May 9, 2022

The overall theme here is pretty clearly these are all black men who were/are huge inspirations to people, and whose legacies were abruptly ended/tarnished either by controversy in their personal life or by untimely death.

edit: I wanna reword the above. These people's legacies weren't "ended," they were more "effected" or "altered" in a way that's distinct for each of them.

No option if you froze up, always play the offense

ie Kanye never flinches or backs down for better and (lately, mostly) for worse.

Also 'grab you by your pockets' I think is a ref to how people take advantage of kanye monetarily during his manic episodes.

I think it's more like, Will is clearly hurt by the whole Jada/August thing and going from the definition of cool to being largely thought of as a cuck and him lashing out against Chris Rock less about Chris Rock's joke and more about his own hurt. He's hurting other people cuz he feels hurt. Then his face stays as Will for the hook:

I want the hood to want me back (I want, I want, I want, I want)
I want the hood
Look what I done for you (Look what I done for you)
Look what I done for you

Which I interpret as like, don't condemn this man who's been a source of inspiration and positivity for people for over two decades from one instance that I'm sure won't be repeated.

Where the energy is magnified and persevered

Reflectin' on my life and what I done
Paid dues, made rules, change outta love

Only thing I have for this is that Kobe's colossal legacy is in part tarnished by the r--- case. Or perhaps that, in spite of something as serious as a r--- charge, his legacy still is colossal. I don't know enough about the case to comment beyond that.

As I bleed through the speakers, feel my presence
To my brother, to my kids, I'm in Heaven
To my mother, to my sis, I'm in Heaven
To my father, to my wife, I am serious, this is Heaven
To my friends, make sure you countin' them blessings
To my fans, make sure you make them investments

I completed my mission, wasn't ready to leave
But fulfilled my days, my Creator was pleased

Nipsey's presence and positivity is still felt after his death. He was an extremely good person (I can't emphasize this enough) who did a lot for his community and would help out in any way he could. When Nipsey was killed, he was leaving his clothing store after outfitting his friend who just got out of jail in nice clothes I believe so he could look nice for a job interview.

 

May 9, 2022

^and they said an English degree is worthless, clearly im v good at interpreting lyrics on a kendrick lamar messageboard

 

May 9, 2022

this song is kinda like This Is America in that the video makes it 10x better than it would be audio alone. Not a track I would really listen to much without the video unless it was sequenced in an album, but it's a good street single to build hype and get people talking.

 

May 12, 2022

So I'm not even all that huge on this song—it's cool/a good street single to get people talking on social media, but the video's the best part and I doubt I'll be listening to it much unless it's on the album itself—but it drawing this sort of viscerally negative reaction is strange to me. Like at worst it's boring/inoffensive lol.

 

May 12, 2022

Fair enough—but I think "awful" or "unlistenable" is pretty hyperbolic.

 

May 10, 2022

kendrick's no Tony Yayo, that's for sure

 

May 9, 2022

whenever marsh says "the hood" it reminds me of how conservative talking heads say "thugs"

 

May 9, 2022

Great track and video, the face morphs are so well done—super trippy and almost uncanny valley in a good way to the point that it makes you question your own eyesight. Whoever did the effects deserves an award.

 

May 9, 2022

Cool concept and all, but won't be listening to this again. Good that he dropped something for the hype though