Dissect - S1E11 – Momma by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: November 8, 2016

We continue our serialized analysis of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly by dissecting "Momma." Follow Dissect on social media @dissectpodcast. Purchase Dissect merch at dissectpodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushna. Today, we continue our serialized examination of Tipa Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. We're currently in the midst of the album's third act, which we've titled Emerging Wings. It follows Kendrick as he searches for an escape from various metaphoric cocoons of his institutionalized upbringing, his newfound status as rap star, and the prison of his own mind. On All Right, through solidarity and God, Kendrick went to battle on the vices and inner conflicts that led him to depression and suicidal thoughts. In our last episode, we explored For Sale, an exploration of the character Lucy, the devil incarnate, who represents the ever-present temptations at Kendrick's disposal.

When viewed together, All Right and For Sale represent Kendrick at a crossroads, with an angel on one shoulder and Lucy or the devil on the other. For Sale concluded with the recitation of the narrative poem, revealing one additional line. So I went running for answers until I came home. To find clarity, Kendrick returns home on the album's next track, the subject of today's episode, Mama. This feeling is unmatched. This feeling is brought to you by adrenaline and good rap. Mama is produced by Knowledge and features an outro produced by Taz Arnold. Musically, the song is constructed around a sample of Layla Hathaway's 2008 song On Your Own.

The producer knowledge takes a slightly sped up Hathaway sample. and sets atop a slumping, head-knotting drum loop. When Kendrick enters on verse 1, he will do so offbeat, and will continue to dodge and weave between the beat, never quite establishing a traditional rhythmic pattern. Also, as we listen and analyze verse 1, take notice of the rhyme scheme Kendrick employs, specifically the last word of each bar.

He'll rhyme all 24 bars with words containing the hard A sound, rap, cap, back, etc. He'll also employ internal rhyme schemes within many, of the individual lines. Dilligent sentences back was visiting freestyle ciphers for your reaction. Verse one finds Kendrick back in Compton. It's the second time he's returned since his escape through musical success. The first time he returned was portrayed on the album's third song, King Kunta,

in which he gloated to his rivals about his new status as rap king. This time around, Kendrick is a little more experienced, and after the manic depression meltdown of you, a little more humbled and nostalgic. The verse begins, this feeling is unmatched. This feeling brought to you by adrenaline and good wrap, black Pendleton ball cap. Kendrick is home once again in feeling good. Pendleton's are the flannel shirts worn button to the top in Compton, which is commonly paired with a baseball hat.

Kendrick is finding comfort and pride in the familiarity of his roots. Following these lines, the beat stops momentarily, and the word West echoes across the silence. Of course, West confirms his location, the West Coast, Westside, Compton. The verse continues with Kendrick recounting his early teenage rap efforts in Compton, in contrast rapping in the streets to eventually rapping in packed stadiums. Remember scribble and scratching diligent sentences backwards visiting freestyle ciphers for your reaction. Now I can live in the stadium pack at the fastest.

Gabbling Benjamin Benefit, benefit, sending in traffic spinning women in cartwheels, linen fabric on fashion, winning in every decision. Kendrick gets mastered that mastered it, isn't it? Leaveny how menaces turn the traction, pivoting rappers finish your fraction while riding blow. Kedrick remembers scribble and scratchin diligent sentence backwards, visiting freestyle ciphers for your reaction. He's referring to his days as a youth in Compton, learning how to write raps and freestyle. He immediately contrasts this with the line, now I live in a stadium pack at the fastest, gambling Benjamin benefits, syn in traffic, spinning women in cartwheels, linen fabric on fashion.

