Dissect - Kendrick drops "Watch The Party Die" - is an album next?

Episode Date: September 12, 2024

Cole dissects Kendrick Lamar's new song unofficially titled "Watch The Party Die" and theorizes about the possibility of new album coming soon as soon as Friday the 13th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome everyone to a special episode of Dysect. I'm your host, Cole Kushna. On today's emergency podcast episode, we are talking about Kendrick Lamar's brand new song, Watch the Party Die, slash Dear God. We're going to talk about the song in broad strokes, dissect a few individual lines. We're going to speculate on what it all might mean, what might be coming in the very near future. Just a forewarning, this is going to be a little bit different than typical episodes. I'm not going to do a line-by-line analysis. This song dropped, what, 12 hours ago? or something. And there's definitely a chance that something might be coming tonight as early as tonight. Who knows? But I wanted to get this episode up sooner than later because things could possibly

start moving very quickly. And so let's talk about it. New song, Watch the Party Die slash Dear God. Importantly, it drops on September 11th. It drops at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Prime Time. We'll talk about the significance of that. In a second, it's an IG exclusive song, at least for now. just like 616 in L.A. The cover art is a pair of beat-up Air Force One's black Air Force One shoes. We'll talk about that. And the song is very much, at least to me, in that 616 in L.A. Kind of overall feeling.

It feels like a precursor to something else. Just like 616 in L.A. was a precursor to the kind of the main event of the battle. Kendrick is talking to God directly again as if something is about to happen and asking him to watch over him. And so my personal kind of immediate interpretation of the song is that it does feel like a precursor. It does feel very much in the vein of the Hart series, which are the pre-album singles that he tends to drop just before an album release or just before album rollout. We'll talk more about that in a second. Also, let's remember just a few days ago, he announced that he's going to be performing at the Super Bowl. And he made an announcement video that had several Easter eggs that I did

an entire episode on that you can listen to if you haven't. But at the end of that video, he did say, now we can get to the real thing, which we speculated could mean that the real thing is the album and that the battle was kind of practice or the kind of pre-event leading up to the album. So there's more evidence pointing to that theory in the song, watch the party die. But let's talk about the release date because if you've been listening to these Lucy episodes that I've been dropping about the battle, about the Super Bowl announcement, you probably already put together that September 11th continues this American theme that has been running throughout the battle where Kendrick is strategically dropping or doing

events on American holidays. For example, the pop-out show was on Juneteenth. He released the Not Like Us music video on July 4th. The Super Bowl is a kind of American holiday. And September 11th is obviously not a holiday, but it is very successful. significant in American history. And the kind of mournful tragedy of September 11th is kind of alluded to or played on as a motif in Watch the Party Die, which is very somber and mournful, even in the title, Watch the Party Die. If that's the title, by the way, that's kind of the working title

people are running with, although Glasses Malone, who is a musician from L.A. that Kendrick has shouted out and worked with before said on Twitter that the song was called Dear God. So that seems like a reliable source. I'm going to mostly run with Watch the Party Die just because that's what most people are saying at this point. So September 11th, at least in my mind, is totally intentional, especially given the subject matter of the song. So in the moment, especially given that there's two shoes on the cover art

and there was two buildings in the September 11th attacks, myself and others online were speculating that maybe there is something else coming on the same night. And I was personally driven to this theory because of, what I saw on Twitter where DJ Head and a few other people close to Kendrick said things like stay tuned, stay on stream, there's more coming. So those tweets plus September 11th, two towers, two shoes on the cover. I was preparing for something else. That obviously never came or at least didn't come last night on September 11th. Though again, we'll talk about in a second. There definitely

does seem to be something coming somewhat soon maybe. But let's talk more about the cover art. The cover art is two Black Air Force Ones. The photo is from an eBay listing, a recent eBay listing. It seems like Kendrick or whoever pulled it directly from this eBay listing. The shoes actually sold, I believe, like just yesterday. As you probably already know, Black Air Force Ones have this reputation, the symbolism that people that wear Black Air Force Ones are kind of diabolical. They're sinister. They're about to do something. They have a kind of don't give a fuck attitude. So that definitely matches the energy Kendrick is giving on the song. So let's jump into the song itself. It's produced by, I believe, at least this is what Genius has in the moment. I'm not sure where Genius is getting their

