Dissect - S13E11 - Dissecting "Crown" & "Silent Hill" by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

Our season-long dissection of Mr Morale & The Big Steppers' continues with "Crown" and "Silent Hill." Shop ⁠Dissect S13 Merch⁠. Follow Dissect on⁠ Instagram⁠,⁠ Twitter⁠, or⁠ TikTok⁠. Host/Writer/EP: Cole Cuchna Video/Audio Production: Kevin Pooler Additional Production: Justin Sayles Theme Music: Birocratic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Ringer Podcast Network, this is Dyssect, long-form musical analysis, broken into short digestible episodes. This is episode 11 of our season-long analysis of Mr. Moral and The Big Stepers. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. Last time on Dysect, we examined Count Meow, the first song on the Mr. Morow half of the album. It was there we heard a powerful outpouring of emotion, as if we were flies on the wall at Kendrick's first therapy session.

It set the confessional tone of Mr. Morow's second act, where we'll witness Kendrick Lamar Duckworth with his mask off, revealing his most honest, most vulnerable, most uncomfortable truths. This intimate confessional setting becomes even more apparent as Act 2 continues into its next track, the subject of the first half of our episode today, Crown. Crown was produced solely by Duval Timothy, the pianist that's featured throughout Mr. Morrell. The instrumental is essentially a remake of Timothy's 2016 piece titled Through the the night. The piece's intimate, meditative quality has a lot to do with the piano's left hand, which simply oscillates back and forth between an F-sharp and a C-sharp. This is what's known as an

open or an empty fifth because of the interval's distinct hollow quality. It's not bright like a major chord or melancholic like a minor chord. It's tonally neutral, and the way it's used in Crown as a repeating anchor, it takes on this kind of contemplative, pensive quality, almost like time is suspended. Of all the songs on Mr. Morrell, Crown most blatantly showcases the confessional role of the piano plays on the album. According to Kendrick's longtime producer Soundwave, quote, A lot of what you hear lyrically from Kendrick was all done from pianos. It's just literally a feeling you get when you hear pianos. That's why when you listen to this album, 98% of the song is going to have a piano in there. Literally, the piano plays a very important part of the

sonics of this. It has its own meaning to this album. and strings too, I had the task of creating a role that this artist is living in, and this world, for me at least, was a person stripped down of everything, locked into a white room with just their thoughts and a piano. You walk around like everything is in control. Favor come with favors and you can't say no. Go out the way to make the coin available. That's what I call love.

Kendrick matches the contemplative atmosphere of the piano with his own hypnotic vocal tone. Each of the song's three verses center around Kendrick's conception of love. In verse 1, he describes helping his friends and family with favors and financial support. Notably, he begins the verse admitting that he walks around like everything's in control, which implies that everything is not under control. It's just that he's been wearing a mask. Verse 2 develops this motif as Kendrick sings, The closest ones afraid to say they need some time.

the turnaround is life or death, but you don't mind. Go out the way to say you made the compromise. That's what I call love. Similar to Kendrick being unable to say no when a loved one asks for a favor, he admits he's unable to say he needs a break, some time to himself, even when the stakes feel like life or death. There's a chance Kendrick here is referring to his work schedule, which was at this time intertwined with some of his closest friends at TDE records.

As we discussed at the top of this season, Kendrick's work ethic was relentless, a non-stop schedule of album-making, photo shoots, world tours, press stops, features, and more. Meanwhile, several of his friends in Compton were killed, his friend Kobe Bryant died, Nipsey Hustle was murdered, and his grandmother passed. Still, as the biggest source of income for TDE in the midst of his commercial prime, Kendrick prioritized work over his own mental health, a compromise, he says, was done out of love. Verse 3 relates a similar dynamic as he sings,

they idolize and praise your name across the nation, tap the feet and nod the head in confirmation, promise that you keep the music in rotation. That's what I call love. Obviously, this describes the relationship between Kendrick and his fans. There's a shared love there, but just as he revealed in verse 2, as well as the previous track, Count Me Out, that love has come with a cost.