He's abstractly talking of success, and the money, drugs, women, and clothes it brings. And while Kendrick has spoke on these things many times on the album thus far, he now recounts his transition from street rapper to rap star nostalgically, like a man looking back on his life. He's not glorifying or condemning, just reflecting and remembering. Rather than bragging of his success like he did on King Kunta, or wallowing in misery as he did on you,

Kendrick is working toward contentment and acceptance of his life and the choices he's made. This maturing sentiment is poignantly crystallized with the closing lines of verse 1. Thank God for rap. I would say it got me a plaque, but what's better than that? The fact it brought me back home. Kendrick states, Thank God for rap. I wouldn't say it brought me a plaque,

but what's better than that, the fact it brought me back home. A plaque is what we receive when an album goes platinum or sells one million copies. When achieved, it's often boasted about in the hip-hop community. This line can be interpreted as a direct reference to King Cunta, on which Kendrick returned home to boast about his success. But rather than brag, Kendrick shows his maturation with the line, but what's better than that, the fact it brought me back home. Kendrick is just happy to be back home. He feels no need to boast. He chooses instead to enjoy the comfort and warmth that childhood memories and familiarity bring.

This is where Kendrick came from. It's the city that produced him, hence the song title Mama. a metaphor for birth and nurturance. The song's hook follows, a single line, We've been waiting for you, embellished and repeated by the singer Bilal. The hook will gain complexity as the song continues. Each verse will alter its meaning slightly.

Here, following verse one, it represents Compton and Kendrick's return to his childhood roots, and the positive path set out for him on Good Kid Mad City. The hook is immediately followed by verse 2. I know everything. Know myself, I know morality, spirituality, good and bad health, I know fatality, my haunture, I know everything, I know Compton, I know street shit, I know shit that's conscious, I know everything, I know lawyers, advertisement and sponsors, I know wisdom, I know bad religion, I know good karma,

I know everything, I know history, I know the universe works mentally, I know the perks are bullshit, is it meant for me, I know everything, I know cars, clothes, halls, and money, I know loyalty, I know respect, I know those that's unri, I know everything, the highs, the lows, the los, the junkies, Kendrick is taking stock of everything he's learned thus far in his life. He says, I know fatality might haunt you, which recounts his nightmare experience of you and the deaths of his friends in Compton. He says, I know lawyers, advertisements, and sponsors, referring to his experience with Uncle Sam and the exploitations of the music industry.

In reference to his post-fame roller coaster of emotions and temptations, Kendrick says, I know cars, clothes, hoes, and money. And later, I know the highs, the lows, the love. lows, the groupies, the junkies. Kendra continues to build the verse with his acquired knowledge, and then flips it on its head with the verse's final line.

I know everything. The highs, the lows, the groupies, the junkies. I know if I'm generous at heart, I don't need recognition. The way I'm rewarded, well, that's God's decision. I know you know that lines for a copter school district. Just give it to the kids.

Don't gossip about how it's distributed. I know how people work. I know the price of life. I'm knowing how much it's worth. I know what I know and I know it well. Kendrick says, I know I did no shit the day I came home.

Kendrick says, I know if I'm generous at heart, I don't need recognition. The way I'm rewarded, well, that's God's decision. This is arguably the most profound statement thus far in the album. It's a long way from the sentiments of the album's first act

in which the adolescent-minded Kendrick was so blatantly seeking recognition and respect on songs like For Free and King Kunta. It's lines like these that begin to foreshadow Kendrick's emergence from the cocoon of his upbringing and his metaphoric transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly. Kendrick continues with, I know you know that lines for Compton School District, just give it to the kids, don't gossip about how it's distributed.

These lines are in reference to Kendrick's donation to his old high school centennial. Per Kendrick's request, the donation was not publicized, and it wasn't until the media channel noisy visited Centennial and talk to the jazz band directly that the donation was discovered. Is that why you wanted to give money to Centennial, to sort of steer kids in a similar direction? Yeah, how y'all know that info? Because we were there. We were at the jazz band.

Yeah. That was nothing I wanted to put out there in the papers or whatnot. I just wanted to do that. In high school, there was a lot of freestyle sessions. When you have people around you that actually see something in you, they give you that extra push. Stay in the studio, man. stay in the studio.

