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good kid, m.A.A.d City: A short film. Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album. Exploring complex topics peer pressure as we travel through a story of Kendrick’s upbringing in Compton traversing the chaotic streets, questing for money, courting girls, and falling victim of peer pressure. Beginning a journey of self discovery that plays a theme throughout the rest of his discography.
Kicking off with a prayer “Dear lord, I come to you a sinner/ and I humbly repent for my sins” (Kendrick Lamar). This is him acknowledging his failures, his “sins” in his current form before he will explore his childhood experiences and stories. This prayer will be repeated throughout the rest of the album. In the first song Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter meets Sherane at a party. This girl which he will develop deep feelings for, but interested in only the superficial, animalistic, physical ways. This is important to understanding his story as he develops beyond this one-dimensional simplistic way of thinking. Coming from a voice message as the track comes to a close his mom will urge Kendrick not to mess, “with them damn hood-rats out there, shit/ ‘specially that crazy-ass girl Sherane” (Kendrick Lamar). Cutting to current in Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe Kendrick will talk to many people in this story, God being important for them. As aforementioned the prayer, he talks about how his music is to help people and show love, how others are using rap and hip-hop just for money. “Look inside of my soul and you can find gold and maybe get rich/Look inside of your soul and you can find out it never exists” (Kendrick Lamar). He is using this musical platform to explore himself and uplift others onto a “different axel” pointing to his growth looking further than the physical and his young thoughts. Backseat freestyle shoveling off with a hard catchy beat-switch differing from the previous songs, perfect for any gym-goer, cutting back and showcasing his early desires. In this he is screaming “All my life i want money and power” will first introduce how susceptible young Kendrick was to peer pressure (Kendrick Lamar). Delivering this freestyle in the back of the car with his friends. Does he really want this “Money and power” or is that what he has been accustomed to believe. This attention. Continued in a personal favorite in The art of peer pressure how he changes his mindstate, and how his morality conflicts when he’s “with the homies” (Kendrick Lamar). As his friends drive around town he will flirt with girls, break into a house, and eventually smoke a blunt. It’s clear how this conflicts with his morality, he begins to lose himself. He usually isn’t like this going against his beliefs but “shit, I’m with the homies right now” (Kendrick Lamar). Ending the track with a lucky escape, where the cops made a wrong turn barely escaping. In the most streamed track Money Trees plants a seed where we begin Kendrick's desire for something greater. Hoping to find a “Money tree” , this semi-infinite source of money to “live life like rappers do” tearing him apart in hoping for this check battling the good, hallelujah, and bad, Halle Berry (Kendrick Lamar). How much of his life and morality is he willing to sacrifice, to live that life. He comes to a realization that if he had that money, does he still want Sherane? Beginning the thought of wanting a real love. This beautiful love, coming to deeper understanding of these topics, a Poetic Justice. Wanting to grow, he wants a real love which he is finding Sherane cannot provide. “She wanna go and party” Kendrick won’t share this same desire and in a line following “conversation rule a nation” (Kendrick Lamar). How talking will fix these issues, but she wants to party. Where Sherane will meet another, this character formulating itself in Drake’s verse as she dances between their emotions. In the ending verse Kendrick shows how he writes for growth just as in Bitch, Don’t kill my vibe “Makin’ sure my punctuation curve, every letter here’s true” the genuine Kendrick will put on the forefront (Kendrick Lamar). “Can a flower bloom in a dark room” this sums up the album of how Kendrick is trying to bloom in Compton (Kendrick Lamar). Ask yourself, can it bloom? If so, what will it take? The dark room of Compton is traversed through in good kid. The story of good kid traps him, stuck with people attacking him, even if he is ready to change. This gang attacks him, assuming he is a part of a rival gang. The ill education as this is all the city is. The chaotic mess that entraps him, the song will end abruptly no skit or outro. His crazed mind is unraveling in Maad City the crazed city from good kid how as a 9 year old seeing someone shot changed him. No one else understands him and how hard it was growing up in Compton. The blunt that he took in the art of peer pressure with unknown contents is catching up to him. Even with this growth and ideas explored the addiction and pressure gets to him in Swimming Pools(Drank). Why do these people want to drink “Some people like the way it feels/some people wanna kill their sorrows/ some people wanna fit in with the popular, that was my problem” (Kendrick Lamar). In the rest of the song he talks with his consciousness, why is he doing this, what reasons extend beyond this. Realizing the damage this is doing to him. Is the solution in “the bottom of a bottle” (Kendrick Lamar). Ending in a skit with gunshots where his friends search for revenge from what happened earlier in the story of good kid. Ending with his friend Dave dying and affecting his brother who experienced this first day. Sing about me, I’m dying of thirst the longest part of the song, where his group takes a moment to reflect. The dreams and memories of that night continue repeating. Wanting to be remembered, and valued to be sung about me. He asks a question “Am I worth it?” to be sung about to be remembered (Kendrick Lamar). A skit appears half way through “So what we gon’ do” and Dave’s brother will scream “I’m tired of this shit! I’m tired of fuckin’ runnin’” it’s not just Kendrick wanting to escape Compton (Kendrick Lamar). I’m dying of thirst means the need for salvation, and holy water. The ending skit, with an elderly person shining light angry that they have a gun and need to be baptized, ends the song into a prayer. Kendrick will finally show pride in who he is, a change. The main message of real is being real, “what’s love got to do when you don’t love yourself” (Kendrick Lamar). In a call his mom and dad will be angry, for Kendrick stealing the van messing with them. This switches as his dad shows sympathy for Dave dying, ending as his mom relays the info that TDE or top dawg entertainment shows interest in his music. To be real. Fast forward to the future, he signed in TDE living a good life. He won’t forget Compton, hating and scared of Compton. He shows love, the resolution in Compton with Dr. Dre, he gives back. Every kid in Compton is a good kid, but trapped within a crazy city trying to bloom in a dark room.
Turtle Modesitt is a senior here at Poudre High. Outside of school, his interests include skiing, rafting, and being outdoors. Post-graduation he plans on traveling the world and taking a gap year before eventually going back to school. Taking a large interest in school his column will dive into the meaning and influence of albums focusing heavily on the HipHop and RnB genres
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