Yeah bruh that XXX was a standout the first time i heard it. I instantly hit repeat when it ended
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE
- Thread starter TooTrilla
- Start date
Go check out that Killa Kyleon LORRAINE MOTEL album that was posted...
It's crazy how black people are soooooo connected, because listening to that verse i could hear either my moms or grandmother telling me all of those things at least once in my youth....all of us, if you grew up in a black household, you heard that shit...It's official the first verse to Fear is top 3 greatest opening verses to a song ever
Gave me flash backs
The one that got me was "I'll beat yo ass if you come in the house crying scared of somebody else go back out there now and stand up for yourself..."
Low key that was the equivalent of screaming WORLDSTTARRR back in the gap, knowing moms was gonna beat your ass if you didn't beat that dude ass you was fighting
Album was trash.
He's about to perform at Coachella tonight on Youtube
Watching now!!
Black Turtle killed it.
my homie texted me the meaning of that track..he said the same thing you said..gotta re-listen...
ABC news said the same while he was at Coachella...
So much for this one. Anyways back to the album. It's dope.
DNA, YAH, XXX, FEAR, PRIDE, DUCKWORTH, HUMBLE, LUST be my favorites so far.
I'm hoping he'll surprise us with another album..the video stated that the brick wall was red and on the back it was blue..sounwave said.."But what if I told you...that's not the official version.."and then he showed a pic of Morpheus..hmm..it didn't drop on Easter Sunday but I wouldn't be surprised if Kdot dropped another one soon..sorta like Ice Cube's War and Peace..sorta like B.I.G.'s Life After Death(even tho LAD came out all at once)..and even Game's The Documentary 2 and 2.5..I believe there is a concept for this one..well at least I want to believe this
..
Fox News post
this mofo DJ Akedemiks is a fucking idiot
I disagree with him about the "pro-black" music...but whatever..
With who
do cats understand how hard black women fuck with this part about the real woman vs fake.
look @ twitter. ask ur girl, sister, coworkers.
the song was average for him but the video was a classic.
1st video i ever watched where i could see the gifs in my head as it played. the director did that on purpose...
My boy Ryan Groves (silver streak in his beard), behind Lamar upper left
Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble.' Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
The song dethrones Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You." Plus, another new top 10 for Lamar and a pair from the tandem of Zedd & Alessia Cara and triple team of Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber.
Kendrick Lamar's "Humble." rises from No. 3 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated May 6), becoming the rapper's second Hot 100 No. 1 and first as a lead artist. The song unseats Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" after 12 weeks atop the Hot 100.
Meanwhile, three songs enter the Hot 100's top 10, led by Lamar's "DNA.," the chart's top debut at No. 4, from the rapper's new album DAMN., which enters at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Plus, Zedd and Alessia Cara's "Stay" jumps from No. 14 to No. 7 and takes over as the top-selling song of the week, and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee blast 48-9 with "Despacito," following the release of its remix with newly-added featured artist Justin Bieber.
As we do every Monday, let's run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, April 25.
"Humble.," released on Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records, becomes the 1,062nd No. 1 in the Hot 100's history (which dates to Aug. 4, 1958) and Lamar's second, and first as a lead act. He first topped the June 6, 2015-dated chart as featured on Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood."
"Humble." surpasses its prior No. 2 Hot 100 high, set upon its debut two weeks ago. The track spends a third week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs, up 56 percent to an astounding 67.4 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 20, according to Nielsen Music (good for the Hot 100's top Streaming Gainer award). Only one song has posted a greater weekly total on Streaming Songs (which originated on March 2, 2013): Baauer's "Harlem Shake," which peaked with 103 million, powered heavily by user-generated clips featuring the song's audio, the week that the survey debuted. Notably, in between "Harlem" and "Humble.," Adele's "Hello" posted the highest weekly streaming sum: 61.6 million, in its first week (Nov. 14, 2015).
"Humble." also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a third frame with the highest weekly total (43.5 million on-demand U.S. streams) in the chart's history (handily passing the 36.2 million logged by Drake's "One Dance," featuring WizKid and Kyla, as reflected on the May 21, 2016, chart). It drops 5-10 on Digital Song Sales (56,000 downloads sold, down 3 percent, in the week ending April 20) and debuts at No. 47 on Radio Songs (28 million in airplay audience, up 26 percent, in the week ending April 23).
"Humble." tops the Hot Rap Songs chart for a third week and returns for a second week atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (2-1).
READ MORE
Kendrick Lamar Earns Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Debut of 2017
As previously reported, Lamar's LP DAMN., which includes "Humble.," vaults onto the Billboard 200 with the biggest week for an album in 2017 (603,000 equivalent album units). Meanwhile, the set's "DNA." debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 4, powered by its No. 2 entrance on Streaming Songs (51 million). Thanks to "Humble." and "DNA.," Lamar is the first act to double up in the Hot 100's top five simultaneously since Bieber in October; The Chainsmokers earned the honor earlier the same month.
