Dissect - S1E12 – Hood Politics by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: November 15, 2016

We continue our serialized analysis of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly by dissecting "Hood Politics." 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 Topimp a 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 in God, Kendrick went to battle on the vices and inner conflicts that led him to depression and suicidal thoughts. On For Sale, we're privy to Kendrick's subconscious and the temptations of Lucy, the devil incarnate.

On our last episode, we examined Mama, a song in which Kendrick returns home in search of clarity. He's nostalgic and reflective in Compton and gains a broader worldview in Africa. At the end of verse 3, we saw Kendrick yet again at a number. other crossroads. He's to quote, pick destiny or rest in peace. It laid out the fundamental question the album poses. How will Kendrick use or pimp his success, his talent, for good or for evil? Should he run from destiny, give into Lucy's temptations, and live a life filled with riches, drugs, and sex? Or does he choose destiny, pimper's situation for the betterment of mankind and become an advocate for the Comptons of the world? It's a question Kendrick is not yet ready to

answer as it sends them into an abstract existential crisis reflected in the chaotic outro of Mama. That outro leads directly into the album's next track and the subject of today's episode, Hood Politics. Hood politics begins with a minimal laid-back drum and bass group over which we hear a voicemail on Kendrick's phone, presumably left by a friend from Compton. Kendrick's friend addresses him as KDOT, Kendrick's nickname and former moniker when coming up in Compton. We can assume that whomever left the voicemail has known Kendrick for many years. He then calls Kendrick out for never answering his phone, presumably because he's now famous

and always on the road. He also questions how Kendrick has changed from the K-dot he once knew, wearing no socks and skinny jeans, high-fashioned attire far from the clothes Kendrick worn his days in Compton. While his friends seems to only be lightheartedly giving Kendrick a hard time, the voicemail seems to trigger a reaction in Kendrick. Through his confessions on the song, You, we already know Kendrick suffers from survival's guilt about his escape from the hood, and the voicemail leaves him insecure about his new status as hip-hop star. He doesn't want to be thought of as Hollywood or a sellout, and Hood Politics will be Kendrick's way of proving himself to himself.

After the voicemail introduction, we hear a series of faint chords that establishes the song's harmonic center. These chords are sampled from the introduction of Sufion Stevens' 2010 track, All for Myself. For comparison's sake, we'll listen first to an excerpt of the Stevens track, and then immediately listen to the introduction of Hood Politics. And now the introduction of Hood Politics. After this brief introduction, the song erupts with a slumping beat and hair-raising bass.

Kendrick recites the song's hook using a high-pitched vocal inflection. Kendrick is again playing a character, a younger version of himself, and manipulates his voice to personify this character. I've been eight once since day one, you knickers, boo-boo. Your own boy, you blacked that you're from, boo-boo. Right away we can see why Kendrick uses an adolescent voice. The showboating nature of the song's hook is by Kendrick's standards, immature. It seems the voicemail has left Kendrick defensive and he's taking us back to the mentality of his early days in Compton.

He's proving to himself how he's earned his success and how he stay true to his roots. The hook begins, I've been A1 since day one, and contrasts this with everything else being Boo Boo Boo. A1 is slang for top-notch, and booboo is slang for shit. Kendrick continues this contrast in comparison throughout the hook. He calls your homeboys, your block, your school hose, baby mama and new bitch, all boo-boo. From what I can tell, the shots are aimed at no one in particular. It's the kind of boasting by way of insults common to young rappers. Again, Kendrick is bringing us back to his adolescent mentality while growing up in Compton.

The sentiment is continued with the lines, We Was in the Hood, 14 with the deuce-duce. Kendrick is referring to himself at age 14, running in the streets with a 22-caliber gun. He then contrasts this with the line, 14 years later we going hard like we used to. Again, Kendrick is convincing himself that he's remained true to his roots,

that his success 14 years later has not altered his A-1 foundation. He follows these lines with On the Dead Homies repeated two times. The first time links to the previous line going hard like we used to. Kendrick is implying that he's going hard in respect or retaliation for his deceased friends, presumably killed by hood politics or gang rivalry.

