Dissect - S1E6 – Institutionalized by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: September 20, 2016

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

Welcome to Dysect, long-form musical analysis broken into short, digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. Today, we continue our serialized examination of Tapimpa Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. In our previous three episodes, we examined Act 1 of Topimpa Butterfly, comprised of the songs Wesley's Theory, For Free, and King Kuntah. When assessed as a whole, these songs act as a prelude to Kendrick's transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly. On Wesley's theory, young Kendrick lus about wealth and fame garnered through music.

He meets Uncle Sam, the American Dream Incarnate, who attempts to lure Kendrick down a dark alley of materialism. And for free, Kendrick rejects Uncle Sam and demands compensation. He refuses to work for free like his enslaved ancestors and knows his talent is worth something. In King Kunta, Kendrick returns to his hometown of Compton in order to claim himself king and prove that he's on top of the rap game. As we discussed throughout our examination of these songs, a central theme has been the contrasting duality between empowerment and enslavement. Though Kendrick feels liberated and empowered by success in snubbing Uncle Sam,

he's still falling into his trap. He's still handicapped as a person of color in America, and by his own mentality. His actions thus far in the album are self-serving and ego-driven. Kendrick is out to get his and his alone. He's still a caterpillar, immature, and looking to consume everything around him. And while fame and wealth could be the pinnacle of many people's story, we're only on Song 3, and Kendrick's journey has just begun. At the conclusion of King Kunta, we heard a brief spoken word passage.

I remember you was conflicted. Mishu's in your influence. From this point on, these spoken word passages will continue to bridge songs together. With each recitation, we'll hear an additional line two from the poem that relates thematically to the track that follows it. The poem is a narrative thread. It will help seem together and unify the album's story. It'll remind us listeners that we're experiencing something larger than a collection of individual songs. We're piecing together a narrative. The poem begins, I remember you as conflicted, misusing your influence. Kendrick is talking to someone

who is at some point conflicted about the use of his or her influence. At this point in the story, we don't know exactly who Kendrick is talking to or about. The poem's excerpt leads directly into the album's next track, Institutionalized. By the end of our analysis today, we'll connect the opening lines of the poem to the topics discussed and institutionalized. So without further ado, let's dissect. Institutionalized is the first song of Act 2, which I've titled Cuckooned. Over the next section of songs, Kendrick will begin to display all the ways in which he's

limited by institutions, by his own selfish actions, and by his own thoughts. Before jumping into Lamar's institutionalized, I think it's appropriate to first define and gain a basic understanding of the idea of institutional racism. It's something that is alluded to throughout to Pippa Butterfly, so it's worth our time to explore it, albeit rather briefly. In some ways, institutional racism is easy to define, but much harder to understand. It's nuanced, and unless you belong to a group of people that, that it victimizes, it's often hard to see. But it doesn't take much.

Once you're aware, you start to see it everywhere. In its simplest form, institutional racism can be defined as discrimination against a group of people that is built into political and social institutions. This type of racism reflects the cultural assumptions of a dominant group, so that the practices of that group are seen as the norm to which other cultural practices should conform. It gives advantages to the dominant group and marginalized or limits others. It's often the hardest to see when it's propagated by governments and institutions who do not view themselves as racist. We've already seen multiple examples of institutional racism in our previous episodes.

In episode one, we saw how Compton turned from a dominantly white agricultural city to a city dominated by poverty and crime. The transition was created in large part by the government's assistance in white flight, residential segregation, the CIA's involvement in supplying black neighborhoods with guns and drugs, and the extreme sentenced disparity between drugs used by whites versus those used by blacks. In episode three, we examined the origins of the phrase 40 acres in a mule, in which the federal government gave and then took back 40 acres of land from tens of thousands of former black slaves after the abolition of slavery. I'd also like to quickly take a look at the story of few statistics tell about the Institute racism that occurs against minorities in the United States, specifically African Americans.

I'm basing these numbers on a USNews.com story by Jeff Nesbitt that is readily available online. In the article, Nesbitt starts with educational statistics in this country and displays the cumulative effects of these statistics as one progresses through their life. We'll follow that same progression, starting with education. Black preschoolers make up 18% of the preschool population. yet represent half of all out-of-school suspensions. In kindergarten through 12th grade, black children are three times more likely to be suspended than white children.

