--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I be off the slave ships, building…" description: "\"I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs\" — Kendrick Lamar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg" --- # I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my… ![“I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs” quote by Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg) > “I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs” [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on breaking free from oppressive histories and creating his own narrative. **In simple terms:** Escaping past oppression to shape one's own story. Key Takeaway Own your narrative, reject imposed histories. Themes freedom identity history self-determination Mood defiant reflective Type poetic political When to use this quote - activism - artistic expression - personal empowerment - historical reflection Key Concepts postcolonialism self-creation cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals balance personal agency with collective history? - What responsibilities come with redefining one's narrative? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers that persist beyond personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Building Pyramids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-pyramids-279740/) [Hieroglyphs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hieroglyphs-2492046/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Pyramids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pyramids/) [Pyramids Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pyramids-writing-3380330/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slave ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-ships/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Hieroglyphs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-hieroglyphs-3380331/) ## Related quotes > [Build your own pyramids, write your own hieroglyphs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/build-your-own-pyramids-write-your-own-hieroglyphs/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [What we might have been dealing with here - with the building of the Pyramids - is an age that got lost. Man had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/what-we-might-have-been-dealing-with-here-with-the-building-of-the/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [“Like the elite of ancient Egypt, most people in most cultures dedicate their lives to building pyramids. Only the names, shapes and sizes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/like-the-elite-of-ancient-egypt-most-people-in-most-cultures-dedicate/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [When the Egyptians were building the pyramids or the Romans were building roads, or you had the westward push with the railroads, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-leach/when-the-egyptians-were-building-the-pyramids-or-the-romans-were/) [Mike Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-leach/) > [“When the ancient Egyptians finished building the pyramids, they had built the pyramids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/when-the-ancient-egyptians-finished-building-the-pyramids-they-had/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raymond Hendler exhibited a group of abstract paintings that displayed rare high spirits. Using a great deal of fresh white, Hendler devised extremely simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dore-ashton/raymond-hendler-exhibited-a-group-of-abstract-paintings-that/) [Dore Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dore-ashton/) > [“Can't have a care when you unzip & bare the rare hieroglyphs from the archeological digs unearthed from those undiscovered inner layers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/can-t-have-a-care-when-you-unzip-bare-the-rare-hieroglyphs-from-the/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“So, too, we may imagine that the sight of the hieroglyphs of Egypt, and the knowledge that thoughts could be conveyed by them, suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-sayce/so-too-we-may-imagine-that-the-sight-of-the-hieroglyphs-of-egypt-and/) [A. H. SAYCE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-sayce/) > [“Before the spread of alphabetic writing, systems making much use of logograms were more common and included Egyptian hieroglyphs, Maya glyphs, and Sumerian cuneiform.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/before-the-spread-of-alphabetic-writing-systems-making-much-use-of/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [April, like a child, Writes hieroglyphs on dust with flowers, Wipes them away and forgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/april-like-a-child-writes-hieroglyphs-on-dust-with-flowers-wipes-them/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“It is a knowledge of the intrinsic significance of every existent. For the artist as for the mescalin taker draperies are living hieroglyphs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/it-is-a-knowledge-of-the-intrinsic-significance-of-every-existent-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Until it is kindled by a spirit as flamingly alive as the one which gave it birth a book is dead to us. Words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/until-it-is-kindled-by-a-spirit-as-flamingly-alive-as-the-one-which/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Words, sentences, ideas, no matter how subtle or ingenious, the maddest flights of poetry, the most profound dreams, the most hallucinating visions, are but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/words-sentences-ideas-no-matter-how-subtle-or-ingenious-the-maddest/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I once looked over the shoulder of a friend on Facebook and it looked like hieroglyphs to me. There's merit online, of course, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/i-once-looked-over-the-shoulder-of-a-friend-on-facebook-and-it-looked/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) ## More by Kendrick Lamar > [I think that's why I put my energy into making music. That's how I get my thoughts out, instead of being crazy all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-think-that-s-why-i-put-my-energy-into-making-music-that-s-how-i-get/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [ Got in the studio at sixteen, \[and\] that's when I felt like I wanted to make this a career. I had a passion for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/got-in-the-studio-at-sixteen-and-that-s-when-i-felt-like-i-wanted-to/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [Black and brown pride have been taught in my household for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/black-and-brown-pride-have-been-taught-in-my-household-for-a-long-time/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [Everybody has their own way of hearing songs. My fans are usually pretty on point. Sometimes they go all the way to the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/everybody-has-their-own-way-of-hearing-songs-my-fans-are-usually/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [I don't really believe in the type of pressure that people are wanting to put on the type of music that I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-don-t-really-believe-in-the-type-of-pressure-that-people-are/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [I've got an extra-specific story about Dr. Dre. I saw him when I was 9 years old in Compton - him and Tupac. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-ve-got-an-extra-specific-story-about-dr-dre-i-saw-him-when-i-was-9/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [Brother Kendrick Lamar: he's not a rapper, he's a writer, he's an author. And if you read between the lines, we'll learn how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/brother-kendrick-lamar-he-s-not-a-rapper-he-s-a-writer-he-s-an-author/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [You can have the platinum album, but when you still feel like you haven't quite found your place in the world - it kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/you-can-have-the-platinum-album-but-when-you-still-feel-like-you/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [You really can't categorize my music, it's human music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/you-really-can-t-categorize-my-music-it-s-human-music/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [My passion is bringing storylines around and constructing a full body of work rather than just a 16-bar verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/my-passion-is-bringing-storylines-around-and-constructing-a-full-body/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [I'm only as good as my last word, my last hook, my last bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-m-only-as-good-as-my-last-word-my-last-hook-my-last-bridge/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [The message I'm sending to myself - I can't change the world until I change myself first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-message-i-m-sending-to-myself-i-can-t-change-the-world-until-i/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [We all seem to stumble, planning our own demise, Getting the big picture, and making it wallet-sized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/we-all-seem-to-stumble-planning-our-own-demise-getting-the-big/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [I was raised inside the gang culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-was-raised-inside-the-gang-culture/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [We look so much on color that we forget about the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/we-look-so-much-on-color-that-we-forget-about-the-soul/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) [Explore all 266 Kendrick Lamar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) [Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kendrick Lamar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyramids-writing-my-own-hieroglyphs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyramids-writing-my-own-hieroglyphs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/kendrick-lamar-1241_building_i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyrami_2791199.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs” — Kendrick Lamar", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kendrick Lamar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I be off the slave ships,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyramids-writing-my-own-hieroglyphs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-be-off-the-slave-ships-building-pyramids-writing-my-own-hieroglyphs/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```