Thus, each verse and crown is juxtaposed with its pre-chorus, which challenges Kendrick's conception and expressions of love. be there when somebody needs. You say no and all you've done give them and me. I've learned love can change with the seasons. And I can't. In verse two, Kendrick reveals the harsh reality of each verse's conception of love. In verse one, Kendrick expressed love through favors and money. However, if he says no, there's animosity. So how real was that love to begin with? In verse two, Kendrick expressed love through compromising his personal life and mental health in order to keep working. But if he says, he says, he's not enough. were to take a break, or if he were to leave his record label like he did, when there still be love,

or were those relationships really based on self-interest and business all along? Finally, in verse three, Kendrick expressed love between his music and his fans. But if he stops making music, or his music declines in quality, or takes a different direction, when there still be the same love, or is this love conditional too? At the heart of each verse and corresponding pre-chorus is Kendrick questioning the authenticity of love, a word and concept we all assume to understand but rarely scrutinize. He seems to be asking, is there any relationship in which love is not conditional? Romantic love is volatile, and couples once in love divorced all the time. Familiar love inherently offers a chance at a longer lifespan, but estranged family members are commonplace too. And so is love by nature

fleeting or circumstantial? Does it really change with the seasons? And if the love Kendrick has personally shown others is conditional, then was that really love or some other thing? Was his so-called expressions of love really just his nature as a people-pleaser? And if so, was that love or was that fear? Fear of not being loved, not being worthy of love. And if that's the case, where does that fear come from? Was he not loved enough as a child? Or maybe it's the ego and its constant need for validation? Is love just another mask we wear? Is there really such a thing as unconditional love? questions are the embedded subtext of Kendrick's verses and pre-chorus, and clearly they are questions rooted in therapy. As we're sinking into the therapy-guided journey of Act 2,

we're witnessing Kendrick's attempts to uncover the root causes of his behavior, his relationships, and his worldview. And as it pertains to his scrutiny of love, Kendrick told W. Magazine that it was his children that taught him the true meaning of unconditional love. He said, quote, A lot of times we play with the idea of love and don't necessarily know if it's real until you feel it. My children allowed me in their development as human beings beginning to walk and talk to remove my ego, to know that my children too will have their own independence. That allows me to understand the unconditional love on my end. Will I allow them to be themselves?

That's love to me. And when I look at that, I try to apply it with how I express myself, how I look at my career, and how I meet other individuals. Am I allowing them to be themselves without any judgment? My children have taught me that. Crown's chorus isn't really a chorus, attempting to break old thought patterns through meditative repetition. It's an admission to himself that he was living a life

largely aimed at pleasing everyone around him. His friends and family in Compton, his record label, his fans, and this innate tendency to please, maybe it was Kendrick's attempt to prove to himself and others that fame didn't change him. But that's just pride. That's just ego. And it was killing him. So what we're hearing Kendrick implement on the chorus is boundary setting, a cornerstone of therapy. Well, obviously, I'm not a licensed therapist. According to my research, boundary setting often comes up early in the therapy process, especially for people who, quote, struggle with relationships, people pleasing, burnout, or unresolved trauma, unquote. Of course, these are all struggles we've heard Kendrick expressed throughout Mr. Morrell. Therapists help people-pleasing patients

develop clear boundaries as a fundamental tool used to reclaim their agency, build healthier relationships, and create lives that feel more aligned and sustainable. And that's what I hear in Kendrick's mantra refrain, I can't please everybody. As someone who has reflected on their life and relationships, recognized and articulated a behavior pattern that needs adjustment, is now working to implement that correction. He's learning that saying no isn't inherently an infraction on love. Just as saying yes isn't necessarily always an expression of love. Uncoincidentally, boundary setting is a topic addressed in the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, who is of course playing the role of Kendrick's therapist on Mr. Morrell. Tolly often speaks about