This includes disabled black children, who represent a fifth of all disabled students, yet make up 44% of disabled students put in mechanical restraints or seclusion. In the courts, black children are 18 times more likely to be sentenced as an adult. I didn't misspeak there, 18 times more likely. The unemployment rate of black college graduates is double that than white college graduates. And for every $10,000 more a job pays, the chances of a black person holding that job falls by 7%. About 73% of whites own homes versus just 43% of blacks.

The wealth gap between blacks and whites has tripled over the past 25 years, largely due to home ownership, income, education, and inheritances. A black man is three times more likely to be. searched at a traffic stop and six times more likely to go to jail. One case study on the New Jersey Turnpike showed that despite making up 15% of drivers, blacks accounted for 40% of stops and 73% of arrests. These numbers occurred even though whites and blacks disobeyed traffic laws at the same rate. 77% of murderers executed on death row killed a white person and only 13% killed a black person. That implies that if you kill a white person, you're much more likely to receive the death penalty than if you killed a black person.

We'll stop here, but know it would be very easy to continue. Remember, these are unbiased facts, not opinions. This is a music podcast, and I thought presenting a few telling stats would be the most objective way to grasp a small understanding of institutional racism. By no means is this a thorough explanation of the nuances or historic consequences of the subject, and I encourage you all to research and draw your own conclusions. Information is easily accessible with a simple Google search. Bringing it all back to Tapipa Butterfly,

institutional racism is in the DNA of the album's antagonist Uncle Sam. It's the residual effects of a nation that's built on enslavement and genocide. Kendrick knows this, and it explains his resentment and defiant attitude against Uncle Sam on For Free and King Kunta. But as we saw in our analysis of these tracks, defiance doesn't mean that you've overcome anything. A prisoner who yells at its guard is still a prisoner. Starting with institutionalized, Act 2 will begin to explore ways Kendrick is still trapped or concooned by a multitude of factors.

Some are external, like the effects of institutional racism, and some are internal. The song Institutionalized begins with Kendrick rapping in an adolescent-like voice of her music produced by Tommy Black. What money got to do with it? When I don't know the four definition of a rap image, Kendrick begins inside the ghetto when I ain't proud to admit it. Institutional lies if I keep running back for a visit. Hold up.

Kendrick begins by saying what money got to do with it when I don't know the full definition of a rap image. What Kendrick understood of a rap image, money, hose, clothes, and celebrity was just part of what it means to be successful. What he didn't understand is one can obtain these things, but it doesn't mean you're entirely free from your past or social limitations put on a person of color. The next line expounds upon this idea more clearly when Kendrick says,

I'm trapped inside the ghetto and I ain't proud to admit it. Institutional lies I keep running back for a visit. Kendrick is commenting on the previous song, King Kunta, in which Kendrick returned to Compton to gloat about becoming king of the rap game. The ghetto could refer to Compton itself or the ghetto of his own mind, his own thoughts. Although he's successful, his mentality has stayed the same. This idea becomes even more evident when Kendrick repeats the opening lines with a different yet important ending. Kendrick is asking, what good is money if he still feels like he could kill someone,

more specifically a person of his own color. Success hasn't alleviated him from the institutionalized mindset of his upbringing. He's beginning to feel trapped by his own thought process. and the innocence in his voice makes us feel like he's still a child in his own mind. The introduction is followed by a passage sung by Anna Wise and Bilal. It expands on the institutionalized mindset of Kendrick and his friends in Compton. The passage is a response to a question commonly asked of our school children. What would you do if you're a president?

Kendrick's response is that he'd pay his mama's rent, free his homies from. from jail, bulletproof his car, and get high in the White House. This is a very important concept to the album's overall message. Here, Kendrick is fictitiously granted the symbol of ultimate power, the presidency, and the only response he can muster are short-sighted adolescent fantasies. Later in the album, Kendrick will stress change from within, looking inside and becoming the best version of yourself. In institutionalized, Kendrick is presenting a reason why.

