We Are Here (Alicia Keys song)

"We Are Here"
Single by Alicia Keys
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2014 (2014-09-15)
GenreR&B
Length4:44
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Alicia Keys
  • Swizz Beatz
  • Mark Batson
  • Harold Lilly
Alicia Keys singles chronology
"It's On Again"
(2014) 		"We Are Here"
(2014) 		"28 Thousand Days"
(2015)
Music video
"We Are Here" on YouTube

"We Are Here" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was written and produced by Keys, Swizz Beatz, Mark Batson, and Harold Lilly. The song debuted on Keys' Facebook page on September 8, 2014, accompanied by a text post explaining Keys' motivations and inspirations for the song. An up-tempo ballad, "We Are Here" describes Keys' frustration with both national and international issues, including the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the outbreak of the Ebola virus, as well as problems with education and gun laws in the United States. It was released digitally a week later and Keys performed the song on Today on September 15.[1]

Following the song's release, Keys launched a movement, called the We Are Here Movement,[2] calling for a more equal and just world.[3] Some social issues that the movement promotes is ending poverty and oppression, rights for women and children, and environmental activism. On the site of the cause, people can read about and donate to 12 different groups, striving towards, among other things, improving gay rights, fighting racial inequity in the American justice system, and also her own organization, Keep a Child Alive. Keys donated $1 million of her own money divided equally amongst the 12 groups.[3]

"We Are Here" was featured in the short film We Rise; that film was part of the New-York Historical Society's "Hotbed" exhibit about women's suffrage, which ran from November 3, 2017, to March 25, 2018.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Brandle, Lars (September 22, 2014). "Watch Alicia Keys Discuss New Album: It's the 'Best Music I've Ever Done'". Billboard. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  2. ^ WeAreHereMovement.com
  3. ^ a b "Alicia Keys Asks: Why Are We Here?". The New York Times. September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "New-York Historical Society | Film: We Rise". New-York Historical Society. 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Bergdorf Goodman Unveils Holiday Windows Inspired by New York's Iconic Institutions". The Hollywood Reporter. November 15, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Pini, Gary (November 2, 2017). "10 Must-See Art Shows (and One Magazine) Opening This Week". Paper. Retrieved December 2, 2017.