information from, but it's kind of all we have to go on at this moment. So the producers listed are Pasque, hopefully I'm saying that right. P-A-S-Q-U-E. He is most well known for his production with Amine. Anka Trio Plus One is also credited, Jack Antonoff and Soundwave. Jack Antonoff, of course, most famous for his production of Taylor Swift, Soundwave, Kendrick's long-time producer. Also, Jack Antonoff and Soundwave produced 616 in LA. And Jack Antonov and Soundwave have a trio called Red Hearse with Sam Do. Sam Doe is the singer that you hear on the beginning of Mr. Morrell. They have a trio called Red Hurst.

They dropped a project in 2019. So that kind of explains the Jack Antonoff credits here and also on 616 in L.A. Also, in case he didn't put it together. Jack Antonoff on 616 was very symbolic. It was a response to Drake's Taylor Made Freestyle, where Drake was essentially saying that Kendrick was scared of Taylor Swift, and then Kendrick gets Taylor Swift's producer to produce a song for him, firing back at Drake. But I'm already getting sidetrack. Let's get back to watch the party die. The production, I like it. It's definitely very understated, very kind of melancholic, kind of running end credits on a movie or something.

given all the producers on the track, if this is actually the real production list, it sounds like maybe it's not sampled. Originally, I was thinking it was a sample, but the more I listened to it, it could very well be an original composition that was then affected, just give it that kind of sampled, vintage sound. In any case, it's a kind of mournful backdrop for Kendrick's kind of expose, and what I'm interpreting as reflecting on the beef. So originally I was thinking that this song was a precursor to another song, that might be kind of a big revelation about certain people in the industry. And again, that was kind of me running with this thought fueled by something said on Twitter that another song was coming.

So I was like, okay, two towers. This is the precursor. And the second one is going to be the big bomb where maybe some things that didn't get revealed in the beef about, not necessarily about Drake, but just about the industry predators at large. some kind of revelation was coming. But that song not coming, or at least on the same night, and the more that I listened to this song, it feels kind of like an epilogue, a reflection on the battle. It feels like in part like a reset, but also setting up things to come. So obviously it's got a lot of lyrics. There's three full verses on this thing, but really you can put the subject matter into two buckets. And classic Kendrick, it's definitely a duality, kind of this good and evil

on one side you have kind of the industry evils, things that make Kendrick sick to his stomach, it seems like, and things that he wants to purge. And on the other side, you have this idea of a new earth, a better future, hope for tomorrow after this kind of purge of industry evils. So we're going to talk through each verse in broad strokes, but you'll see that you can kind of put the lyrics in one of two buckets throughout, either applying to industry evils or this. idea of purging of this better future and the purge and the revelation or the expose of these industry evils being part of the necessary tear down before the rebuild. I think it's time to watch the party die. The shit doesn't got too wicked to apologize. It's different getting whacked than disqualified.

We even kill the killers because they like taking innocent lives. Burn a whole village. We start over. It's really that time. Why reason with these niggas if they can't see the future first? Why argue with these clowns if the circus is well at work? Just walk that man down. That'll do heavy one a solid.

It's love but tough love sometimes got a resort in violence. If you parade in gluttony without giving truth to the youth, the graveyard is company. Just tell us what cats get the truth. They party more than bitches. Tell me what are you working for. They glorify scamming. You get chipped over this credit card.

Influencers talk down because I'm not with the basic shit. But they don't hate me. They hate the man that I represent. The type of man that never did ride because I want a favor. The man that resolves. So where the soldiers at? The ones that lost it all and learned to learn from that. A thirst for life.

Head inside a book because he concerned with that. Information that'll change his life because he earns for that. Dedication, finding out what's right because he can earn from that. I feel for the women that deal with the clown and nerd shit. Can't blame them. Today they ain't really got much to work with. How many bitches harder than a lot of you niggas. We'll trade haul of y'all for nip.