He argues that perhaps the largest challenge to institutional racism is the mindset it often yields in neighborhoods like Compton. To break the cycle of feeling trapped, one is to conquer the mind that has fallen victim to systemic racism. Only then would one know how to use power and influence to his fullest, most positive potential. In an interview with Noisy, Kendrick was asked about the effect of institutional racism on his hometown of Compton. Kendrick responded with, quote, it's both physically and mental, putting us in these cages. And when you do that, the kids grow up without their fathers. The cycle just continues all over again. So it's not only caging us in the prisons, but up here as well, Kendrick says, pointing to his head,

making us feel like there's no hope. And when you feel like there's no hope, there's not going to be no action, not in a positive light. So you're going to always be institutionalized, and they'll always be institutionalized. and they'll always make you feel like you can't better yourself. You can't do nothing greater for yourself. And that's even worse than being trapped between walls. To know that up here, your son will be thinking the same way, forever locked up. The introduction of institutionalized concludes with an especially relevant line to the Kendrick quote we just heard.

Master, take the chains off me, is pretty self-explanatory given everything we just examined. but one interesting thing is the pronunciation of master, which if you listen carefully, is pronounced Massa. Massa is the pronunciation of master in the dialect common to slaves when addressing a slave owner. Kendrick is likening institutional racism as a form of modern-day slavery. Another interesting aside, the word Masa in Hebrew means burden or oppressor. It's unclear if Kendrick knew this Hebrew definition, but it certainly does work thematically here. This line signals the end of the song's introduction and launches into a head-nautting production by Rocky.

The drum plays slightly behind the beat over which a unique instrumentation of keyboards, clarinet, cello and violin riff. The first sounds we hear over this new musical material is an adlim on the word zoom. It's a nod to the hip-hop lineage of scat-style improvisation that can be traced back to African Bambata's highly influential planet rock.

Later in the album, on the song Complexion Azulhu Love, Kendrick will allude to another stronger connection with African Bumata, so the nod here on institutionalized is definitely strategic. The ad lib is suddenly interrupted and segues into Kendrick's first verse. As we listen, pay attention to Kendrick's rhythmic pattern in the song's tempo and overall groove. Don't you swine away, biting my style, your salmonella, poison positive. I can just alleviate the rap industry politics. Milk the game up.

Never let's. With that fresh in your mind, let's listen to an excerpt of Buster Rhymes' 2006 track Cocana. Who be the short shot? Shit. I'm back in your soul just like a minister. I'm big like a movie. I'm on the screen down at the cinema. While I'm in the process and slowly getting rid of you,

a bad couple bitches and then I throw them in my video. Yeah, yeah. The guard of the block, you know me killer, how you're spreading a spot wet, and twisting like Olivia. Oh shit, flow's so sicker than chlamydia. We know you a slouch duke, we don't even consider ya. Boast niggas see you hear me in your area. The tempo and groove are nearly identical to institutionalized,

as well as the bouncing rhyme scheme. Kendrick even directly quotes Busta, first with the interrupting shit, that leads into the song's first verses, as well as the line, Flow So Sick. Buster Rhymes has been a mainstay in hip-hop culture, a timeless figure whose 20-year career has garnered him the highest praise among his peers. Like Dr. Dre and George Clinton on Wesley's theory, Tupac on for free, Ice Cube, Michael Jackson, Amad, and Mossburg on King Kunta, and now African Bumbata, Buster Rhymes, and later in the song, Snoop Dog, Kendrick is drawing on significant black musicians and icons to shape the sound and feeling on this album.

We're just four songs in, and each is acknowledged directly, or indirectly, a historical black figure. At this point, it's no longer coincidental. The references are clearly thought out and wholly intentional. They'll continue to loom over the record like an all-seeing eye, watching their prodigy go through perhaps the same growing pains they did coming up in the game. Verse one of institutionalized begins with a few cultural cliches. Life to be like a box of chocolate, quid pro quo,

something for something that's the obvious. Oh shit. First, don't you swallow it, biting my style, your salmonella, poison positive, I can just alleviate the rap industry politics, milk the game up, never lactose, intolerant, the last remainder, a real shit, you know the obvious, me, scholarship, no, streets, put me through colleges, be all you can be, true, but the problem is a dream, only a dream, if work, don't follow it, remind me of the homies they... First, Kendrick states, life can be like a box of chocolates. The line, which is taken from the film Forrest Gump, is typically followed by you never know what you're going to get. As we saw in the song's introduction, Kendrick is starting to realize that success isn't what he thought it might be. The next line, quid pro quo, something for something, continues this train of thought.