the difference between a high and a low quality know. A low quality know arises from the ego and makes an enemy of the asker, while a high quality know arises from consciousness and does not contain resentment. And at some point, I'm sorry, I can't do it anymore, but without any negativity, a simple statement, it is not a reactive statement. You don't make her into a bad person who would, I know, she, you want to take a of me, I'm not doing it anymore. That is a low quality, no. Even if perhaps she did try to, perhaps she was trying to take advantage of you,

but that is not, that may be then a dysfunction in her ego itself. Many humans do that. The world is full of people who perhaps are trying to take advantage of you. That's what the egos do. And so, or it's not who she truly is. But you speak to, you do not speak to the,

go in her, you simply say, I love your children, they're just wonderful and I enjoyed my time, but I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry about that. Heavy is the head that shows to wear the crown. The home is giving much. It's required now. Heavy is the head that shows the weather crown. The home is giving much is required now. I can't please everyone by me.

Crowns Bridge is based on a line from Shakespeare's play Henry 4, which reads, Uneasy Lies the Head That Wares a Crown. It's an enduring idiom because it so concisely articulates the burden of leadership, particularly a leader who truly cares about the people they're responsible for. Kendrick very smartly makes a critical alteration to the traditional phrase by including the word chose. Heavy is the head that chose to wear the crown. It applies that on some level, Kendrick anointed himself as a leader of his community, a responsibility that's much different than being a famous musician. This self-appointed role tracks with Kendrick's interviews at the time

of Tabipa Butterfly. When he was asked point blank whether he saw himself working to be the next Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr. It takes years and it takes wisdom to do the work that they've done. Mandela, Mon Luther King. Before the generation at the time, being, I hold myself responsibility to that. For this generation, yes. Understanding how ambitious Kendrick's aspirations were, we can get a sense of the immense amount of pressure he must have felt living up to them.

That's the crushing weight of the crown. At the same time, the critical addition of choosing to wear the crown is also a recognition of agency, meaning if Kendrick chose to wear the crown, he can choose to take it off. That feels like another therapy-influenced revelation. Indeed, on a song in which Kendrick's accepting the need to say no, he's learning that he also needs to say no to himself, that priorities can change, that it's okay to restructure your life

to adapt to new circumstances, like, for instance, having children and realizing that your unconfronted trauma is now threatening your entire family lineage. I can't please everybody. I can't please everybody. I can't please everybody. Love gonna get you killed. I can't please everybody. Crown Central mantra here is interjected with a critical line. Love gonna get you killed. For fans of Kendrick Lamar, this line should sound familiar, a callback to his song Pride off his previous album, Damn.

Now we'll talk about the meaning of this line in a moment, but we have to take a quick sidebar to acknowledge the connection between Crown and Pride as being a continuation of a five-linked chain of connections that spans Kendrick's entire discography. Because just as Pride is quoted in Crown, Pride quotes These Walls from Tipimba Butterfly. Continuing the album chain, These Walls Quotes Sing About Me from Good Kid Mad City. Finally, Sing About Me references Keisha's song from Section 80. You wrote a song about my sister on your tape and card in Section 80

The message resembled Brenda's got a baby She played Mr. Chakour That's a favorite rapper bump And Brenda's got a baby While a pervert yelling at her This five album chain of connections exemplifies the intention

With which Kendrick crafts his projects And speaks to the interrelated themes He confronts across his discography And to this point, the introduction of pride helps to inform why Kendrick returns to the idea That Love Will Get You Killed here on Crown Throughout Mr. Morow, Kendrick has alluded to Eckhart Tolly's belief that pride and ego are the source of all human conflict,

which relates to the idea that pride's going to be the death of you and me. If humanity ever kills itself, it will almost certainly be on behalf of our pride. Love, on the other hand, seems to denote individual suffering. In Crown, Kendrick details how his attempts to please those he loves were killing him. We also understand how romantic love can cause immense suffering, as exemplified by Whitney and Kendrick's relationship on the album. Our love of family and friends causes grief when they pass, and if we think about Jesus Christ, who Kendrick evokes with the Crown of Thorns on Morales cover art, it was his love for humanity