Despite dipping to No. 2 on the Hot 100, Sheeran's "Shape" adds an 11th week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (184 million, down 1 percent). It drops 2-4 on Streaming Songs (39.5 million, down 5 percent) and 3-6 on Digital Song Sales (66,000, essentially even week-over-week). The song led the rankings for four and 10 weeks, respectively.
And, more honors to offset the departure of "Shape" from the Hot 100's summit: the song becomes Sheeran's second No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary airplay chart (following "Thinking Out Loud," which topped the tally for 19 weeks in 2015). "Shape" crowns the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart for a ninth week and Dance/Mix Show Airplay for a sixth frame. It vacates the top spot on Pop Songs after nine weeks at No. 1 and led Dance Club Songs for two frames.
Along with Lamar and Sheeran in the Hot 100's top four spots, Bruno Mars' "That's What I Like" descends to No. 3 from its No. 2 high (after four total weeks in the runner-up rank). It keeps at No. 2 on both Radio Songs (160 million, up 6 percent) and Digital Song Sales (80,000, up 9 percent). "Like" leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 10th week and hits No. 1 on Pop Songs; it's Mars' eighth Pop Songs leader, tying him with Justin Timberlake for the most among male soloists (dating to the chart's 1992 start).
Future's highest-charting Hot 100 hit, "Mask Off," enters the top five (7-5). Driven by the #MaskOffChallenge meme, in which everyone from dancers to violinists and flute players accompany the song in user-generated clips, the track stays at No. 3 on Streaming Songs (38.5 million, up 5 percent). Directly below on the Hot 100, KYLE's debut hit "iSpy," featuring Lil Yachty, is steady at No. 6 after previously rising to No. 4.
The song dethrones Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You." Plus, another new top 10 for Lamar and a pair from the tandem of Zedd & Alessia Cara and triple team of Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber.
Kendrick Lamar's "Humble." rises from No. 3 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated May 6), becoming the rapper's second Hot 100 No. 1 and first as a lead artist. The song unseats Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" after 12 weeks atop the Hot 100.
Meanwhile, three songs enter the Hot 100's top 10, led by Lamar's "DNA.," the chart's top debut at No. 4, from the rapper's new album DAMN., which enters at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Plus, Zedd and Alessia Cara's "Stay" jumps from No. 14 to No. 7 and takes over as the top-selling song of the week, and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee blast 48-9 with "Despacito," following the release of its remix with newly-added featured artist Justin Bieber.
As we do every Monday, let's run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, April 25.
"Humble.," released on Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records, becomes the 1,062nd No. 1 in the Hot 100's history (which dates to Aug. 4, 1958) and Lamar's second, and first as a lead act. He first topped the June 6, 2015-dated chart as featured on Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood."
"Humble." surpasses its prior No. 2 Hot 100 high, set upon its debut two weeks ago. The track spends a third week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs, up 56 percent to an astounding 67.4 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 20, according to Nielsen Music (good for the Hot 100's top Streaming Gainer award). Only one song has posted a greater weekly total on Streaming Songs (which originated on March 2, 2013): Baauer's "Harlem Shake," which peaked with 103 million, powered heavily by user-generated clips featuring the song's audio, the week that the survey debuted. Notably, in between "Harlem" and "Humble.," Adele's "Hello" posted the highest weekly streaming sum: 61.6 million, in its first week (Nov. 14, 2015).
"Humble." also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a third frame with the highest weekly total (43.5 million on-demand U.S. streams) in the chart's history (handily passing the 36.2 million logged by Drake's "One Dance," featuring WizKid and Kyla, as reflected on the May 21, 2016, chart). It drops 5-10 on Digital Song Sales (56,000 downloads sold, down 3 percent, in the week ending April 20) and debuts at No. 47 on Radio Songs (28 million in airplay audience, up 26 percent, in the week ending April 23).
"Humble." tops the Hot Rap Songs chart for a third week and returns for a second week atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (2-1).
READ MORE
Kendrick Lamar Earns Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Debut of 2017
As previously reported, Lamar's LP DAMN., which includes "Humble.," vaults onto the Billboard 200 with the biggest week for an album in 2017 (603,000 equivalent album units). Meanwhile, the set's "DNA." debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 4, powered by its No. 2 entrance on Streaming Songs (51 million). Thanks to "Humble." and "DNA.," Lamar is the first act to double up in the Hot 100's top five simultaneously since Bieber in October; The Chainsmokers earned the honor earlier the same month.
