you participatin'
Ayo, Dot, won't you let these cats know?
We knew we'd be here, like, back in 04'
Started HiiiPower because our generation needed a generator
In a system meant to disintegrate us (Ooh!)
And all we do is assist them
We're not victors, we're victims
The bigger picture isn't developed yet
Like, what if Keisha was celibate?
Or what if Tammy came across a real man
Who didn't play games like children?
My nigga cheated on his girlfriend
With his girlfriend's girlfriend, let the world end
And everybody tripping off 2012
And the extraterrestrial presence as well
(Odd Future's aight) But our future is not
That martial law shit drop, we gon' all get got
So keep that question mark on your face
Eat your fast food, use your fluoride toothpaste
Hide your feelings from the public, work your lil' nine to five
Don't forget to pay your tithes and thank God you're alive
HiiiPower
And on another note
We focused like the Hubble Telescope
Soul!

[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar & Alori Joh]
Life is a traffic jam, life is a traffic jam
Life is a traffic jam
Life is a traffic jam, life is a traffic jam
Life is a traffic jam, life is a traffic jam
I'm ready to go, ready to go
Life is a traffic jam, life is a traffic jam
Ready to go, ready to go
Life is a traffic jam
Life...

[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar & Ab-Soul]
I wrote this because I was ordered to
People say I speak for generation Y
Why lie, I do, Section.80
Your son will play me if the radio won't
Daughters that just turn 1 'til 21 listen to Kendrick
For instance:
What's your life about? Enlighten me
Is you gon' live on your knees or die on your feet?
Take out that student loan, and pay off your college degree
And do exactly what you see on TV
True story!
Hmm
Can you repeat that for me, Soul?
What's your life about? Enlighten me
Is you gon' live on your knees or die on your feet?
Is you gon' plead the fifth or sound the horn?
The time is now, my child, come on
See, a lot of y'all don't understand Kendrick Lamar
Because you wonder how I could talk about money, hoes, clothes, God, and history all in the same sentence
You know what all the things have in common?
Only half of the truth, if you tell it
See I spent 23 years on this earth searching for answers
'Til one day I realized I had to come up with my own
I'm not on the outside looking in
I'm not on the inside looking out
I'm in the dead fucking center, looking around
You ever seen a newborn baby kill a grown man?
That's an analogy for the way the world make me react
My innocence been dead
So, the next time I talk about money, hoes, clothes, God, and history all in the same sentence
Just know I meant it, and you felt it
'Cause you too are searching for answers
I'm not the next pop star, I'm not the next socially-aware rapper
I am a human motherfucking being over dope-ass instrumentation
Kendrick Lamar!
Now fuck 'em up, Terrace!
(Soul!)

[Instrumental Solo: Terrace Martin]

[Outro: Kendrick Lamar]
I watch this fire that we’re gathered around
And see that it burns similar to the fire that’s inside you
Section.80
Section.80 babies
A generation of bliss and disobedience
Know they can't control us
Know they can't control you
Know they can't control us
But we can control each other
We build our own world
If you don't leave with nothing else tonight
You will leave with knowing yourself
You will leave knowing that you represent something that's bigger than all of us
Our family
Heart, honor, and respect
This is you
This is me
And we are HiiiPower

[Produced by Terrace Martin]

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, CA.

He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape O(verly) D(edicated). In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip-hop releases of the year. In 2012, he crossed over to mainstream audiences with his major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, which was widely regarded as an instant classic. In 2015, he released To Pimp a Butterfly to widespread acclaim. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The following year, untitled unmastered. was released by surprise. In April of 2017, Kendrick released DAMN. on Good Friday.

Known for his storytelling, imagery, wordplay, passion and varied song structures, Kendrick brings hard-hitting lyricism with narratives to the West Coast, not traditionally known for its lyricists.