The second iteration of On the Dead Homies is similar to the phrase, I swear on my mother's grave. Kendrick is swearing that his words and sentiments on the hook are true. The song's first verse finds Kendrick using the same adolescent high-pitched vocal timbre. So you better go hard every time you jump on wax, my nigger. Fuck what they talk about. Your shit is square a sack, my nigga. Came in this game.

You stuck your fangs in this game. You want no chain in this game. Your hood, your name in this game. Now you double up. Time to bubble up the bread and huddle up. Stick it to the sprits. Now, give them bench a man. The verse begins, I don't give a fuck about no politics and rap.

My little homie, Stunaduce, ain't never coming back. Stunaduce was the nickname of Kendrick's homie, Chad Keaton, who we discussed on our examination of the song You. Jack Keaton. He was like my little brother. We grew up in the same community. I was actually best friends with his older brother, which is incarcerated right now. And him just always telling me to make sure that, you know, Chad is on the right path. You know, and he was on the right path. But, you know, things happen where, you know, sometimes the good are in the wrong places and that's exactly what happened.

What happened to her? He got shot. The verse continues, so you better go hard every time you jump on wax. Fuck what they talking about. Your shit is where it's at. This is an extension of the sentiments of the concluding lines of the song's hook, in which Kendrick states, 14 years later going hard like we used to on the dead homies. Chad Keaton is certainly one of the dead homies that inspires Kendrick to keep it real on record and ignore the politics in his perception within the rap industry. The next few lines outlines Kendrick's rise from the hood into rap stardom. You came in this game, you stuck your fangs in this game.

You wore no chains in this game, your hood, your name in this game. Kendrick here is proving his authenticity. Stating he wore no chains accentuates his choice to not wear a rhyme about expensive jewelry. He made his fame by talking about real-life experiences, staying true to his roots, and offering insights to the struggles of his community. The verse continues with Kendrick developing his authenticity theme. Suck, it goes, Chimpsit, babies.

That's what the products smell like when the chemicals mix. 50 nigger salute, out the Compton Zoo with the extras. Elcos, Monte Carlo's, Ro kings and dressers, rip riders, P-focus, mess again fuck with you. Asians, they fuck with you. Nobody can't fuck. Kendrick states, 50 N-word salute, out the Compton Zoo with the extras, and then continues to list a series of racial groups and Southern California gangs that support him. The phrase 50 N-word salute is,

a reference to, you guessed it, Tupac Shakur. Above his infamous Thug Life tattoo across his abdomen, Tupac had a small tattoo of an AK-47 embedded with the phrase 50-Nward salute. The meeting behind the tattoo was one of unity. If the black community and perhaps specifically the young African-Americans involved in gang violence and black-on-black crime could unite across the 50 states of America, it could create an army and influence to be reckoned with. The division that gangs create within the community ultimately weakens them. While Tupac was certainly caught up in both hood and hip-hop politics, which would ultimately prove to be his demise, he also spoke often of unity and promoted black pride through unity. Tupac's struggle between participating in black-on-black crime,

while also advocating for its end, certainly calls to mind the beginning of Tepinpa Butterfly's narrative poem. I remember you as conflicted. But I digress. After a repetition of the song's hook, Verse 2 begins. rival gang is coming to beef, and Kendrick seems more than willing to fight. Kendrick's portrait of street life gets a little more abstract as the verse continues. He states, everything is everything, it's scandalous, slow motion for the ambulance, the project filled with cameras, the LAPD gambling, scrambling, football numbers, slandering. Slow motion for the ambulance refers to the low priority of medical attention in the ghettos

of Compton, while LAPD gambling, scrambling, implies that LAPD, a shady judgment when using force, which often leads them to scrambling for a cover-up. The concluding lines of verse two are among the most quotable lines on the album. them they fuck with you. Obama say what I do. Kendrick draws parallels between the hood politics of Compton and the political institutions of the United States. He says, there's a new gang in town,

from Compton to Congress, set tripping all around. Ain't nothing new but a flu of Democrats and re-bloodigans. Red state versus a blue state, which one you govern in. Of course, the Republican red states versus Democratic blue states parallels the colors of rival gangs, bloods, and crips. Kendrick cleverly combines these two ideas by stating demo crips and re-bloodigans. The short-sighted, often paralyzing political rivalry of red and blue parties, contributes to the degradation of the people they claim to serve.