Despite dipping to No. 2 on the Hot 100, Sheeran's "Shape" adds an 11th week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (184 million, down 1 percent). It drops 2-4 on Streaming Songs (39.5 million, down 5 percent) and 3-6 on Digital Song Sales (66,000, essentially even week-over-week). The song led the rankings for four and 10 weeks, respectively.
And, more honors to offset the departure of "Shape" from the Hot 100's summit: the song becomes Sheeran's second No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary airplay chart (following "Thinking Out Loud," which topped the tally for 19 weeks in 2015). "Shape" crowns the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart for a ninth week and Dance/Mix Show Airplay for a sixth frame. It vacates the top spot on Pop Songs after nine weeks at No. 1 and led Dance Club Songs for two frames.
Along with Lamar and Sheeran in the Hot 100's top four spots, Bruno Mars' "That's What I Like" descends to No. 3 from its No. 2 high (after four total weeks in the runner-up rank). It keeps at No. 2 on both Radio Songs (160 million, up 6 percent) and Digital Song Sales (80,000, up 9 percent). "Like" leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 10th week and hits No. 1 on Pop Songs; it's Mars' eighth Pop Songs leader, tying him with Justin Timberlake for the most among male soloists (dating to the chart's 1992 start).
Future's highest-charting Hot 100 hit, "Mask Off," enters the top five (7-5). Driven by the #MaskOffChallenge meme, in which everyone from dancers to violinists and flute players accompany the song in user-generated clips, the track stays at No. 3 on Streaming Songs (38.5 million, up 5 percent). Directly below on the Hot 100, KYLE's debut hit "iSpy," featuring Lil Yachty, is steady at No. 6 after previously rising to No. 4.
this visual is nuts...
Kendrick
Dope album..Yah, DNA and FEAR are my favorites
he's 7/7
It's official the first verse to Fear is top 3 greatest opening verses to a song ever
Gave me flash backs
Nice album. Sounds like a dope ass Cluemanatti mixtape
Interesting Debate!!
Album is hella tight
Even better if you start with Duckworth and work back to Blood
Even better if you start with Duckworth and work back to Blood
Just listened the the album, D.N.A. and Humble are on repeat
WHIP ROLLING
WHIP ROLLING
Cool observation; Even him going "more commercial", he still puts a lot of gems in his album; I can appreciate the art...
Kendrick
How Kendrick Lamar Achieves Mainstream Appeal Using A Complex, Innovative Approach
Soundfly's Flypaper
One of Kendrick Lamar’s greatest benedictions as an artist is his ability to connect, which, on the surface, seems strange, because his stories are so personal and uniquely his own.
Whether he’s describing the burger spot where his uncle was murdered or his father’s near-violent run in at KFC with Top Dawg’s head honcho, his lyrics are vivid and intimate descriptions of his own lived experiences. Yet, there’s always a thread that could apply to any of us and our own lives. Lamar invites us in with his words, his masterful flow, and his vision, taking us somewhere that feels familiar, no matter how foreign it may actually be.
Intrigue from the Start
Long before Kendrick Lamar was a hip-hop superstar performing at the Grammys and meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office, he was putting out mixtape after mixtape, solidifying his stance as Compton’s newest hometown hero. After years of honing his craft and catching the eye of the West Coast’s biggest rap moguls like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Lamar finally released his major-label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city (GKMC), to critical acclaim and massive mainstream success.
It was essentially a record full of critic-proof bangers — from the braggadocious “Backseat Freestyle” to the heavy-hitting “m.A.A.d. City” to the club-ready “Swimming Pools (Drank).” The album crowned Lamar as a virtuosic lyricist and vocalist with a brilliant mind capable of reaching millions. Despite his complex character, the album’s songs were largely accessible on a surface level and relatively devoid of experimental or obscure musical ideas.
+ Read more on Flypaper: “How Busta Rhymes Concocted the Perfect Rap Verse in ‘Scenario'”
GKMC did, however, give us various glimpses of Lamar’s elevated sense of artistic experimentation. On one of the album’s most popular songs, “Swimming Pools (Drank),” there’s a section where Lamar’s conscience is speaking to him in a hazy, pitched-up voice:
Okay, now open your mind up and listen to me, Kendrick
I am your conscience, if you do not hear me then you will be history, Kendrick.
It’s a brilliant use of vocal effects, displaying a call and response conversation with his voice of reason as it sinks into the sludge of intoxication. In fact, Lamar wrote “Swimming Pools (Drank)” to describe his own tribulations with alcohol and substance abuse. Yet, for most listeners who are engaging with and dancing to the song in a loud club setting, it’s simply an ode to drinking and getting high.