After spending the entire verse cataloging his experience and the knowledge gained from those experiences, he negates it all with the verse's final line. I know what I know and I know it well not to ever forget until I realized I didn't know shit the day I came home. Verse two concludes with the lines

I know what I know and I know it well not to ever forget until I realized I didn't know shit the day I came home. The home he speaks of here is not Compton, it's Africa, which is the setting of the song's next verse. As discussed briefly in episode three, Kendrick took a pivotal trip to South Africa in 2014. While I'd like to save our thorough examination of Kendrick's African experience for the song How Much a Dollar Cost,

know that the trip gave Kendrick a broader perspective and worldview and forced him to re-examine everything he thought he knew of himself in the world. When viewed as a whole, verse 2 represents Kendrick attempting to define himself. The complexity and dichotomy of his poverty-stricken, violence-ridden Compton upbringing, and the bright lights of his new life of fame, makes doing so extremely difficult. It cannot, of course, be one or the other. As we've seen, success is not a clean slate. The experiences of his years in Compton cast a long shadow over his new lifestyle.

And just as Kendrick seems to be putting it all together, he visits Africa, and his worldview and self-perception is forever altered. The song's hook follows verse 2, and the line we've been waiting for you now refers to Africa, the motherland, who's been waiting for Kendrick's arrival. In verse 3, Kendrick describes meeting an African boy who reminds Kendrick of himself when he was a child. I met a little boy that resembled my features.

Nappy Afro gap in the smile. Hit me down sneakers bounce through the crowd. Running number home men and woman that crossed him. Some beaming on his beat. Kendrick begins exhausted, tossing footballs with his ashy black ankles, breaking new laws, Mama passed on home training. Kendrick begins by describing several features him and the boy share, an Afro, Gap Teeth, Hand Me Down Sneakers, and Ashy Black Ancles.

He also describes the boy tossing a football and disobeying his mother's rules. Kendrick is realizing that he and the African boy aren't so different. In fact, Kendrick begins to feel kinship with him. As the verse continues, the boy begins to feel kinship. speak to Kendrick. As we'll see, the conversation is occurring in Kendrick's mind, through his observations, as the boy doesn't likely speak English. He looked at me and said, Kendrick, you do know my language. You just forgot because of what public schools had painted. Oh, I forgot, don't kill my vibe. That's right, you're famous.

I used to watch your channel 5 TV was taken. But never mind your head right now, don't true mistake it. It's just a new trip. Take a glimpse of your family ancestor to make a new list of everything you thought was progress And that was bullshit I know your life is full of turmoil You're spoiled by fantasies of who you are I feel bad for you I can attempt

To enlighten you without frightening you If you resist I back off quick go get your flight or two But if you pick Destiny over rest in peace Then be an advocate Tell your homies Especially to come back home

The boy addresses the language barrier Saying Kendrick you do know my language You just forgot because of what public school I painted While the boy likely speaks Zulu or Xosa, the language of the boy speaks of is their shared African heritage. Kendrick is able to communicate with the boy because he feels an inborn affinity with him. The mention of public school references Kendrick's education and the American perceptions

of world taught him in classrooms. But in the end, his lack of familiarity with the African culture didn't matter. It's in his blood, and now that he's there, he feels the connection. The verse continues, oh, I forgot, don't kill my vibe. That's right, you're famous. I used to watch on Channel 5, TV was taken. The boy calls out Kendrick's celebrity with a hit song from his Good Kid Mad City album and alludes to the poverty he lives in by citing his stolen television. Kendrick's fame doesn't seem to mean much to the boy. Next, the boy tells Kendrick, take a glimpse of your family's ancestors,

make a new list of everything that you thought was progress and that was bullshit. These lines are the summation of the previous verse in which Kendrick rattled off all the knowledge he's gained, only to reconsider it all after finding himself in Africa. The boy then says, your life is full of turmoil, spoiled by fantasies of who you are. Referring to Kendrick's bouts with depression, the boy seems to be again calling out Kendrick's celebrity and ego, how it spoiled his life and made him lose touch with what's authentic. The boy continues, I can attempt to enlighten you without frightening you. If you resist, I'll back off quick, go catch a flight or two. There's wisdom to.

be gained in Africa, but only if Kendrick is ready. He must submit to unpacking his identity and all that he thought he knew of himself. It's something easier said than done. The boy doesn't push telling Kendrick if he's not ready, go catch a flight or two. He's implying that the fast-paced nomadic tour life he's living now is merely a distraction. Kendrick is running away from his authentic self. The verse concludes with the lines, but if you pick destiny over rest and peace, then be an advocate. tell your homies especially to come back home. Kendrick again sits at a crossroads and inches his way towards resolution. He's to quote, pick destiny or rest in peace.