Likewise, the rivalries between urban gangs, often of the same race, contributes to the degradation of their neighborhoods. Kendrick continues to call out the hypocrisy of the government, who largely disavows gangs, yet, in part contributed to their prominence. He states, they give us guns and drugs, call us thugs, make it their promise to fuck with you, no condom they fuck with you. As we discussed thoroughly in our very first episode to dissect, the CIA was involved in supplying LA neighborhoods with guns and cocaine in the 1980s during the war on drugs. The line, make it they promise to fuck with you,

alludes to the empty claims of change politicians promised during the election cycle. In the line, no condom they fuck with you, implies that their promises are dirty, and their behavior is reckless, self-serving, and short-sighted. Verse two concludes with the line, Obama Say What It Do, which triggers a brief stuttering halftime interlude. What It Do is Bay Area slang for What's Up, by metaphorically quoting Obama saying this, and having just heard the previous line, making a lot of the previous line, making a lot of the way they promise to fuck with you, no condom they fuck with you. It seems Kendrick is not exempting

Obama, the first black president from being part of the political gang the demo crips. Having campaigned on the promise of change, which many feel he's failed to deliver, Obama too is a part of the political machine of false promises. Like Hillary's hot sauce or Trump's red hat, Obama's use of slang is merely a ruse to connect with a targeted demographic to get their vote. Of course, the flip side to this interpretation could be that Obama does genuinely speak their language and had the black community's best interests in mind, but the divided and discordant political landscape made change extremely difficult, if not impossible. Here Obama comes a king-cunta-like figure himself, a dichotomy of power and constraint, emancipated yet disenfranchised,

both master and slave. After a repetition of the song's hook, verse three begins. While verse One spoke on hood politics, and verse two spoke on governmental politics. Verse three speaks on hip-hop politics. Everybody want to talk about who this and who's that, who the realist and who whack, or who white and who black. Critics want to mention that they miss when hip hop was rapping. Motherfuck if you did, then Killer Mike could be black. Y'all priorities fucked up, but energy and wrong shit. Hennessy and Crown Vic, my memory been gone since.

No, I'm asking by no camera black and that at war shows. Kendrick begins the verse outlining the hypocrisy of hip-hop critics. We gossip about who's real and who's whack, but fail to support real lyrical emcees like Killer Mike. Killer Mike is a rapper and activist from Atlanta, Georgia, who first entered the game through a feature on Outcast's Stankonia album in the year 2000. Since then, Killer Mike has become a highly respected MC within the hip-hop community, a rapper's rapper, but he's never quite broken through to the mainstream. Without getting two side-tracked, let's take a listen to an excerpt of the Killer Mike verse

from the track Reagan. After just interpreting the line Obama say what it do, and the gang mentality of politicians, I think you'll find this excerpt especially relevant to hood politics. an actor, not at all a factor, just an employee of the country's real masters. Just like the Bush's, Clinton and Obama, just another talking head telling lies on tell the plonters. If you don't believe the theory, then argue with this logic, why did Reagan and Obama both go after Gadda.

We can't pay the sovereign soil, going after oil. Taking countries is a hobby, paid for by the oil, like me. Same as in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I'm a dinner jar and say they're coming for Iran. It's likely Kendrick chose to shout out Killer Mike specifically on Hood Politics because his commentary on social and political issues. And as my friend Garrett pointed out, Killer Mike uses a phrase boo-boo in several of his songs. Baby shit, just be...

Is Killer Mike's use of boo-boo coincidence? Maybe, but probably not. Kendrick has shown to consistently suffuse his lyrics with highly detailed, nuanced associations like these throughout his career. Killer Mike took Kendrick's shout out to heart, an honor he spoke on in an interview with MTV. I felt like when a professional ballplayer compliments another professional ball player, that is a compliment.