If you’ve seen Lamar perform the track live, he happily embraces the track’s party-anthem qualities. It’s an example of his powerful ability to create a dialogue about the harms and struggles of substances while still finding a way to allow his audiences to enjoy the partying culture.
After all, hip-hop glorifies partying, which is a frequent criticism of the genre, but Kendrick himself is sober. Still, he frequently references the use of drugs because of his upbringing in Compton — infested with gang culture, drugs, and violence. He understands the nature of drug culture within the genre and lifestyle, even if he doesn’t partake in it. He navigates the greater story of substance abuse and how it plays a role in our lives as an illness and a social lubricant for celebratory causes. Hip-hop, here, is both the message and the platform for sending the message.
Other GKMC cuts like the 10-minute “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” show us Lamar’s more pensive, self-loathing side, unafraid of sacrificing mainstream appeal in order to connect with a greater creative cause. The song follows three characters through gang violence, prostitution, and suicidal thoughts — a set of themes not often found amongst the top charts on the radio or rattling in clubs across the country. Lamar finds a way to make us reflect, even within his infectious lifts and hooks.
+ Learn more on Soundfly: Master the processes and techniques for programming professional-grade electronic drum beats with our acclaimed mentor-driven course, Beat Making in Ableton Live.
Turning It Up a Notch… or 10
Lamar’s sophomore major-label release To Pimp A Butterfly (TPAB) changed the trajectory of hip-hop, challenging the status quo, honoring the past, and reaching forward to the future with complex discussions on race, identity, and society’s political disarray. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Lamar revealed that TPAB was the album he wanted to make for his major-label debut, but he lacked the confidence.
This is an interesting notion, because GKMC essentially launched Kendrick into the spotlight as the greatest rapper alive with enormous pop appeal. Often when an artist finally gets that spotlight, their follow-up album winds up sounding even more mainstream in order to further propel themselves to the top of the charts. An example would be The Weeknd evolving from his dark and eerie indie debut album House Of Balloons to writing low-risk pop anthems like “I Can’t Feel My Face” with Max Martin. But Lamar looked even more inward and coaxed out a sprawling, dense album of pure poetic discourse — tackling his greatest demons and fusing deep-groove funk with swanky jazz and harrowing dissonance.
There are certainly some radio-friendly bangers on TPAB, such as “Alright,” “King Kunta,” and “These Walls,” but they’re the minority. With abstract jazz instrumentals and deeply dark and painful lyrics, Lamar still managed to debut at number one on the Billboard and, at the time, break the record for most streams in a day, racking up 9.6 million spins, dethroning Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
+ Learn more on Soundfly: Take your beats to the stage with Ableton Live, and learn about all the hardware and software you need in a few hours with our free course Live Clicks & Backing Tracks.
Lamar’s achievements are similar to Radiohead’s plunge into the world of abstract music while retaining the highest levels of fame. Radiohead’s first three albums solidified them as one of the most important bands in the world, and when it came time to release their fourth record, they made it for no one but themselves. Kid A — an experimental art album with esoteric instrumentation and hook-less songwriting — debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year, and even won the award for Best Alternative Album. How the heck did an avant-garde album with no decipherable radio hits reach so many people?
Perhaps it was Radiohead’s more conventional songs that came before — “Creep,” “Karma Police,” and “Fake Plastic Trees” — that gave them the platform to experiment on a grandiose scale. They had the world’s attention, and when they delivered an artistic epic, people actually responded to the more experimental-leaning electronic songs like “Everything In Its Right Place” and “Idioteque.”
Did the same happen to Kendrick Lamar? Without “Swimming Pools (Drank),” could there have ever been “u” or “FEAR.”?
Lamar knows how to make a hit, and, in many ways, he uses that power to invite the listener to enjoy styles of music that aren’t often represented in the pop landscape. He draws us in with comfortable ideas and then flips them upside down, leaving us confused but curious.
His newest record, DAMN., creates that exact experience. Lamar starts the album with arguably the fiercest banger of his career, “DNA.” Propped up by a Mike WiLL Made-It-produced trap beat, Lamar goes bar for bar with himself, spitting venomously with a fiery flow, leaving the last bar off his tongue in a pile of bass-booming ash. Next is “YAH.,” a hazy, downtempo instrumental with a somnolent Lamar nasally singing, “Yah, yah, radars is buzzzzzzzing.” He quickly ascends from radio gold to another universe where the radio is nothing but a static signal of hallucinogenic jazz and space.
+ Read more on Flypaper: “6 Electronic Tracks That Kick Butt Without a Kick Drum”
Deviating from the Path
Kendrick Lamar is a puppetmaster, knowing just how to please us with the familiar and challenge us with the unknown. DAMN.’s standout pop track, “LOYALTY.” featuring Rihanna, is an R&B-meets-rap banger. But Lamar isn’t going to keep us in this safe place for long, which is why “PRIDE.” immediately follows. Chorus-effected guitarslowly marches as Lamar’s voice pitch shifts from a low growl to high chipmunk singing, “I can’t fake humble just ’cause your ass is insecure.”