that killed him in the ultimate symbol of self-sacrifice in his crucifixion. In Crown, we hear Kendrick parsing through and raising questions about the various degrees of love, like, where is the line between healthy self-care and prideful selfishness? In terms of how it dictates our behavior, what's the correct balance between love of self and love of others. Is it possible to love without suffering? And if not, how do we manage that? How do we find a sustainable balance? How do we love others without killing ourselves? For Kendrick, it appears that what he needed was a break. He needed some time, as he said in verse 2. Thus, the album continues with Kendrick taking just that, as we find him riding his beach cruiser bike on a hill of silence.

by Beach Noise, Boy Wanda, Jaheen Sweet, and Soundwave, Silent Hill begins with Kendrick singing Acapella, Why You Keep Fucking With Me With Me, You go make me jump out my skin, believe me. Who or what is fucking with Kendrick? It's the craving of his addiction, the hose making the dark road difficult, as it was described at the start of Count Me Out. It's also all the fakes and snakes he'll rap about on Silent Hill's chorus, the inauthentic vultures looking to exploit him, who are not concerned with him as a human being, but rather what value they can extract out of him. Finally, as we'll see later in the track, it's also Kendrick's own compulsive, anxious thoughts, which disturbs his silence, his peace of mind. The phrase jump out of my skin usually

refers to being frightened suddenly, like a scary movie scene. Kendrick's use of the phrase points to one of the meanings behind the song's title Silent Hill, which is the name of a horror video game franchise. The game is centered around an ordinary person being drawn into the supernatural town of Silent Hill, where they encounter manifestations of their own guilt, trauma, and fears in the form of terrifying monsters. In this way, the town of Silent Hill becomes a mirror of the main character, where they essentially battle their own demons, regrets, and suppress memories. In Silent Hill 2, the mirror is actually a central symbol, reflecting this mirrored aspect of the town. Uncoincidentally, the central symbol of Mr. Moral

is also a mirror, where Kendrick's therapy-guided journey is presented in a similar way, a battle with his demons, his trauma. It reflects what Kendrick said on Count Me Out. Look myself in the mirror, Amityville ain't seen nothing scarier. This adds depth to Silent Hills opening acapella, where Kendrick says he's going to jump out of his skin. Yes, it applies to the hose, the fakes, and the snakes. But like all things, Mr. Morrell, the line is equally aimed at himself. The demons he sees in the mirror, the trauma that haunts him are also making him jump out of his skin. Of course, there's also a more literal meaning to Silent Hill, which reflects the isolation of Kendrick's life during the creation of Mr. Morrell. In the open letter penned months

before its release, Kendrick wrote, quote, I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts, riding, listening, and collecting old beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. Push these nicks off me like who. Push these bids off me like who. Push these nicks off me, like who. Pushing the snakes. I'm pushing the fakes. I'm pushing them all on me. Push no more of me like, huh, yeah. Silent Hill's moody, understated, ambient instrumental reflects the feeling of Kendrick's contemplative bike rides in silence. He depicts himself pushing away toxic and parasitic people

by playing with the grunting sound one makes when literally pushing something heavy. Also, you'll notice there's a sound of a gunshot with a silencer used as a percussive element in the beat. And while there's no way to confirm it for sure, it sounds very much like it was sampled from the iconic Golden Eye-O-7 video game from 1997. Here's the sound of the silenced PP7 from that game, which will directly compare to the sound in Silent Hill. If the sample source is correct, it would slot perfectly into the themes of Silent Hill, as the silencer gun evokes the silent and Silent Hill. It also ties into the video game motif of the song title, and it represents the sound of Kendrick sniping the snakes from his life.