I can't be proud of you niggas. So let's start with verse one, which to me very clearly kind of talks about the beef in retrospect. He says, I think it's time to watch the party die. The party, I think, is a metaphor for one, the battle, which was this big spectacle that everyone kind of had fun observing. So on one hand, I think that's what the party means in this song. But it also very clearly alludes to this idea of the industry and this kind of party mentality, this irresponsibility, the quite literal parties that they throw and the things that occur at

those parties. Kendrick is taking direct aim at that side of the industry. the players and the predators that prop up that side of the industry that participate in these kind of immoral acts doing these shady things behind the scenes. Kendrick is taking direct aim killing the party. He's talking about killing throughout this entire song. And I think that's the main metaphor of the party. It's at once acknowledging that the battle is over and he's moving on, just like he said in the NFL Super Bowl announcement and him taking aim and killing these predators. So he says, the shit done got too wicked to apologize. It's different. Get him

whacked and disqualified. Later, he says, just walk that man down. That'll do everyone a solid. It's love, but tough love sometimes got to result in violence. If you parade and gluttony without giving the truth to the youth, the graveyard is company. Just tell us what casket to choose. So I don't think the song is about Drake, but Drake, if you've been listening to my analysis of the battle, and it feels even more clear after this song that Drake, was a symbol, the biggest symbol of a certain type or a certain side of the industry that Kendrick despises, someone disrespecting the art form, disrespecting the culture, selfishly kind of cosplaying with the culture for his own personal gain, womanizing, doing shady things behind

the scenes. If you believe the things that were said and meet the grams, there's a possibility that it gets very dark. And so Kendrick taking aim and killing Drake metaphorically into battle symbolized Kendrick going after a certain part of hip hop and culture and exposing the kind of fallacy of what Drake represents. And like I said, throughout my analysis, the battle itself and probably the album to come is kind of like this restoration act. It is an attempt to return hip hop or get hip hop back closer to its roots, where in recent years and recent decades, it's become this global phenomenon. There's a lot of players, a lot of actors, a lot of imitators, a lot of people looking to selfishly gain from it without giving back to it or giving to it. That's been a theme

throughout the beef in the songs. It got magnified in the pop out show and even the Not Like Us music video. Kendrick using his wind to center his culture, his community. And again, it's kind of this restoration act, which is a big theme of this song. The song to me is one of the bigger pieces of evidence that formalized that theory. So the first kind of two-thirds of the first verse is really going after again that side of the industry, giving kind of reasons for which he engaged in this battle, reflecting on it. He's also throwing shots throughout calling them circus clowns, calling out influencers that were talking down on him, kind of siding with Drake, people like DJ academics, pushing propaganda throughout the battle. But then he says this, but they don't

hate me, they hate the man that I represent, the type of man that never dick ride because I want a favor, the man that resides in patience. And so this becomes a pivot point in the verse because Kendrick is clearly drawing this duality between him and Drake, between the kind of people that he aligns himself with, people like Nipsey Hustle, he's going to call out at the end of the verse, and people like Drake. Again, Kendrick is using himself and Drake as symbols of this duality. And so he pivots here to the other side and he says where are the soldiers at the ones that lost it all to learn from that a thirst for life head inside of a book because he's concerned with that information that'll change his life because he yearns for that dedication finding out what's right because he can

earn from that and so this is all about morality about improving your life specifically within his community about using your influence in the right way and that's why he says at the end of the verse would trade all of y'all for nip. I can't be proud of you, N-words. So again, expressing is discussed, drawing a line between people like him and Nipsey, who were working to better their community, who were using their influence for good, who actually really thought about morality and how to improve things around them, obviously making mistakes along the way, not always getting it right, but someone that is trying, at least trying to use their influence for good. And so this gets us to the chorus, which is Kendrick once again talking to

just like he did in 616 before the heart of the battle. throughout the course saying things like give me life dear god please give me peace please keep them lame and words away from me keep me and then tellingly dear god draw the line they trying to confuse them with me so again quite literally drawing a line between him and these predator people in the industry that he despises he also says dear god please forgive me you know how hard i tried i think it's time for me to watch the party die So this really reminded me of 616. Once again, Kendrick reflecting before a big event, talking to God directly. It feels just like that kind of precursor to something larger. Kendrick kind of taking a breath before his life changes before he puts out a body of work. This is what the heart series traditionally does. So we won't know if he actually gives us a formal heart song before the album. In due time, we'll figure that out, of course.

but if we don't get one, it feels like this is functioning as one, at least in my interpretation in this moment. All right, so let's take a quick break, got to pay some bills, and then we're going to talk about verse two and the rest of the song. All right, welcome back. Let's dive straight into verse two. I think it's time to watch the party die. Street knickers and the corporate guys, the rappers that report the lies.

