Yes We Can Song
The Yes We Can Song
by will.i.am
I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates
I was never really big on politics...
and actually I’m still not big on politics...
but 4 years ago, me and the black eyed peas supported Kerry...
And we supported Kerry with all our might...
We performed and performed and performed for the DNC...
doing all we could do to get the youth involved...
The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me...
on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful,
corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are...
So this year i wanted to get involved and do all i could early...
And i found myself torn...
because this time it’s not that simple...
our choices aren’t as clear as the last elections ...
last time it was so obvious...
Bush and war
vs
no Bush and no war...
But this time it’s not that simple...
and there are a lot of people that are torn just like i am...
So for awhile I put it off and i was going to wait until it was decided for me...
And then came New Hampshire...
And i was captivated...
Inspired...
I reflected on my life...
and the blessings I have...
and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings...
and I’m not talking about a "black thing"
I’m talking about a "human thing" me as a "person"
an American...
That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today...
what America is "supposed" to be...
freedom...
equality...
and truth...
and thats not what we have today...
we think we are free...
but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions...
this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and
died for...
and then there was New Hampshire
it was that speech...
like many great speeches...
that one moved me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
It made me think...
and realize that today we have "very few" leaders...
maybe none...
but that speech...
it inspired me...
it inspired me to look inside myself and outwards towards the world...
it inspired me to want to change myself to better the world...
and take a "leap" towards change...
and hope that others become inspired to do the same...
change themselves..
change their greed...
change their fears...
and if we "change that"
"then hey"..
we got something right...???...
1 week later after the speech settled in me...
I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
because that speech effected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time...
it spoke to me...
because words and ideas are powerful...
I just wanted to add a melody to those words...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...
so i let it..
I wasn't afraid to stand for something...
to stand for "change"...
I wasn't afraid of "fear"...
it was pure inspiration...
so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...
Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...
then we put it on the net for the world to feel...
When you are truly inspired..
magic happens...
incredible things happen...
love happens..
(and with that combination)
"love, and inspiration"
change happens...
"change for the better"
Inspiration breeds change...
"Positive change"...
no one on this planet is truly experienced to handle the obstacles we face today...
Terror, fear, lies, agendas, politics, money, all the above...
It’s all scary...
Martin Luther King didn't have experience to lead...
Kennedy didn't have experience to lead...
Susan B. Anthony...
Nelson Mandela...
Rosa Parks...
Gandhi...
Anne Frank...
and everyone else who has had a hand in molding the freedoms we have and take for granted today...
no one truly has experience to deal with the world today...
they just need "desire, strength, courage ability, and passion" to change...
and to stand for something even when people say it's not possible...
America would not be here "today" if we didn’t stand and fight for
change "yesterday"...
Everything we have as a "people" is because of the "people" who fought for
change...
and whoever is the President has to realize we have a lot of changing to do
I'm not trying to convince people to see things how i do...
I produced this song to share my new found inspiration and how I've been moved...
I hope this song will make you feel...
love...
and think...
and be inspired just like the speech inspired me...
that’s all...
Let's all come together like America is supposed to...
Like Japan did after Hiroshima...
that was less than 65 years ago...
and look at Japan now...
they did it together...
they did it...
"We can't?...
Are you serious..?..
WE CAN!!!
Yes we can...
A United "America"
Democrats, Republicans and Independents together...
Building a new America
We can do it...
"TOGETHER"
Thank you for reading and listening...
will.i.am
THE YES WE CAN SONG WAS RECORDED AT ETHER AND RECORD PLANT IN LA ON JANUARY 30 AND 31ST, 2008.
ceo of inspiration:
barack obama:
song produced by:
will.i.am
guitar by:
george pajon
video produced by:
will.i.am and mike jurkovac
director:
jesse dylan for cYclops form
executive producers:
will.i.am
mike jurkovac
fred goldring
jesse dylan
priscilla cohen
sheri howell
pantera sarah
associate producers:
sean larkin
carol cohen
steve koskie
wendi morris
scott spanjich
talent:
adam rodriguez
alfonso ribeiro
amaury nolasco
amber valletta
auden mccaw
anson mount
austin nichols
aisha tyler
bryan greenberg
cliff collins
common
derek watkins
ed kowalczyk
enrique murciano
eric balfour
eric olsen
esthero
fred goldring
harold perrineau
herbie hancock
hill harper
john legend
john schaech
kareem abdul jabbar
kate walsh
kelly hu
maya rubin
nick cannon
nicole scherzinger
sam page
sarah wright
scarlett johansson
shoshannah stern
taryn manning
tatyana ali
tracee ellis ross
will.i.am
crew:
carol cohen LINE PRODUCER
matt harrison PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
adam martin 1ST AD
kevin oíneil 2ND AD
araeia robinson PRODUCTION ASST.
patrick mcgovern PRODUCTION ASST.
rolf kestermann DP
ryan brown 1ST AC
justin rhoads DIT
marek kanievska 2ND UNIT DP
torre catalano 3RD UNIT DP
jamie banfield GAFFER
kevin shipley ELECTRIC
braydon baldwin GRIP
adam joeseph SOUND
damon díamato TELEPROMPTER
adam kleinfield STILLS DIT
brett freedman HAIR AND MAKE-UP
asia geiger HAIR AND MAKE-UP
terrence "biff" butler EDITOR
carold lynn weaver POST PRODUCER
anton capaldo-smith ASSISTANT EDITOR
vendors:
rock paper scissors EDITORIAL
indie rentals CAMERA
cinelease LIGHTING AND GRIP
film this! PERMIT
image mechanics STILLS
rushes TELECINE
greenberg teleprompting SCRIPTING
line 204 WALKIES