Kendrick Lamar featuring The Weeknd
Pray for Me
Production: Doc Mckinney / Frank Dukes
Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope Records
Kendrick Lamar’s “Pray for Me”, featuring The Weeknd, is off of his latest album “Black Panther the Album”, created for the hit movie that premiered in February of 2018. The Album channels Wakanda’s ethnic spirit and African culture. Throughout the soundtrack, Kendrick Lamar and those featured on the album speak on issues about race, identity, power and revolution. It is an influential album that stands out for more reason than one. In “Pray for Me”, Kendrick and The Weeknd discuss revolution and encourage people to overcome any physical or mental adversity they encounter in life. This song can also be interpreted as a fight song that encourages a rise in arms in order to protect one’s nation and culture. Like Savarkar and the Young Indian Society fought for their independence from the British through active resistance, Kendrick tells his listeners that revolution is the most effective approach in overcoming oppression.
Like Indian’s that shared similar views to Savarkar and his Young Indian Society, the song speaks of revolution both physical and mental. In the first verse, The Weeknd begins the song with declaring that he is “always ready for a war again” and takes up the responsibility to fight for what he believes in himself. He shows a resistance to empire and whatever is keeping him oppressed. Later in the verse he reveals that he is his own oppressor. He asks “who’s gon’ save me from myself/ When this life is all I know.” He reveals his own self-destructive tendencies in this rhetorical question as a result of empire. These tendencies are primarily a result of the frustration and resentment that develop as a result of colonization. In India, The British Empire’s rule caused division within the Indian society and caused tension despite their attempts to reconcile and overcome the British Empire’s tyranny.
Kendrick’s message in the second verse is to inform us that we are the heroes that we are looking for and need in our lives. This call of personal responsibility offers up “all of the superhero clichés- individual against the world, triumph over adversity, sacrifice for the greater good” (Pearce). This lyric is a declaration to the awareness and connection to one’s own ethics. This appeals to the sentiments of those who feel helpless in their situation and encourages them that they are more than capable of fighting and overcoming their oppression. These same sentiments were shared by the Indians in the 19thand 20thcentury that were motivated by the teachings of Savarkar and Gandhi to not sit idle in their situation but to resist it. This created a powerful movement which eventually ended up being successful in empowering the Indian people which led to the eventual succession of the British empire.
In the Chorus, The Weeknd contemplates the hero’s burden. He recognizes that his efforts might be futile and may not amount to anything however, the fight for revolution may be worth it anyway. He sings, “Who gon’ pray for me/ Take my pain for me? Save my soul for me?… If I’m gon’ kill for you/ Then I spilled this blood for you.” This contemplation These thoughts and recurring hesitant emotions are shared among all those who decide to risk their life for a cause they decide to fight for. However, even if their voice isn’t heard by many, their actions still will leave an impact and his message will spread.
In the Outro of the song, Kendrick declares that if others lose faith in him, he will still stand by his own ethics even if he has to do it alone. He says, “Just in case my faith go, I’ll live by my own law… I’ll live by my own.” This repeating couplet further emphasizes the idea of sticking to one’s ethics no matter the consequence. Sometimes one’s voice will die out and their cause may not be well received by everyone, however, Kendrick tells his listeners to not be discouraged but to instead continue to live by your own beliefs, even if you have to do it alone. Savarkar, Gandhi and other leaders of the Indian revolution demonstrated this type of resilience, which drew people to their cause and created a powerful force that eventually led to the independence of the Indian people.
Kendrick Lamar ft. The Weeknd – Pray for Me
-XRose