I need their families mortify. We can do life without them, give their bodies organized. Tell me if you oblige. A pillow talking jumpstarting neighborhood wars. Dirty Macan bitches because your spirit is insecure. The flashy knicker with nasty decisions using money as a backbone. I want his head crack before he's back home. The radio personality pushing propaganda for salary.

Let me know when they turn up as a casualty. I want agony, assault and battery. I see a new earth filled with beautiful people making humanity work. Let's kill the followers that follow up on pop and mollies from the obvious degenerates that's felon to acknowledge the hope that we're trying to spread. If I'm not as bold, then you need to bring his fucking head. I'll film that shit in high rest. All right.

So he starts verse two, again, attacking industry predators. Again, starting with, I think it's time to watch the party die. Street N-words and the corporate guys, the rappers that report the lies, I need their families, mortified. So he's taking this metaphor of killing of watching the party die. And that's his way of expressing that he's eliminating this side of the industry. He's taking direct aim at them, trying his best to put an end to it. He continues the attacks on the kind of immorality of this side of the industry, saying dirty mac and bitches, using money as a backbone, calls out radio personality pushing propaganda for salary that feels like DJ academics and those types of streamers. So obviously I'm not going into the nitty gritty of the lyricism, but there's great writing throughout this entire thing.

Personality, pushing propaganda, great alliteration. Obviously, Kendrick's a great writer, one of the best ever, and he's only getting better. But again, in the second verse about midway through, we get another pivot. So he starts with the industry predators. And midway through he pivots to the other side. He says, I see a new earth filled with beautiful people making humanity work. Let's kill the followers that follow up on pop and mollies from the obvious degenerates that's failing to acknowledge the hope that we've been trying to spread.

If I'm not his vote, then you need to bring his fucking head. I'll film that shit in high res. So the duality is very clear here. he gets very poetic, speaking very beautifully of this future, this new earth that he imagines, and contrasting it with this very vile language, violence-based metaphors of, if you're not on this side, if you are degenerate, if you are contributing to the evils of the world, it's off with your head. But when I heard specifically him say a new earth again, he said that back on, I think, rich spirit, right, on Mr. Morrell. And Eckhart Tolley has a

book called A New Earth, Eckart Tolle, of course, is the quote-unquote therapist on the Misnamarral album. So I've been reading that book lately, wink, wink, and the idea of a new earth, it's based on what Jesus said about a new heaven and a new earth, is the transformed state of the earth post-awakening, post-spiritual awakening on a broad, wide scale. The premise of Tolet's work in that book is that internal transformation becomes reflected in external transformation. So the basic idea is that a new heaven is personal transformation through presence, through awareness, through connecting with a larger source. Some call that God, but Tolet is more about presence, about the moment. And when enough people awaken or experience this internal

transformation, it will create and reflect in the external world and bring about a new earth. And so I don't know if Kendrick is using a new earth specifically in the way that Eichhardt totally does, but he is saying the phrase quite often, and it does feel like he is imagining a similar transformation. And again, this idea of purging and targeting and eliminating the evils is going to help bring about that transformation. And it calls back to what he said in verse one about the soldiers, about people that are reading, that are trying to improve themselves, trying to improve the world rather than being degenerates, living for instant pleasure, instant gratification, and destroying the world in the process

and specifically to Kendrick destroying the genre and the art form that he loves and that he comes from that is in his blood, that is hip-hop. All right, so let's jump ahead to verse three. Let's hear that. And then we'll talk about it because this is where Kendrick gets his most introspective, kind of questioning his approach,

questioning things to come. And I think it's the verse that most obviously alludes to a new project coming. Sometimes I wonder what La Cray would do. Fuck these niggins. up or show them just what prayer do. I want to be empathetic my heart like D1, but I will...