His destiny is to be a messenger or spokesman for his community through music and present to them ideas they're not privy to in the hood. Kendrick's other option is to quote, rest in peace, and give in to the suicidal thought he's prone to or submit to the temptations of Lucy, a path we know now leads to eternal damnation in hell. After hearing and examining the verse as a whole, we're inclined to think that there was actually no boy at all,

at least in the physical sense. The boy was merely a metaphoric representation of Africa. Remember, the song is called Mama, and Africa is commonly referred to as the motherland. Kendrick chose a little boy as Africa's representative because his experience there forced him to think long upon his life and his roots. He saw himself everywhere in Africa. He seems to know the answers are there somewhere,

but questions whether or not he's ready to take the leap of faith and abandon all that he believed himself to be up until this point in his life. The third verse's resolution is immediately intercepted with a stuttering psychedelic outro. The musical material stammer's, never finding solid ground. Saxophone flourishes riff over broken drums, and a synthesizer mimics a radio signal attempting to find receipts. A voice enters the mix, droning This Is a World Premiere.

This line is self-referential, quoting to Pimp of Butterfly's first quote-unquote single, I. Released September 24th, 2014, I premiered nearly six months before Tipa Butterfly was released. The track starts with the same voice saying, this is a world premiere. The parallels to I don't end here. As the outro of Mama continues, Kendrick enters with a verse that also shares a connection with I. A version of this verse was first performed live on Kendrick's performance of I on Saturday Night Live, which aired November 14, 2014, four months before Tipa Butterfly was released.

This bonus verse doesn't appear on the studio single version of I, nor does it appear on the version of I that will later come on the album. We're going to first analyze the contents of this mysterious verse, then explain its significance and relationship to I. Let's listen to the opening lines one more time as they appear on Mama. The verse begins, I've been looking for you my whole life, an appetite for the feeling I can barely describe. Where you reside.

Is it in a woman? Is it in money or mankind? Tell me something's got me lose in my mind. Kendrick is searching for something. Of course, by now we know Kendrick well, and we can assume what he's searching for as God, confidence, contentment, happiness, and or purpose. As he says, it's a feeling he can barely describe, because he's only experienced it in fleeting moments of his life. He then asks, where you reside, and money, women, or mankind. We've already seen several examples of Kendrick's unsuccessful searches for happiness through money and women. Now, after his

experiences in Africa, he adds mankind to that list. The section ends with Something Got Me Losing My Mind, which launches into a chaotic frenzy of vocal fragments. Kendrick says, You make me want to jump, which is interjected with the phrase, let's talk about love. These are references to two songs popularized in the 1990s. First is a teenage rap duo Chris Cross's hit Jump released in 19. The second is a reference to the 1997 song Let's Talk About Love by Celine Dion.

on. Every places that every smiles are new on the land I've never seen, there are people around faces

that reminds me we're the same that's dark about love. The warped interjection of these two contrasting songs of the 1990s, the decade in which

Kendrick grew up, falls in line with the self-reflecting sentiments of verse 3 of Mama. The lessons of Africa have thrown Kendrick into a momentary existential crisis. Personally, whenever I listen to this section, I always hear it as some kind of warped sonic portrait of Kendrick's life, like a cubist painting or someone's scattered memories cascading across their mind's eye. Coming after the line,

something's got me losing my mind, the line you make me want to jump likely refers to Kendrick's suicidal thoughts. The Celine Dion reference, however comical at first, begins to make more sense once you analyze its lyrics. While I read these, keep in mind the stories told on Mama, specifically the trip to Afrika on verse 3. Quote, Wherever I go, all the places that I've been, every smile is a new horizon on a land I've never seen. There are people around the world, different faces, different names, but there's one true emotion that reminds me we're the same. Let's talk about love. From the laughter of a child to the tears of a grown man, there's a thread that runs right through us all and helps us