“FEAR.” is a seven-minute epic with an instrumental so skeletal and bare, only a voice as dynamic and compelling as Lamar’s could keep it from growing dull. But before Lamar begins to spit, his voice is played in reverse, signaling a hidden message.
It’s also important to note that Lamar’s peers typically don’t challenge the listener quite as much, nor do they delve into complex artistic expression and musical stratospheres that commercial radio wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. For example, Lamar’s biggest rival, Drake, releases albums full of hits and radio royalty. Drake has certainly evolved as an artist, but his core sound of rap-sung-R&B-meets-hip-hop is still very much intact. His albums are not widely thematic, nor do they feature layers of complex genre crossing.
Another one of Lamar’s rivals is J. Cole, who, like Drake, largely stays in line with the sound and lyrical approach that made him popular. Cole is a great storyteller and rapper, but most tracks feel safe for Cole and his fans. Future is one of the godfathers of today’s popular trap sound, but if you skim through his past four or five releases, you’ll begin to notice a pattern of him using the same trap-pop formula you hear on the radio and in clubs.
Similarly, Big Sean is on the rise to become one of rap’s greatest stars, but when he and Lamar find themselves on a track together — whether on the industry-shattering “Control” or DJ Khaled’s “Holy Key” — Lamar steals the show.
This isn’t to say that Lamar is outright better than his peers; rather, he takes more risks, from innovative production techniques to lyrical topics to vocal performances. He works diligently to plant hidden, puzzling ideas deep within the music. Speaking with Zane Lowe about DAMN., Lamar said, “I want it to live for the next 20 years. So you have to listen to it over and over and over again to fully understand the direction and the message I put in there and the execution of it.”
On another note, rappers like Killer Mike and EL-P (Run The Jewels) are deeply political, conceptual, and embrace their radio unfriendliness with aggressive instrumentation and socially-progressive lyricism buoyed by swagger and personality. But Run The Jewels don’t move units comparable to Lamar. On the TPAB cut “Hood Politics,” he rapped about the Atlanta MC, saying:
Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin’ Motherf*^#er if you did, then Killer Mike’d be platinum.
He goes on to further condemn the critics:
Y’all priorities are f*^#ed up, put energy in wrong sh*^.
+ Read more on Flypaper: “How Missy Elliott Works the Beat in ‘Lose Control'”
In addition, other rappers like Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, and TDE label mate Ab-Soul put experimentation and impressive wordplay at the forefront of their music, but none of them are headlining Coachella. Even hip-hop legends like Talib Kweli and Atmosphere never reached the mainstream success of Lamar.
He’s able to teeter between such contrasting roles of being an artists’ artist, and also a mainstream pop star. Much of Kendrick Lamar’s allure comes from his visceral approach to music and his magnetic vulnerability. His thoughts, emotions, and message are meticulously emphasized in ways that are both human and transcendent. He’s put in the 10,000 hours of work on his craft. He creates for his family still in Compton; his friends behind bars, trapped in cycles of poverty and crime; his profound respect and love for hip-hop — a genre that illuminated the dark path Lamar may have fallen down if it weren’t for music.
“I’m not doing it to have a good song or one good rap or good hook or good bridge. I want to keep doing it every time, period. And to do it every time, you have to challenge yourself and you have to confirm to yourself, not anybody else, confirm to yourself that you’re the best, period.”
http://2dopeboyz.com/2017/04/27/kendrick-lamar-goat-status-hypocrisy-of-living/
http://2dopeboyz.com/2017/04/03/who-had-the-best-verse-in-march/
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/topic/kendrick-lamar
http://2dopeboyz.com/2017/04/25/mike-will-made-it-humble-gucci-mane/
http://2dopeboyz.com/2017/04/26/sounwave-kendrick-lamar-damn-interview/
http://2dopeboyz.com/category/features/
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/artic...cored-his-first-number-1-solo-hit-with-humble
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/artic...-wasnt-originally-intended-for-kendrick-lamar
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/artic...f-the-year-and-this-video-breakdown-shows-why
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/artic...-damn-i-want-it-to-live-for-the-next-20-years
I'm hoping he'll surprise us with another album..the video stated that the brick wall was red and on the back it was blue..sounwave said.."But what if I told you...that's not the official version.."and then he showed a pic of Morpheus..hmm..it didn't drop on Easter Sunday but I wouldn't be surprised if Kdot dropped another one soon..sorta like Ice Cube's War and Peace..sorta like B.I.G.'s Life After Death(even tho LAD came out all at once)..and even Game's The Documentary 2 and 2.5..I believe there is a concept for this one..well at least I want to believe this
The Rumors Were Right. Kendrick Lamar DID Release 2 New Albums.