It's time to get these devils out the way. Heavy metals on my swore. We settle hard disputes today. The ghetto Hollywood divorce say hello to your future fate. The culture bread with carnivores. You let them snack, they eat your face. The signatures is being forged. They wonder why I'm not in those to drive.

The more visible you get, the more your spiritual is tried. It's cynical to say I know these artists petrified. The end result in jailed by Jazzabelle, a trucked up full of lies. A little lies critical. I know my physical is tested all the time. I'm pitiful. Sunk in place soon as I'm questioning my pride. I'm seeing ghosts. Blacking out relapsing one thought at a time. I spend no feelings that ain't mine. I'm in my feelings when I slide. I mean, a nika wonder what Lecraver do. Terrace Martin said I'm mentally with layers true. I flood the market with my best regards. I paid your dues.

And so it's up if you ain't one of ours, it's bad news. My nica J. Estrada said I gotta burn it down to build it up. That confirmation will as fuck. It ain't too many will it's us. Locking into what I trust. Looking outside, the kids live tomorrow. Because today, the party just died. Okay, so he starts out the verse saying, sometimes I wonder what Lecrae would do. Fuck these N-words up or show them just what prayer do.

I want to be empathetic, my heart like D-1. So Lecray and D-1 are religious Christian rappers who have kind of spoken about the same things that Kendrick is speaking about in this song, kind of being critical of certain elements of hip-hop, of certain rappers. And so evoking these Christian rappers in the same way that you evoke what would Jesus do. Obviously there's a play there. But Kendrick here is questioning his own approach. And he's going to do that throughout this first half of the verse, kind of asking himself

if he's approaching this thing the right way, if he's going about it the right way, or should he be more empathetic? Should he not be so vicious? Should it just be done through example, through prayer, through empathy. Of course, we know this has been a little like a career long struggle for Kendrick, who on one hand is Mr. Morrell. On the other hand, he's a big stepper, a wicked, mis, weakness, good kid, mad, the duality has been running through his entire career. And this is his internal battle. The Gemini conflicted, forever conflicted, it seems like, his approach to change, where one side of him is empathetic, one side of him is kind of a killer, as the metaphor is in this song. There is an interesting moment of, I think, self-censorship in this part of the song.

He says, I want to be empathetic, my heart like D-1, but I would. And then the lyrics just go blank. And it feels like he cut part of the verse out. And if you look at what he says directly after that, he says, it's time to get these devils out the way. So obviously we have no idea what he says. But if he is saying, my heart like D-1, but I would, and D-1 maybe rhymes with son, I would kill someone in front of his son. I don't know.

It seems like he's saying something very wicked there. I don't know why else he would remove it from the song unless it went maybe too far. I don't know. We're speculating, of course. But given the context, given the setup of I would, but I would do something that is counter to being empathetic or like D1. And then following by saying, get these devils out the way. Heavy metals on my sword. Seems like something violent was alluded to there.

but let's move on he does pivot again there back to the kind of the evils he says it's time to get these devils out the way heavy metals on my sword we settle hard disputes today the ghetto hollywood divorce so this might be my most dissectable moment in the episode that i'm not really deep diving on too many of these individual lines but this one did catch my ear in real time because we just did a entire series on outcast discography and outcast has the song called hollywood divorce on the album idle wild and if you look at the lyrics of that song, it fits perfectly into the themes of this one. So as the title implies, the song is about removing or splitting up with Hollywood, aka the industry. And so the song essentially is an extended metaphor about cultural appropriation and show business. Let me just

read you a quote about the song. I pulled from genius, which is actually pretty good. Quote, the song conjectures that any genre created within black culture experiences a honeymoon phase in which the genre and its pioneer artists team up with Hollywood or the music industry like a marriage, but eventually a metaphorical divorce happens in which black artists are removed from the picture and the genre becomes appropriated by the industry. So pretty on the nose,

a pretty perfect reference in the song and what it's talking about. But then he continues the verse, I think alluding to an album drop, he says, they wonder why I'm not enthused to drop. The more visible you get, the more your spiritual is tried. So understanding the open secret that Kendrick does have an album, he's going to drop sometime soon. When he says, I'm not enthused to drop, he could be talking about just him being less visible now, putting out less work, generally speaking, sense, damn.