Quid pro quo is Latin for this for that. Kendrick has traded the hardships of Compton for a new set of hardships, acclimating to fame while still in a Compton state of mind. The verse continues with a series of metaphors and euphemisms for Kendrick's deadly flow. The song's thesis begins to appear midway through the verse when Kendrick says, Me, Scholarship? No, streets put me through colleges. Be all you can be. True, but the problem is, dream only a dream, if work don't follow it. Kendrick cites the streets of Compton as his real education.

He then states the American military slogan, Be All You Can Be, and the importance of hard work to fulfill your dreams. Of course, Kendrick is a shining star example of someone who utilize strong work ethic to achieve success. Unfortunately, Kendrick's high achievements are the exception, not the norm. But what's interesting is that Kendrick at this point in the album fails to see this. Instead, he uses the opportunity to address his frustrations with his Compton friends. Be all you can be true, but the problem is a dream, only a dream. If work, don't follow it, remind me you're the homies that you know me, now follow this. I tell you my hypothesis, I'm probably just way too loyal.

Can't desert what's doing for you. My niggas think I'm a god. I'll love them spoil you. Usually you're never charged. But something came over you once I took you to the fucking BET Awards. You're looking at artists like the harbiscists. So many rolys around you and you won't all of them. Somebody told me you thinking about snatching jury.

I should have listened what my grandmama said to me. Kendrick has taken his friends to the BET Awards and act true to his declarations on the album's opening Wesley's theory verse. But rather than appreciate the opportunity, his friends are plotting to rob the rich artists in the room. It puts Kendrick in an awkward position, stuck between his childhood friends and his new successful peers. It's a metaphor for his mind,

somewhere between a Compton mentality and the mentality of the famous. Perhaps Kendrick naively thought that by bringing his friends to an award show, that it would somehow erase years of institutionalization. Of course, it can't, and Kendrick expresses his frustrations by stating that he should have listened to his grandmother's words of wisdom, which are at the center of the song's hook. At this point in the record, the hook has a tinge of resentment or annoyance.

It's almost like he's shaking his head. Kendrick's character is not able to yet fully grasp the concept of why people don't change or aren't changed easily when raised in an institutionalized environment like Compton. He's also not yet in the position to help them change, as he will eventually become by the album's end. The hook leads into a bridge performed by the legend Snoop Dog. Having already nodded to African Bumada in the song's opening measures, Snoop's entrance makes it very clear that institutionalized is attempting to enter the lineage of hip-hop's historical use of fairy tale.

The Once Upon a Time approach dates back the Slick Rick's classic children's story of 1989. It tells a cautionary story of two boys who turned to robbery at a young age, one of which is ultimately killed at the age of 17. And people were behaving like they ought to good. They lived a little boy who was misled by another little boy, and this is what he said. Me and you tonight, we're going to make some cash robbing old folks and making the dance. They did the job. The contrasts like he had a disease

He robbed another and a lover and our sister and a brother Tried to rob a manna was a DTie undercover The cop grabbed his army started acting erratic he said The contrast created by telling a tragic story Through the lens of a fairy tale Is especially impactful It sheds light on the reality of children Who grew up in environments like Compton

Remember Kendrick witnessed his first murder at the age of six These quote-unquote fairy tale stories aren't an exaggeration There's some children's reality. Snoop Dog's intonation and rhyme pattern on institutionalized falls in line with the slick-rick tradition. The subject matter is also related, as both songs speak on robbery as an action influenced by their environment. With the line, took his homie to the show,

and this is what they said, Snoop introduces verse two, wrapped entirely from the perspective of Kendrick's homie at the award show. Fuck in my post to do what I'm looking at walking licks. The custom big money talk by the mentioning foreign whips. The profit, chess and passport, presidential glass for, gold bottles, gold models, skipping up the ass for. It's the ground flick, sucking dick, fuck is this, one more sucker waving with a fleshy wrist.

First two begins with Kendrick's homie surrounded with what he describes as walking licks. Slaying for a person who's appealing to steal from because they have a lot of valuables on them. The homie is not able to differentiate the award show at the from a rich commoner on the street. Seeing wealth around him, the homie's desire to steal is instinctual. It's an instinct bred of an environment like Compton, born of institutionalism. Midway through the verse, the homie describes the instinct as a defense mechanism and continues to fantasize about robbing all the rich people in attendance.