Merely hours after Kendrick Lamar released his masterful new album, DAMN., a rumor surfaced that set the internet ablaze. It is unclear who the original author was, but the theory was Kendrick actually had plans to release 2 albums that weekend. The details were wildly creative yet also stunningly detailed…all the ingredients to make what would typically be dismissed as a fanciful rumor stick.
The key elements of the theory were as follows. DAMN. was released on Good Friday and represented Kendrick’s death. Speculators suggested he would release another album titled NATION. on Easter Sunday, representing his resurrection. When put together, the entire project would thus be DAMNATION. Kendrick has had an element of spirituality in much of his music, dating back to his album Section.80, which had songs like “Kush & Corinthians” and featured a bible on the artwork. He also said in an interview with The New York Times leading up to the album’s release that “We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it’s almost in conflict with what’s going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system. This is what goes on in my mind as a writer.”
The details supporting the theory were plentiful. The last letters in each song were capitalized, ended with a period and spilled onto a white background to highlight them. Theorists speculated they were intended as an anagram. When re-arranged, the letters spelled out a couple of phrases that bolstered the concept, such as “Earth led 2 death” and “Death 2 the leader.” Beyond that, the “M” in DAMN. was positioned over Kendrick’s head, such that it could be seen as devil’s horns. The belief was that on the cover of NATION., the “O” would be over his head, representing a halo. The cover of DAMN. was red, and the conjecture was NATION’s artwork would be blue. Kendrick, himself, added fuel to the fire by changing his Spotify profile picture shortly after DAMN’s release, going from one which had him in front of a red background to another that had him in front of a blue background. Soon, fake artwork for NATION. appeared.
For 2 days the music world waited with bated breath to see if NATION. would be released. When it wasn’t, the theory died down, only to be rekindled days later when Kendrick said, during an album signing session, “I got some more music.” Those words caused such a furor that he later had to issue an official statement saying “KenFolk. ThankU 4 the desire of always anticipating new music of my own. None is coming. My work will be in our future TDE dates tho.”
https://twitter.com/kendricklamar
Naturally, fans were disappointed because it was a mind-bending concept, and Kendrick was just the type of artist to pull it off. Well, two weeks after digesting DAMN., it turns out the rumor was true. Kendrick Lamar DID release 2 new albums. Most of us just didn’t realize it.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, the only one Kendrick has done since DAMN.‘s release, Kendrick was extremely cagey about the overall concept for the album. He did drop 2 major hints, for those listening closely. In discussing the opening song, “BLOOD.,” Lowe asks “Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?” “I can’t tell you that. That’s what I can’t tell you,” Kendrick says with a grin. “Come on, now. That’s the whole thing!,” he continues.
It turns out that was one of the most meaningful exchanges in the entire 44-minute interview. “BLOOD.” opens with “Is it wickedness. Is it weakness. You decide. Are we going to live or die?” That is the key to the entire sonic journey that Kendrick has architected with DAMN.
The theme of “wickedness or weakness” is one that plays out through the entire project. Kendrick asks the question multiple times. It is a deeply philosophical question akin to whether our paths are determined by destiny or whether we have free will to make our own choices. We all sin. There’s no debate about that. What Kendrick wants to know is are our transgressions a result of wickedness that is native to us or do we just have moments of weakness that can be overcome by choosing to walk the righteous path. Kendrick never gives us a definitive answer to the question, but he made 2 albums with 2 different endings—one where the answer is wickedness, which leads to his death, and another where the answer is weakness which finds him alive and flourishing because weakness was overcome. When Kendrick says “You decide. Are we going to live or die,” on “BLOOD.,” those words are deeply intentional. He is literally telling us as listeners that, as many of us did as kids when we read books that allowed us to pick from multiple endings, we have the choice to experience DAMN. 2 completely different ways.
Kendrick Lamar Has A Battle Of Wills & Raps With Don Cheadle For His DNA (Video)
The other critical hint Kendrick gave in his interview with Zane Lowe was in describing how to experience the album. “You have to listen to it over and over and over and over again to fully understand the direction and the message.” When Kendrick says “direction” it’s easy to assume he means the tones, themes, etc. However, for a man who makes a living using words extremely precisely, and often with double meanings, Kendrick may have been being quite literal when he chose to use the word “direction,” in connection with how to listen to DAMN.