But knowing that he does have something to drop, it feels like he's talking specifically about that. And kind of the melancholic feeling of this song, where if it is the precursor, heart series style song, yeah, he doesn't sound enthused on this song. He sounds a little trepid and just having been through the cycle now numerous times, knowing the visibility, he's going to get the attention, the scrutiny of every single word. Obviously, that's going to weigh on anybody, especially if he's specifically going after certain parts of the industry that have a voice that is going to be very vocal and the reactions to the album and the things that are said.

But that line specifically does feel like evidence that something is going to happen soon. And then he gives a little more detail around those feelings. He says, critical, I know my physical is tested all the time. I'm pitiful, sunk in place soon as I'm questioning my pride. I'm seeing ghosts, blacking out, relapsing one thought at a time. I spare no feelings that ain't mine. I'm in my feelings when I slide. I mean, I wonder what Lecrae would do. So again, he's questioning it. He's predicting the difficulty to come. And this song feels like that calm before the storm. And again, to mention Lecrae is once again questioning if what he's doing and the way he's doing it is the right approach. And then he closes the verse by shouting out two of his friends in Compton, which I think is

important. He shouts out Terrence Martin and a guy named Jay Estrada, who, after some quick research, seems like he is a athletic trainer. He's from Compton. Kendrick follows him on Twitter. So I'm guessing it's just one of Kendrick's friends. But Jay Estrada tells him, Kendrick that you got to burn it down to build it up. Kendrick says that confirmation real as fuck, it ain't too many real as us. So burning it down again goes into this theme about purging. That could be the battle itself. It could be the album itself.

It's not, obviously, that's not quite clear yet what the actual purge refers to, if it's the battle or the album or both. But that feels like a definitive theme. Oh, and before that, he says, I fled the market with my best regards. I paid your dues. And so it's up. If you ain't one of ours, it's bad news.

So that to me, again, I flood the market. I'm coming with something soon, and it's up. If you're not on this side, it's bad news for you. Again, drawing a line, mentioning two people from Compton. This goes back into the Not Like Us theme. It goes back into this division between the industry and Kendrick, and Kendrick clearly separating himself from the industry. This makes me recall something that he said at his Grammy speech,

when he accepted the award for best rap album for Mr. Morrell, when he said, all I wanted to be was the biggest independent artist ever. He also said something about being an independent artist. I think on the IG post that he made as Mr. Morale was being released, which always kind of confused me. I didn't understand what that meant. Of course, he cut ties with TDE.

He started PG-Lang, so he has ownership over his own label. So ties into that. But this song, this battle, the things that he said about the industry throughout the battle and even on Mr. Moral, and it's all kind of coming into focus that Kendrick is 100% separating himself from the industry that he sees as toxic as predatory. And then he closes the song saying, locking into what I trust, looking outside, the kids live tomorrow because today,

the party just died. So subtle but important kind of changing of the hook there, the party just died. So you can take that as referring to this song is what killed the party. which if we're running with that interpretation would mean that this is now a line between the battle has ended, and I am moving on to something else. And that something else is implied in what he said just before. The kids live tomorrow because today the party died. Because of the party dying, because of the purge, the kids will see a better tomorrow. And he's locking into what he trusts.

He has trepidation, but he trusts what he's doing is right. and so he's going to move forward, going to flood the market with my best regard. Seems very clear that the project is coming. So if we're speculating when the project is coming, we can take these words literal. We could say, the kids live tomorrow because today the party just died,

meaning that today, the release of this song is the party being dead, and tomorrow, literally tomorrow, which let's be a little bit flexible here because new albums drop on Thursday night or Friday at midnight, night. So you can technically say that tomorrow would be the day traditionally the albums drop, they drop on Friday. Hopefully that makes sense, but you could potentially take that last line