understand. As subtle as a breeze, that fans a flicker to a flame, from the very first sweet melody to the very last refrain, let's talk about love. These lyrics are scarcely similar to the sentiments of verse three of Mama. So when Kendrick juxtaposes let's talk about love against the suicidal thoughts represented in jump, he's again abstractly characterizing himself at a crossroads. with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The verse continues with the repetition of the opening minds, followed by new material that fades as the song concludes. I'm looking for you my whole life, an appetite,

with the feeling like it barely to describe when you result. Isn't in a woman, isn't it money, oh man, God. Tell me some dick, I'm losing my mind. I say, where you at? I'm looking for you, I react only when you be at. I thought I found you back in the gate. When I was 17 with the 30 is best show, maybe you win a dollar bill, maybe you're not real.

Kendrick continues his metaphoric search with the lines, I thought I found you back in the ghetto when I was 17 with the 38 special. A 38 special is the ammunition cartridge common in revolvers. Kendrick here is referring to his crime-ridden teenage years as portrayed on Good Kid Mad City. Kendrick continues saying, maybe you're in a dollar bill, maybe you're not real, maybe only the wealthy get to know how you feel. Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe I don't need you anyway. Here, Kendrick is again hypothesizing on the existence of fulfillment. Maybe only money satisfies. Maybe satisfaction doesn't

exist. Maybe it's exclusive to the super rich. Maybe he doesn't need fulfillment to continue in his life. The verse concludes, don't lie to me. I'm suicidal any day. I can be your advocate. I can preach for you if you tell me what the matter is. These lines which close out the song are a mirror of the concluding lines of verse 3. But if you pick destiny over rest and peace, then be an advocate, tell your homies especially to come back home. Once again, Kendrick is juxtaposing suicide against a higher calling to preach or be an advocate for his community. The song fades, the lights dim, and again were left in mystery about the choice Kendrick will inevitably make. Like we heard earlier, this outro verse was first used on a live performance of the song I on SNL.

To understand its use here on Mama, we'll have to understand the role I will play later on to Pippa Butterfly. Without going into too much detail now, I will come to represent the capstone of Kendrick's metaphoric transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly. Using the verse here on Mama foreshadows the transformation Kendrick is working towards. As we heard earlier on Mama, Kendrick is displaying signs of revelation. To use an obvious but relevant metaphor, his wings are emerging, but he's not quite ready to fly. Conclusions Let's again listen to the excerpt of the narrative poem that introduced Mama. I didn't want to self-destruct.

The evils of Lucy was all around me. So I went running for answers until I came home. After running from the temptations of Lucy on For Sale, Kendrick returns home to Compton once again. But rather than returning to gloat as he did on King Kunta, the dark experiences of You and For Sale have humbled Kendrick and he sees Compton in a different light. He's nostalgic, reflective, and showing signs of revelation. His experience in Africa only further shifted his worldview. At the end of verse 3, Kendrick is again at a crossroads. He used to quote, pick destiny or rest in peace. This is the fundamental question the album poses. How does Kendrick use or

pimp his success, his talent, for good or for evil? Should he run from destiny, give in to Lucy's temptations like so many successful people before him, and live a life filled with riches, drugs, and sex? Or does he choose destiny and pimper's situation for the betterment of mankind, to become an advocate for the Comptons of the world, and provide insight to their lives so they too may make it out of the cocoons of their environment. By extension, the question the album poses is universal. How should we choose to live our own life? How should we pimp our own situation?

What is our personal definition of success? Is it the contents of your bank account or the contents of your heart? Do we live to better ourselves or to better mankind? Mama ends with a fade out, leading directly into a voicemail Kendrick receives on the album's next track, Hood Politics. which will thoroughly examine next time on Dysect. Dysect is written and produced by me. If you've enjoyed what you've heard,

consider reviewing Dysect on iTunes. There's no team behind this podcast. It's just me, and reviews help, a lot. Follow at Dysect podcast on the usual suspects, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and view exclusive episode notes at citiescoutmag.com. Theme music by Birocratic. For more, visit birocratic.bancamp.com.

Thank you.