When we listen to the album in the order in which it was released, it takes us down a path of gradual enlightenment. The question of “wickedness or weakness” is explored through several contrasting themes. Kendrick seems to make several choices that show he is not wicked and is often able to overcome weakness. The order of the song titles suggest the evolution. Kendrick moves from “LUST.” to “LOVE.,” “PRIDE.” to being “HUMBLE.,” having “FEAR.” to feeling like a “GOD.”
He struggles, for sure. He articulates his difficulty staying righteous on “FEAR.,” where he raps “I’m talkin’ fear, fear of losin’ loyalty from pride, ’cause my DNA won’t let me involve in the light of God. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that my humbleness is gone. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that love ain’t livin’ here no more. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that it’s wickedness or weakness. Fear, whatever it is, both is distinctive.” It is also on that record where Kendrick’s Uncle Carl gives him the answers for which he’s been searching. He tells Kendrick that people have been punished by God for not following God’s commandments, but they can lift God’s curses by living righteously.
The album culminates with “DUCKWORTH.,” the ultimate example of how curses can be reversed when people overcome their weaknesses and live righteously. In the song, Kendrick lays out the real-life story of how Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Kendrick’s mentor and the owner of his label, and Kendrick’s father, Ducky, knew each other as young men. Top had robbed the restaurant where Ducky worked before he started working there, and Top intended to do so again. Ducky sensed that Top was dangerous, and rather than treat him hostilely, he chose to act kindly by offering him free food. Top eventually decided against robbing Ducky. The two men would not see each other again for 20 years, and did not realize their profound connection through Kendrick, until the first time they met in the studio. Had either Top or Ducky acted differently 20 years prior, there lives may have been fundamentally different. As Kendrick raps:
“Pay attention, that one decision changed both of they lives, one curse at a time
Reverse the manifest and good karma, and I’ll tell you why
You take two strangers, and put ’em in random predicaments
Give ’em a soul, so they can make their own choices and live with it
Twenty years later, them same strangers you make ’em meet again
Inside recording studios where they reapin’ their benefits
Then you start remindin’ them about that chicken incident
Whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence?
Because if Anthony killed Ducky, Top Dawg could be servin’ life
While I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight”
Kendrick lays it all out in that one passage. We have souls and can make choices. Top Dawg could have chosen to rob Ducky, but he did not give in to the weakness of temptation. As a result, both Top and Ducky have prospered and Kendrick is thriving.
In addition to providing a mind-blowing end to the story of DAMN., “DUCKWORTH.” is also instructional. Near the beginning of the song, DJ Kid Capri says “We gonna put it in reverse.” Like most things on the album, that phrase can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. In listening to DAMN. from front to back, it could simply mean the album is going to go back in time. After all, most of “DUCKWORTH.” is about Top and Ducky’s lives decades ago. However, soon after the DAMN. and NATION. theory surfaced, another theory arose that suggested DAMN. was actually meant to be experienced in reverse order. Thus, in saying “let’s put it in reverse,” Kid Capri was being instructional rather than descriptive. That interpretation of Kid Capri’s words also unlocks the significance of Kendrick’s hint about listening to the album “over and over and over again to fully understand the direction.”
When listened to in reverse order, DAMN. takes on a completely different feeling. From the beginning of “DUCKWORTH.,” the wickedness (or destiny) theme begins to take shape. The song opens with “It was always me vs. the world. Until I found it’s me vs. me.” Right off the bat, Kendrick is telling us that in this journey he is not battling the choices that the world presents that allow for weakness. Instead, his battle is internal, likely with wickedness.
Aside from Kendrick progressively moving down a path of wickedness in the song titles–going from feeling like a “GOD.” to “FEAR.,” moving from “LOVE.” to “LUST.,” and going from being “HUMBLE.” to embracing “PRIDE.”–the album has a very different sonic arc, as well. In its original order DAMN. gets progressively more introspective and melodic, ending with the deeply soulful “DUCKWORTH.” In reverse, the album gets increasingly aggressive, culminating in the ultra hostile “DNA.” Where “DUCKWORTH.” is about choice and overcoming weakness, “DNA.” is all about Kendrick’s wickedness being hard wired into him. He literally ends his last verse by forecasting his death and acknowledging his inherent wickedness. “Tell me when destruction gonna be my fate, gonna be your fate, gonna be our faith. Peace to the world, let it rotate. Sex, money, murder—our DNA.”
Mike Will Made It Explains Why Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” Sounds So Crazy
Of course, the last song on the album in reverse is “BLOOD.,” and the final occurrence on the song is Kendrick dying from a gunshot. In reverse, Kendrick’s death is foreshadowed a number of times, starting on “DUCKWORTH.”–which culminated in a gunshot after the album is replayed at hyper-speed, backwards–and continuing through “DNA.” The person who shoots Kendrick is a woman, and that also likely not a coincidence. On his album To Pimp A Butterfly, he makes a number of references to “Lucy,” short for Lucifer. Lucy is a temptress, always luring Kendrick into destructive situations and, just as Kendrick had an in-person encounter with God on TPAB‘s “How Much A Dollar Cost,” it’s not far fetched to believe that his walking down a path of wickedness would end with his death literally at the hands of the devil.
