The characters are revealed to be Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, the creator of Lamar’s label, and the rapper’s own father. The album’s final track opens with a true story in which someone decides not to rob and possibly kill a restaurant employee. Give ‘em a soul so they can make their own choices and live with it You take two strangers and put ‘em in random predicaments One curse at a time, reverse the manifest Pay attention, that one decision changed both of they lives, This verse lists the various ways that the effects of racial and economic marginalization-police violence, gang crime, health disparities-threaten life in Black communities nationwide. I’ll prolly die from one of these bats and blue badgesīody slammed on black and white paint, my bones snappin’ Or maybe die because these smokers are more than desperate Or maybe die from pressin’ the line, actin’ too extra, I’ll prolly die from thinkin’ that me and your hood was cool I’ll prolly die from witnesses leavin’ me false accused,
On a track filled with contempt for jingoism, wealth disparity, Donald Trump and everyday violence, Lamar swipes back at Fox News and media bias against people of color who may turn to violence out of the desperate circumstances that oppression, police violence and military aggression create. Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et ceteraĪmerica’s reflections of me, that’s what a mirror does
You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us, This passage from the psychedelic “ PRIDE” laments the way racism drags down humanity while clinging to hope of an impossible perfection. Promises are broken and more resentment come alive, Sick venom in men and women overcome with pride,Ī perfect world is never perfect, only filled with lies
” BLOOD” features Rivera misquoting the “Alright” line, “and we hate popo/wanna kill us dead in the streets fo’ sho’.” ” DNA” samples his insistence that “hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years” while Lamar raps, “I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA/I live a better life, I’m rollin’ several dice, fuck your life.” The first and second tracks, “ BLOOD” and “ DNA,” flip excerpts from the same Fox News segment in which anchor Geraldo Rivera admonishes Lamar’s performance of “Alright” at the 2015 BET Awards. But his lyrics explore many of the themes-spirituality, empowerment, violence, socio-political realities among them-that permeate his other albums.Īnd true to the reputation he established with tracks like “ The Blacker the Berry” and “ Alright,” the latter of which was embraced by Black anti-police violence activists as a protest chant, K-Dot tackles structural racism in all its forms on “ DAMN.” Here are five of the moments where the Compton MC does this most clearly: The record’s 14 tracks feature minimalist beats that largely depart from ” To Pimp a Butterfly” and “ untitled unmastered’s” grandiose jazz-influenced sound. Two weeks after teasing fans and inspiring debate about Black women’s representation with a new single and video, Kendrick Lamar followed up today (April 14) with the release of his new album, “ DAMN.”
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