Now, with a general understanding of the song's premise and instrumental, we have to call out Silent Hill's similarities to a previous song on the album, Rich Spirit. Like Silent Hill, Rich Spirit is about Kendrick isolating himself and eliminating the bad influences in his life. Rich Spirit also presented Kendrick's battle with his spiritual ego, as will Silent Hill in verse 1. And like Silent Hill, rich spirit is tied to rapper Kodak Black, as Kodak is featured on the rich interlude that's attached to the rich spirit proper. These similarities between the two songs is one of the more overt examples of the reflective quality of the two discs of Mr. Morrell and the Big Stepers. As I've mentioned a few times throughout the season, the two nine-song discs are intended

to mirror each other. Disc 1, worldwide stepers, centers humanity, while disc 2, Mr. Moral, centers the individual. The mirrored relationship between the two discs symbolizes the connection between the individual and the collective, the human and humanity, Mr. Moral and the worldwide steppers. However, the symbolic mirroring of the discs not only works on a macro level, it also works on a micro level. When he reversed the track order of disc two, as if the individual or Mr. Moral was looking into a mirror, it becomes very clear that each song on disc one has a corresponding song on Disc 2. If you're just listening right now, take a peek at your screen if you can, and you'll see very clearly how rich interlude and savior interlude align with each other,

how rich spirit and Silent Hill align, and how worldwide steppers and Mr. Morale align. These are the more obvious reflections, however, every paired song can be interpreted as relating to each other in some way. Something will cover more when we reach the end of the album. We'll also see that within these reflective song pairings, there are sometimes individual lyrics that will connect to each other. I'll be pointing out these connections as we get deeper into disc two, something I'm going to dub reflection points. And one of the bigger reflection points occurs toward the end of Silent Hill.

So stay tuned for that. Pushin the snakes. I'm pushing the fakes. I'm pushing them all. I'm pushing them all of me like who. Pushing them all love me like, yeah. I'd be immune to shit.

Tuckin the broom and shit. Then with a sooom is shit. Now you a joke. My ass is to close. Kendrick begins his verse, I be immune to shit, tucking the broom and shit. They want to assume and shit. The idea of being immune plays nicely into the pandemic era in which Mr. Morale was conceived. But being immune to shit also means being immune to the bullshit that snakes and fakes are

concerned with, those who assume and shit or think they know things about Kendrick and his life. Tucking the broom references keeping a gun tucked in his pants, playing into the gunshots the instrumental and Kendrick staying ready to shoot any snake that threatens his piece. It's also an allusion to the album cover, where we see Kendrick with the broom tucked into the back of his pants while wearing a crowd of thorns. He then continues, Know you a choke, my ancestors close, I howl at the moon and shit. Kendrick takes aim at one specific snake, calling them a choke or someone who fails at a critical moment. It's also wordplay with the broom or gun he tucks, as a choke refers to the taper of a shotgun barrel. This also

relates to the Almart work, where Kendrick is seen exhausted under the weight of the crown, a shotgun within arms reach next to him. The idea of being close to his ancestors, followed by claiming to howl at the moon like a wolf, seems to nod to Native American tribes who consider wolves reincarnated ancestors that act as spirit guides for the living. Kendrick seems to be implying his music is a spiritual medium amplified by his ancestors, creating a reflection point with rich spirit when he said, spirit medium, I don't rap, brother. This play on a supernatural-like power also gives him the ability to foresee the future, as he raps, know the results, the ballad is in, I'm about to boom again.

It appears Kendrick sees himself blowing up or making a big commercial splash in the future, a premonition that was realized with his defeat over Drake in the biggest rap battle in history, as well as his next album, GNX, Super Bowl halftime show, and stadium tour. Uncoincidentally, the next line in the verse seems to be aimed at Drake. You funny dog Pekaboo can't hide behind your money dog A week or two I meditate on running loss Swersew swear, swear, swore, shake the currents off

Yeah Kendrick continues the verse, You funny dog, Peekaboo can't hide behind your money dog. This shot joins Kendrick's previous insult of calling someone to choke. And while we can't know for sure, all evidence points to these shots being aimed at Drake.

