DAMN., and the Two Tales of Kendrick
What if I told you, there’s more to “DAMN.” than meets your ears?
Kendrick Lamar is on top of the hip-hop world and everyone knows it. His diehards consider him a prophet hailing from the city of Compton. Kendrick’s latest work DAMN. certainly lives up to those claims and expectations.
When I listened through DAMN. for the first couple of times, I was happy because of its replay value. I knew it would take a few days or even weeks to really understand King Kenny’s sermon. So, after digesting a few more listens and after focusing in on the lyrics, messages, and themes, I began to realize how genius the project is and what it really meant. This album tells the Tale of Two Kendricks.
Let me explain….
We all know the traditional way of listening to any album is from beginning to end, start to finish, right? Well, maybe not for K-Dot. DAMN. has a bunch of recurring themes in the album. To name a few: religion & God, free will, and good vs. evil. The most important theme that sticks out in DAMN. is duality. Simply put, the album is two-in-one from the beginning to end and end to beginning.
When listening to DAMN. from beginning to end, it tells a story of progression with the lingering question of “Is it wickedness or weakness?” The names of each song also suggest that there’s an evolution of Kendrick, such as ““LUST.” to “LOVE.,” “PRIDE.” to being “HUMBLE.,” having “FEAR.” to being like “GOD.” But through this evolution comes pain and struggle.
He paints the struggles of this evolution in two of most vital songs in the album in “FEEL.” and “FEAR.” In “FEEL.”, Kendrick says: “I feel like it’s just me/ Look, I feel like I can’t breathe/ Look, I feel like I can’t sleep/ Look, I feel heartless/ often off this feelin’ of fallin’/ of fallin’ apart with darkest hours, lost it.”
In the last verse of “FEAR.,” he shows his hand on the table:
I’m talkin’ fear, fear of losin’ creativity/ I’m talkin’ fear, fear of missin’ out on you and me/ I’m talkin’ fear, fear of losin’ loyalty from pride.
He then elaborates on the depths of this fear:
“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/ Fear, what happens on Earth stays on Earth/ And I can’t take these feelings with me/ So hopefully they disperse.” (“FEAR.”)
The album ends with “DUCKWORTH.,” which is the pinnacle of his prophecy. It discusses the true story of Kendrick’s father, “Ducky,” and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, who is the head of Top Dawg Entertainment and Kendrick’s mentor. This track talks again about how each of us can make choices, just as Top Dawg chose not to kill Ducky after Ducky chose to be kind and give Top Dawg free food while at gunpoint. If either of these individuals chose differently, then each of their lives (and Kendrick’s) would be entirely different, or perhaps, cease to exist. The song ends with the prompt of the album replaying in reverse. Thus, an entirely new album.
Hashtag, the Tale of Two Kendricks.
When played in reverse, DAMN. encompasses a whole new sentiment. Starting with “DUCKWORTH.,” the album starts with, “It was always me vs. the world/ Until I found it’s me vs. me.” This side of the coin tells a story about a regression to wickedness, and it can be heard in how angry it gets toward the end with “DNA.” Kendrick shares how “I got, I got, I got, I got realness/ I just kill shit/ ’cause it’s in my DNA,” and how it’ll result in his demise.
The last song on this side of the album is “BLOOD.,” which is the most fitting title for a wicked ending. It results in Kendrick approaching a blind woman, Lucy, and offers her help in finding something she lost. Lucy, who symbolizes the devil in Lucifer, takes Kendrick’s life at the end of the album…
Wickedness.
After understanding the complexity that is DAMN., it’s hard to believe how well thought out it truly is. The project is a masterpiece. Kendrick Lamar, you’ve done it again. I’m not saying DAMN. is necessarily better than To Pimp a Butterfly, per se, but this album is (these albums are) a classic in its own respect. I cannot wait for what’s next in the Gospel of Kendrick.
