The Power of Alicia Keys - by Sonya Lee

Outside the bus’ tinted windows, hills and windmills speed by. I turn back towards the aisle of the bus and watch as Chris slides down next to Kirby - one hand gripping the velvety, blue seat and the other delicately holding a ukulele. Soon the sound of the ukulele and their voices fill the bus creating a sort of magical atmosphere. Each word catches my attention “Some people think that the physical things define what's within” (“Ain’t” 5). The song lyrics drifted down the aisle of the bus like dandelion fluff through a meadow. In awe, I turn to my friend somehow communicating my need to know this song without actually speaking. Her words echo through my head “it’s Alicia Keys.” Fascinated, I listen - the flow of the words and notes pulling me in and leaving me holding on to each word. “Wow” was the only thing I could manage. Alicia Keys burst into the music industry in 2001 with the release of her #1 hit album “Songs in A Minor,” which went platinum five times over and ended up winning her five Grammys. Born and raised in the famous city of New York, Keys attended the prestigious Professional Performing Arts School and graduated as valedictorian at age 16. From there her career took off, and as of now Keys has won 15 Grammys as well as many other reputable music awards. To this day, Alicia Keys is still writing powerful music including one specific song that sparked a movement. This song, “We Are Here” is a R&B single that was released on September 15, 2014. “We Are Here” expresses her frustration with both national and international issues. Alicia Keys uses allusions, rhyme and repetition throughout her song to demonstrate the essential message that violence is one of the biggest problem facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about these issues.

Alicia Keys uses allusion in her song “We Are Here” to communicate the crucial message violence is one of the biggest problem facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about it. In the first verse of “We Are Here,” Keys explores real events of violence that have or are happening around the world. She ponders:

Let’s talk about chi-town

Let’s talk about Gaza

Let’s talk about

Let’s talk about Israel

Right now it is real

Let’s talk about

Let’s talk Nigeria and the mass hysteria (“We” 14-20)

In these lines, Keys alludes to Chicago where a shooting - that killed at least 9 and wounded at least 36 - took place. This reveals the theme that violence is one of the biggest problem facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about it by pointing out many fatal violent events that have happened recently. These events have affected communities, not just on a local level but on national and international levels. By connecting these violent events to her song Keys is able to motivate her listeners to take initiative and speak up - so that other things like this won't happen.

Additionally, Alicia Keys uses rhyme to express that violence is one of the biggest problem facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about these issues. In the second verse of her song Keys explains that connections between living and giving as well as dying and forgiving. She sings,

Let’s talk about living

Had enough of dying

Not what we all about

Let’s talk about giving

Do more forgiving, yeah (“We” 38-42)

By rhyming living, giving, dying and forgiving Keys is connecting the idea of giving to the living and forgiving the dead. This demonstrate the theme that violence is one of the biggest problem facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about it by showing how you can't give to the dead. The idea that you can give to the living but not to the dead connects to the theme because it shows that by stopping violence we are able to give more to others that are alive instead of forgiving the dead.

Alicia Keys also uses repetition to convey the message violence is one of the biggest problems facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about it. In her second verse keys recites the ways we can participate to create change. Keys suggests:

Let’s talk about our part

My heart touch your heart

Let's talk about living

Had enough of dying

Not what we all about (“We” 35-40)

Alicia Keys repeats the phrase “let’s talk about…” to convey that talking out a problem is important and can be the first step to solving it. This communicates the message that violence is one of the biggest problems facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about it by showing exactly how we can help. We can help solve this problem by being brave and talking out the problem even if it’s hard. This quote emphasizes that speaking up can and will make a difference and that's why it is important.

One particular strength of “We Are Here” is the composition and use of instruments. Alicia Keys sings with only a piano and drums. Her simple selection of instruments positively relates a serious atmosphere which communicates the seriousness of this problem. The piano is special because it forces you to listen to to the lyrics and words she is singing instead of a ing lots of background music to distract the listener.

While Alicia Keys succeeds in getting the listener to focus on the lyrics, the repetitiveness of the hook (chorus) draws away from the meaning of the song. In the closing part of the song, Keys repeats the hook:

We are here

We are here for all of us

We are here for all for us

It’s why we are here, why we are here

We are here (“We” 44-48),

four times. This takes away from the overall effect of the song, because although these are powerful words, they don't need to be repeated 4+ times. By repeating this hook Keys bores listeners who are looking for exciting music. This song would have been much stronger with less repetition of the hook.

“We Are Here” is a powerful song that advertises the important message: violence is one of the biggest problems facing our world today and we can do our part to help victims (of violence) by speaking up about these issues. This song resonated with me because it posed a question that I had no answer to: “Why am I here?” This stumped me and left me searching for the purpose of everything I was doing. It’s such an important, simple question that everyone should be asking and that's why it caught my attention. Keys’ message is also very relevant to our world today. The US and the rest of the world are facing huge problems due to extreme violence - caused by terrorism and several other things. This violence can tear apart countries, cities, communities and can rupture trust in the government. We need to take action now and speak up so we can repair these torn environments and keep horrific events like these from happening. That is why we are here - to create positive change. We can help by keeping informed about what's going on in the world and spread awareness.