Specifically, there's been speculation that this line alludes to XXXX Tentacian, the Florida rapper who was murdered in 2018 when he was just 20 years old. Now, I'm not really comfortable going into detail about the speculation, but there's plenty of resources out there if you're interested in going down the rabbit hole. In any case, the likely shot at Drake creates yet another reflection point with Rich Spirit, a song we also suspected had shots for Drake. I pray to God that you're not lacking when you off the mid. I pray to God she know them Cabo Chips don't last forever.

Bitch I argue where her mama go and get them kids. Pray when somebody dies. Kendrick finishes his verse on Silent Hill rapping, A Week or Two, I Meditate on Running Lost. Swerve, Swerve, Swerve, Shake the Currants off. The idea of having a running tab of loss continues the motif of grief that permeates the album, and swerving to shake the currents off

describes his attempts to shake off the turmoil of that continued loss. Fittingly, his reference to meditation here is further developed in the song's post-chorus. I'm stressed out. Shh. Be quiet. I'm stressed out. Stressed out.

Stress out. Here we find Kendrick describing the physical posture of meditation. Head up, chest out. He calls for silence saying he's stressed out, then shushes himself and says, be quiet. This is an accurate portrait of someone new to meditation, where you attempt to silence the voice in your head,

the one that relays all your anxious and stressful thoughts. For anyone who's attempted meditation, the initial experience magnifies how our mind is literally a mind of its own. Because if our thoughts are something we control, then we ought to be able to stop them, right? Obviously, that's not the case. And for some, this can be a revelation, as it changes the way we identify with our own compulsive thoughts. This relationship we have with our own thoughts is a fundamental aspect of the teachings of Eckartouli. Thinking is addictive for most humans, almost every human except those that have started to disqual.

identify from thinking are addicts. And the greatest addiction is the addiction to thinking, not to fruitful thinking, not to creative thinking, not to thinking that actually solves problems, but to thinking that is futile, that is destructive, that instead of solving problems, creates problems, thinking that creates anxiety, that creates fear, that creates grievances, that creates regret, that creates all kinds of dysfunctional

states, that creates enemies because it's ego, egoic thinking. That is what needs to come to an end. And when that comes to an end, then real thinking, constructive, fruitful, creative thinking can happen. Thinking is an amazing thing. The compulsive nature of Kendrick's own mind is readdressed in the song's second verse, where he begins describing a sweet moment with his daughter that is quickly juxtaposed with the compulsive thoughts on his head. Kendrick begins the verse, pick my daughter up, she need all of love, I mean all of us, it's like six o'clock, bit you talk too much, you're making it awkward love, I mean this hard enough, I mean this... Kendrick begins the verse, pick my daughter up, she need all the love, I need all the love, I need all

the love. I mean, all of us. It's a really interesting sequence of lines, as Kendrick succinctly relates how his intuition to love his daughter transforms into the realization that he also needs that same kind of love, which then transforms into the realization that actually every human being needs it. It's a microcosm of the album's central theme, that connection between the individual and the whole, the human and humanity. It's also not a coincidence that this statement about the universal need for love comes just moments before Kodak Black enters the song, implying that Kodak's not exempt from that need, even if his upbringing and behavior makes him more difficult to love. Finally, we have to acknowledge that the phrase,

All of Us, is a sly reference to his morale-era moniker, O.K. Lama, and the Okalama quote that's seen before the Hart Part 5 video, where a title card reads, I Am, All of Us. As we've discussed on previous episodes, this quote points to that same relationship between the individual and the whole, and the mirror that sits between them. And to this same idea, we must recognized this moment as another one of the album's more blatant reflection points, because it was on Rich Spirit that Kendrick rapped about taking his daughter to school, and now on Silent Hill, he's picking her up. Taking my baby to school, then I pray for,

because you bitches ain't never been cool, writing testaments. Hey my daughter up, she need all of love. I need all of us. It's like 6 o'clock. Bitch, you talk too much. You're making it awkward love. I mean it's hard enough.

