Raising Hell

Album: High Road (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • This pop banger finds Kesha singing about good people having fun doing bad things.

    We can always find the trouble, we don't need no help
    Singing oh, mama raised me well
    But I don't wanna go to Heaven without raising hell
  • Kesha incorporates gospel terminology into this ode to naughty churchgoers. Though she's wearing her Sunday best and is speaking in tongues, the songstress admits to being hungover and a "holy mess."
  • Kesha sees the song as "escapist pop," where for three minutes the listener is transported away. "I think it's like a miracle," she explained to Radio.com. "The state of politics, and division, and drama all the time – and I just think now for my life, I just want to feel happy and feel good and celebrate being here. And I want to give that to people."
  • The song features New Orleans native Big Freedia, a rapper who specializes in bounce music. A chance meeting on the Kesha Cruise led to the pair finding they are kindred spirits. So, when Kesha was mixing "Raising Hell," Big Freedia was the obvious choice to jump on the track.
  • Kesha wrote the song with:

    LA-based singer/songwriter Wrabel, who also collaborated with Kesha on her 2017 single "Woman." His other credits include Pink's "90 Days" and Backstreet Boys' "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

    Songwriter Sean Douglas, who has placements with both country stars (Thomas Rhett's "Die a Happy Man") and pop stars (Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not Sorry").
  • The song was produced by:

    Canadian record producer and songwriter Ajay "Stint" Bhattacharyya, whose other credits include Demi Lovato's "Tell Me You Love Me" and Sabrina Claudio's "Belong To You." Stint played piano, guitar and bass on the track.

    Michael "Omega" Fonseca, who has previously worked with Fall Out Boy ("Centuries") and Iggy Azalea ("Team").
  • The song's music video was directed by the noted fashion photographer Luke Gilford. The clip shows a TV preacher (played by Kesha herself) trapped in an abusive relationship. She takes matters into her own hands and goes on the run for murder.

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