literally that he's giving us the timeline and that he's alluding to the album dropping or something dropping tomorrow. Tomorrow meaning September 13th. And this is interesting and now we're just getting into speculation here, but Friday is September 13th, meaning it is Friday the 13th. So if we're thinking about this Black Air Force One energy, Kendrick killing this side of the industry, him being the boogeyman, September 11th crashing out,

that would work potentially thematically, symbolically, right? Again, just speculating for fun here. Also, though, I have to mention that the 13th of September is the day that Tupac died. And we all know Kendrick's, history and affinity with Tupac. We know that he feels or used to feel that he was kind of the continuation of Pock. Tepa Butterfly was all about how he was going to choose how to use his influence as the continuation of Tupac, who to Kendrick, I feel like, is another symbol

of hip hop, of pure, of the traditional roots of hip hop, someone associated with the West Coast. So potentially dropping on the 13th, the anniversary of his death, feels very Kendrick-like, frankly, feels perfect thematically. So we'll see if that happens. Also, I should just note, since we're talking about numbers, Tupac's birthday is June 16th, which is 616. 616 in L.A. I don't know. It could be reaching, but interesting, right? All very interesting.

So we can just wait and see what happens. This episode could very well be obsolete in less than what, 10 hours from when I'm recording this. If the album comes, if not, we'll continue to speculate. I will just say, because I am in speculation mode, one, I'm just having fun. Hopefully everyone's just having fun with this, the speculation part of this. But if I'm trying to put all the pieces together, back in what, May? Yeah, May. I tweeted out that I wouldn't be surprised if the battle had something to do with the theme of the next

album. And I have only grown more confident in that kind of initial suspicion throughout the battle and the way that Kendrick once again centered his win as representing something more than himself. And as I've talked about throughout all of these episodes and analyzing the battle and the pop out show and the Not Like Us video, it feels very, very clear what he's doing. Drake again being a symbol, Kendrick being a symbol. And if I were to guess on what the next album was going to sound like and or deal with thematically,

I would guess that it is a traditional sounding hip-hop album, perhaps in the vein of Broccoli or I Am reincarnated, the snippet that we heard in the Not Like Us video, perhaps in the vein of the DJ Mustard, not like us, that kind of production sound, I think it will be very traditional in that way. Just given everything he's been talking about, the pop-out show, this emphasis on the

West Coast, this emphasis on the purity of hip-hop, the purity of the culture, and now this very direct attack on not just Drake, but the industry, the toxicity, the manipulation, just all the ways that the art form has gotten away from its roots. I do think Kendrick is going to try to restore that. I would guess, and again, I'm just speculating, but I would, it would make sense that there would be more features than maybe we're used to on the album and specifically him choosing representatives of what he think that the kind of the nipsy hustles of today, those rappers that is representing what he loves in hip hop, what he believes is

pure in the genre and the art form. I would guess there's going to be some of that. How hard he's going to go at the industry on the actual album? I'm not sure. I'll be very interested to see if that's kind of the main theme. That's the only thing I can think of thematically, especially after hearing the party died song. It seems like that's all he's been focused on, at least in the art that we've been presented recently since Mr. Moral. Of course, we're just working with what we have. It could be something totally different. Kendrick obviously is not talking outside of his art ever nowadays, so we don't have much to go on. It is fun to speculate, though, and I appreciate you listening. If you are listening right now, that means you're

as excited as me for what's about to come, whether that's soon as tonight or in the near future or even in February if he pushes that long, although I can't see that happening after this song. So I will definitely record something when something happens. Definitely some kind of first reaction. If I catch more kind of dissectable Easter eggs or something in this song, follow me on social media at Dissect Podcast. I'll probably just be posting them there. And if you haven't already listened and you need some content to hold you over until something happens, I would suggest go listening to the Super Bowl announcement episode I posted on Tuesday. There's a lot of cool Easter eggs in there more than you'd probably think. And the Not Like Us episode really kind

of breaks down my thoughts on the symbolism of the beef and everything that I talked about today. So stay tuned. Have fun. I believe we are in the midst of experiencing music history. Kendrick is one of the most important artists of our generation. And this has been, I think, his biggest year ever. So let's enjoy it. Let's enjoy the moment. And I'll talk to you guys soon.