No one can understand how truly dope that. is unless you're a ball player, you know, unless you stepped on the court and laced up your shoes and had to play against Jordan, you don't understand what a compliment it is. And Jordan says, yeah, I like that guy. You know, he's one of those ones. So for me, it was an honor. I'm a big fan of Kendrick. I didn't know he listened to me.

I suspect it maybe he did. I'm glad it was confirmed in such a huge and complimentary way. I just want to thank him, you know. If you're not already a fan of Killer Mike, I hope this sidebar inspires you to check him out. Turning our attention again to Hood, politics. Kendrick continues verse three developing his critique of hip-hop politics. The second half of this concluding verse refers specifically to Kendrick's industry-shattering feature

on the song Control by Big Sean. It was the verse heard round the world. Now simply known as the control verse, Kendrick caused an uproar in the hip-hop community by crowning himself the king in New York, calling out 11 emerging rappers by name, and challenging them for the number one spot in hip-hop. for B-Zig.

I heard the barbershops being great to base all the time about who's the best MC, Kendrick Jigger and Nas. M&M, Andre 3000, the rest of y'all, new niggas, just new niggas, don't get involved. And I ain't rocking no more designer shit. White Tees and Nike Cortez, this red corvette's head synonymous. I'm usually homeboys with the same niggas I'm rhyming with, but this is hip hopin'n, and them niggas, you know what time it is. And that goes for Jermink Co. Big Crit Wallet, Pusha T, Meek, Meek, Meals, A-A, Drake,

The verse John J. Electron, Tyler MacMiller, I got love for you all, but I'm trying to murder you niggas. Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you, niggas. They don't want to hear not one more now, no verb from you, niggas. What is competition? I'm trying to raise the bar high. Who's trying to jump and get it? You're a better half trying to skydive. Out the exit window of five.

The verse set a fire of the hip-hop community. Bloggers, radio DJs and barbers across the nation gossiped endlessly about the verse's impact. It also garnered more than 20 response tracks from MCS. It brought an excitement, competition, and critical analysis of lyricism that had long been absent in the hip-hop community. And though he found critical acclaim with Good Kid Mad City, the control verse quickly catapulted Kendrick up hip-hop's totem pole and solidified his place among the best contemporary MCs. Now having some context, let's listen one more time to the second half at the concluding verse of Hood politics. I can push the button, had the coast on standby, head out what up by her, they opened up, Pandora's box,

I boxed my land by our last slot. Nah, homie, we too sensitive. It's been out to the streets. I make the call and get the coast to follow the history repeat. But I resolved inside their private hard was sitting down with Jay. He said it's funny how I won first can fuck up the game. Detailing the world's response to his control verse, Kendrick states,

Unless you're talking about power, I got a lot of it. I'm the only N-word-N-W-N-N-S-ope that could push the button, had the coast on standby. These lines are in direct reference to the controversial line on the King of New York wrapped on control. The phrase, push the button, means to ignite war, as in the person in command of a nuclear missile. Kendrick is claiming that him and Snoop are the only two on the West Coast with enough

power and influence to reignite a 1990s-like West Coast versus East Coast rivalry. Of course, the most infamous of rivals were East Coast rapper Notorious BIG and the West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur. The beef extended beyond the booth, and both rappers ended up dead under mysterious circumstances. Kendrick continues the verse alluding to this very feud with the lines, Nah homie, We Too Sensitive, and spill out to the streets. I make the call and get the coast involved, then history repeats. Kendrick is predicting that if you are really to push the button and reignite the West Coast East Coast feud, some involved might be too sensitive to keep it friendly music competition and take to violent action on the streets, hence the lines spill out to the streets

and history repeats. To avoid this scenario, Kendrick states the closing lines of the verse, but I resolved inside that private haw by sitting down with Jay. He said it's funny how one verse can fuck up the game. It seems Kendrick spoke to East Coast powerhouse Jay-Z to broker some kind of backroom peace treaty between coasts. This line is based on a true story, as Kendrick did speak to Jay Z after his control verse dropped. Jay, as well as Diddy and Nas, two other East Coast Titans, all approved of Kendrick's verse

