Take A Knee

Album: For The People (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Why not take a stand and take a knee?"

    San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made news in 2016 when he protested police treatment of minorities by taking a knee during the national anthem. Some saw the gesture as disrespectful, but he was soon joined by other athletes throughout the country who staged similar protests. In this song, the rapper/producer SiNiCaL voices his support for Kaepernick and others who use their celebrity to focus attention of the issue.
  • SiNiCaL included this track on his mixtape For The People . He told Songfacts how the song came together:

    "'Take A Knee' was inspired by the stand that Colin Kaepernick is taking both on and off the field. With Colin's donations, outreaches, and now his 'I Know My Rights Camp' for the youth I think he's really taking it to the next level!

    The song actually came about after a conversation my manager Don and I had about the initial uproar of Colin's national anthem protest. Once we hung up, I immediately had an idea for the hook. After that, I hopped on Ableton and started with some brass to work on the beat. I knew it needed to have militant marching band elements mixed with the 'Conscious Trap' feel. Next, I moved on to Pro Tools to sequence the beat, lay the hook and work on the verses. The rest is history!"

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