I'm sucking dick, fuck is this. One more sucker waving with a flashy wrist. My defense mechanism tell me to get him quickly because he got it. It's a recession. It's fucking and king of diamonds No more living poor Meet my four for When I see them

Put the bird die I'm on the floor Now Kendrick know they're your co-workers But it's go take a lot for this piss to go cold turkey Now I can watch it's watch on the TV and be okay But see I'm on the clock Once that watch London in LA Remember still from the rich and giving it back to the poor Well that's me at these awards

I guess my grandma was warning a boy She said It's don't change it to you It's very interesting that Kendrick describes the homie's instinct to steal as a defense mechanism. A defense mechanism is defined as an unconscious mental process initiated to avoid anxiety. They are learned at an early age, usually childhood, and are typically expressed by repression, denial, or projection.

Kendrick argues that impulse robberies and learned defense mechanism. The homie sees wealthy, successful black men and women around him at the BET Awards, and it subconsciously causes the homie anxiety. He redirects that anxiety into anger and an instinct to steal. The root of his anxiety, of course, is his position in society that makes obtaining the success he sees extremely difficult, nearly impossible. This idea is further backed by a few key phrases that are injected throughout the rest of the verse. The homie says, Now Kendrick, I know they're your co-workers, but it's going to take a lot for this

pistol to go cold turkey. Of course, cold turkey is a phrase that refers to quitting an addiction. Next comes the line, now I can watch his watch on TV and be okay, but see I'm on the clock once that watch landed in L.A. Being on the clock obviously refers to being at work. In just a matter of seconds, Kendrick Likens impulse robbery to work, addiction, and defense mechanisms. Clearly the homie is acting on forces stronger than himself. The forces are environmentally bred and born of institutionalism. The verse concludes with the line, remember steal from the rich and give back to the poor, well that's me at these awards.

The homie likens his instincts to a Robin Hood mentality. He's going to take the wealth disparity into his own hands and believes himself a hero, or at least justified in his actions. After the repetition of the song's hook, Snoop enters again and brings a song to a close. and confused, talented but still under the neighborhood rules. You can take your boy out the hood, but you can't take the hood off the homie. Took his show money, stashed it in the mozy-wozy. Hollywood's nervous.

Fuck you, good night. Thank you much for your service. Snoop describes Kendrick being dazed and confused, talented but still under the neighborhood ruse. Although Kendrick reasons his homie's instinct with psychological and environmental rationale, it's interesting to note that these insights do not come from the Kendrick played on record, rather the homie himself. Kendrick on record is in a difficult position.

His life has changed, and while his intentions were pure in sharing his new life experiences with his homies in Compton, he hasn't quite realized how deeply embedded and institutionalized mind state can be. Like Snoop says in the following lines, you can take your boy out the hood, but you can't take the hood out the homie. Kendrick even hides his show money in the mozy-wozy, his hotel room, because he's nervous his own friend might rob him. The song concludes with the line,

Hollywood's nervous. It's unclear to us and to Kendrick himself if he's part of Hollywood or part of the group of homies he brought to Hollywood. At this point, he seems somewhere in between. Conclusions Let's revisit the poem that introduced institutionalized. I remember you was conflicted.

Mishu's and your influence. Kendrick's experience at the BET Awards has left him conflicted about his new place in the world. While puffing his chest on King Kunta, the honeymoon of his rise to stardom seems to be fading. He's beginning to realize the complexities of his new world, and how his upbringing and Compton has left him ill-equipped and navigate it successfully. The line misusing your influence refers to Kendrick's gesture

of bringing his homies to the award show, only to become frustrated with their behavior, which he shrugs off with the song's hook, shit don't change until you wash your ass. At this point, Kendrick doesn't fully understand that his homie's behavior is a product of institutionalism. He also doesn't yet understand the potential his influence has to shine light on issues and bring about change. Setting the song within the hip-hop fairy tale framework works to further solidify Kendrick's adolescent mind state. Institutionalized is followed by the song, These Walls, which begins with a reinstatement of the narrative poem with an additional line revealed.

misusing your influence. Sometimes I did the same. What did Kendrick do the same? We'll answer this and more on our examination of these walls. Next time on Dissect. Dysect is written and produced by me. If you've enjoyed what you've heard, consider reviewing Dysect on iTunes.

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