and believed it to be beneficial for a contemporary hip-hop era that's been lacking the classic rivalries of the past. I know you saw Jay Z. What did Jay, and I heard from Ebro that Jay was a fan of the verse. What did Jay tell you? I mean, that's classified between me

and him, you know, but it was all. There's one last clever gem in these concluding lines of hood politics. Kendrick states, he said it's funny how one verse can fuck up the game. The he here is Jay-Z, and his statement is obviously referring to the reaction caused by Kendrick's control verse igniting the rap game. But this hypothetical Jay-Z quote is an actual quote from Jay-Z's 1990 song Imaginary Players. Of course, Jay-Z was a part of a major rap feud when he and Nas battled on wax for nearly a decade beginning in the late 1990s. But rather than ending in tragedy like Biggie and Tupac, the Jay-Z and Nas beef never extended beyond the booth,

and the two would eventually become friends and unite on the song Black Republicans. It makes sense then that Kendrick would seek the council of Jay-Z regarding the control frenzy, Jay having been there before and managing to navigate the rap politics without a tragic ending. Conclusions. Hood Politics concludes with the reinstatement of the first line of the hook, which immediately collides with the recitation of the narrative poem with six additional lines revealed. I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence. Sometimes I did the same. Abusing my power full of resentment. Resentment that turned into a deep depression. Found myself screaming in the hotel room. I didn't want itself to show. struck.

The evils of Lucy was all around me. So I went running for answers until I came home. But that didn't stop Survivor's guilt. Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I heard. Or maybe how A1 my foundation was. But while my love ones was fighting a continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one.

While the narrative poem typically sets up the song that follows a poem, here it retroactively comments on the themes of hood politics. We know the line until I came home applies that Kendrick's return to Compton on Mama. Kendrick then says, but that didn't stop survival's guilt, going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned, or maybe how A1 my foundation was. After receiving a voicemail for McCompton homie calling Kendrick out for never answering his phone, dressing differently, and implying that he's forgot about his friends, Kendrick again feels survival's guilt for leaving Compton. Remember, earlier on the album, Kendrick was sent into a fit of manic depression by his survival's guilt on the song, You. Here on Hood Politics, he combats

this feeling by attempting to convince himself of the stripes or street credit he's earned, and how A1 or authentic his foundation is. Hood Politics is a conversation Kendrick is having with himself, reiterating his roots and attempting to prove that he's not caught up in the governmental politics of verse 2 or the politics of rap in verse 3. Rather, he's still deeply affected by the hood politics and violence in the streets of Compton. Remember, the song opened with referencing the death of his friend Chad Keaton, aka Stenaduse. And in contrast to the sadness and depression on you, Kendrick deals with the insecurities caused by survival's guilt with frustration and anger. When I say these lines, it's for myself.

This is therapeutic for myself because I still feel that urge and I still feel that anger and that hatred for this man next door because I got to get a call knowing that somebody around the corner than did this to my partner. I still feel that. I still feel that hatred. I still feel like that ill will to want it to do something. Do you have that in you? Do you feel like you have that in you?

All the time. Wow. I've only been in this industry for three. four years. And I can't forget 20 years of me being in the city of campus. So when I say these things, it's therapeutic for me. It's making me remind I need to respect this man because he's a black man, not because of the color that he went. That's what I mean. So what you can't see here is Kendrick's face when speaking these words. It's thoughtful, earnest, and full of genuine conflict and pain. The contrasts between the nostalgic, warm,

feelings of the previous song Mama and the anger and frustration on Hood politics prove that Kendrick is still conflicted about his feelings for Compton. While Mama seemed like a step forward towards resolution, Hood Politics seems like a step back. Let's listen again to the two lines of the narrative poem that concluded Hood Politics. While my love ones was fighting a continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one. What new city is Kendrick entering? We'll find out on the Almond's. next track how much a dollar cost, which will thoroughly examine next time on Dysect. Dysect is written and produced by me. If you enjoy what you hear, consider rating Dysect on iTunes.

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