In addition to the dramatic ending “BLOOD.” provides the album, as the last song, other parts of DAMN. start to fit together differently when it is played in reverse order. For example, going back to “FEAR.,” the last thing Uncle Carl says on the record is “Until we come back to these laws, statutes, and commandments, and do what the Lord said, these curses are gonna be upon us. We’re gonna be at a lower state in this life that we live here in today, in the United States of America. I love you, son, and I pray for you. God bless you, shalom.” In reverse order, the next song is “XXX.” which opens with Bekon singing “America, God bless you if it’s good to you. America, please take my hand. Can you help me underst…”
With nuances like that unlocking, it’s easy to start to believe that the “right” order in which to play DAMN. is, indeed, in reverse. But, again, the very first words we hear on the album, when starting with “BLOOD.” are “Is it wickedness? Is it weakness? You decide. Are we gonna live or die?” “DUCKWORTH.” ends with Kendrick living and thriving because Top resisted weakness and made choices that broke the curses of which Uncle Carl spoke in “FEAR.” “BLOOD.” ends with Kendrick dying because the wickedness coded into his DNA has caused him to fall from grace into the hands of the devil. Is “BLOOD.” the beginning or the end? “That’s the whole thing!”
Kendrick’s response to Zane Lowe and “BLOOD.’s” opening words suggest that the album is meant to be experienced in both directions. A tweet by Sounwave, Kendrick’s longtime collaborator, also supports the theory. Before the album was released he posted a cryptic tweet. It was simply a picture of Laurence Fishburne’s character “Morpheus,” from the film The Matrix. The picture is of Morpheus seated in the chair when he offers the main character the choice of which existence he wants to have. “You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”“You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes,” Morpheus says. Red and Blue. There are those two colors, again.
View image on Twitter
Kendrick did release two albums on April 14. The first album, the forward version, is the Red album, since it is one of enlightenment. Humans succumb to their weaknesses at times, but are also able to overcome them and live righteously. The second album, which plays in reverse, is the Blue album since it ends in death (and was the second color Kendrick uploaded on his Spotify profile). It is one in which wickedness is fateful and fatal.
Besides the song order and bookends/beginnings of “BLOOD.” and “DUCKWORTH.,” there are loads of other themes and occurrences that take place throughout the album, that change its arc and meaning depending on which direction it is played. Kid Capri’s role is one of the most readily accessible examples. When played in its original order, he does not appear until the third song, “YAH.” He simply says “New sh*t. New Kung Fu Kenny.” He appears several other times, and his presence feels like a throwback to his mixtape days in the 90s and 00s, where his drops were an integral part of setting the energy for the tape. When played in reverse, however, Kid Capri’s words seem more like they are advancing the narrative of the story, rather than ad libs to set the mood. In addition to his directions to put it in reverse on “DUCKWORTH.,” transitions like the one between “FEEL.” and “ELEMENT.” start to seem more like commentary. After Kendrick has repeated his refrain of “Ain’t nobody praying for me multiple times,” Kid Capri affirms it on “ELEMENT.,” saying “New Kung Fu Kenny. Ain’t nobody praying for me.” However, he also says “Y’all know what happens on Earth stays on Earth,” foreshadowing Kendrick’s death.
Other examples include the role Kendrick’s Uncle Carl plays on the album. In forward order, Kendrick briefly references him on “YAH.,” but it isn’t until “FEAR.” that we understand his huge significance. After Kendrick has said “ain’t nobody praying for me” a number of times throughout the album, we learn that his Uncle Carl actually literally is praying for Kendrick, and Carl’s revelations seem to be what allow Kendrick to become righteous and thrive.
When played in reverse, however, by continuing to go down a wicked path after receiving Uncle Carl’s knowledge, Kendrick seems to rebuff his words of wisdom. It leads to an increased sense of isolation, which is heard on “FEAR.,” and he outright rejects Carl on “YAH” where he says “My cousin called, my cousin Carl Duckworth. Said know my worth and Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed. I know he walks the Earth, but it’s money to get, bitches to hit.” His disregard of Carl’s teachings causes him to remain cursed and it ultimately costs him his life.
There are certainly several other examples. DAMN. is as dense as it gets…both versions. In his interview with Zane Lowe Kendrick said of the album “I want it to live for the next 20 years.” Given the unbelievable originality of is double album within an album, it seems very likely DAMN. will live for a long, long time.
Similar threads