Kendrick ends his brief verse, It's like 6 o'clock, bitch, you talk too much. You make it awkward love. I mean, it's hard enough. Assuming Kendrick isn't talking to his daughter this way, it seems like he's addressing his own mind that talks too much, that runs on its own accord. The fact that he genders it female

most likely calls back to misregrets from Count Me Out, those plaguing thoughts that take him out of the present moment with his daughter and invoke the shame and guilt of his past behaviors. out of the stick hit a bitch with the wood. Kendrick's second verse is cut off by this over here we're good. The AP room and numeral. Everybody go I need for him and suitors. I ran my whole Cronommery, I was just mapping shit out in the cubicle.

Suicide cool is a funeral. Track halt lunch like a sneak shot. Kendrick's second verse is cut off by the entrance of Kodak Black, who performs an extended feature verse. Now we're not going to dissect Kodak's verse line by line, as thematically it very much reflects the same sentiments Kodak expressed on rich interlude. He speaks on growing up fatherless in poverty, how he's astonished by the success he's found,

and how he still has a hood mentality despite having made it out physically and financially. One of the more potent moments of Kodak's verse is its ending when he wraps about seeing his children. He says, every Thursday, girls' day, spending time with my daughter, make me go harder. Every Sunday's son's day, teach my boy to be a man, I ain't have no father. Fell in love with the block, I ain't have no pop, just a sought off Shaka. Here Kodak shows his efforts to be there for his children in a way his father never was. However, we also understand he's starting from scratch, that his environmental conditioning and lack of male role models is a very real factor in his ability to father his children,

despite him seemingly wanting to be there for them. This makes his final line of the verse extremely powerful. Kodak him in a proper awkward diamonds look like my other water awkward beating the block until he spot him I don't want your ice boy I want your life but fuck it I still might rob him Kodak ends the verse beating the block up till we spot him I don't want your ice boy I want your life but fuck it I still might rob him Kodak describes driving around his neighborhood until he sees someone to rob

however he reveals that while he takes their jewelry what he really wants is the more fortunate circumstances of their life, because his life's circumstances have been so dire. It's a heartbreaking line that relays the complexity of the motivations that influence human behavior. And as the punctuating line on the final verse of Silent Hill, it acts as the perfect thematic bridge into what we hear next on the album. If you derive your sense of identity from being a victim, let's say bad things were done to you when you were a child, and you develop a sense of self that is based on your own. the bad things that happened to you.

Here on Mr. Moral's next track, Save Your Interlude, the album's therapist Eckart Toley gives his first major insight, pointing to the way some people who have experienced a lot of trauma at a young age can end up forming their entire identity from those horrors. Narratively, Tolly is speaking to Kendrick in his therapy session, but clearly the insight applies not only to Kodak Black, who appears just before the passage, but also to Baby Keeam, who appears directly after it. It is based on the bad things that happen to you. You ever see a mama strung out while you studied division.

Your uncle ever stole from your day after Christmas. Seeing both of those in them county jail visits, the first and the 15th, the only religion. Loodles in the microwave shark tank tied away ground. Uncoincidentally, baby Keem begins his extended feature detailing the unfortunate circumstances of his childhood. Thus, we realized that not only is Kodak's rich interlude, the mirrored reflection of Keem's savior interlude, Kendrick has also created an additional reflection point by placing Keem just after Kodak on Silent Hill, and in between them is Eckhart Tolley's wisdom that functions like a mirror, as the insides reflect both men. And so Kendrick is being pretty direct about the fact that Kodak Black and Baby

Keem are mirror images of each other. But why exactly is that the case? Why did Kendrick choose to mirror them in this way? And how does that mirroring contribute to the central message of Mr. Morrell and the big steppers? Well, spoiler alert, it's really important. important to our understanding of the entire album, and we'll break it all down note by note, line by line, next time on Dissect. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a comment, share with a friend, or post about Dissect on social media. It all really helps.

You can also support the show by purchasing limited season 13 merchandise at dissectpodcast.com. All right. Thanks, everyone. Talk to you next week.