Dissect - S5E12 - LUST. by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: December 10, 2019

When DAMN. released just months after Donald Trump was elected president, many were anticipating the moment Kendrick Lamar -- the greatest rapper of our generation -- addressed the election on the album. LUST. presents that moment, but not in a way many people were expecting… Say hi @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Purchase Dissect merch at https://shop.dissectpodcast.com/. Listen to original Dissect themes on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k8BsZM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. Today we continue our serialized analysis of Damn by Kendrick Lamar. On our last episode, we dissected Humble, a song that found our protagonist Kung Fu Kenny, distorting God's message of humility to exalt his own ego. Throughout the track, Kenny put his enemies down and hypocritically demanded from them humility when in the presence of a powerful, more dominant alpha male such as himself. Coming off the heels of the song Pride and Kenny's admission of his imperfections

and his recognition of God's perfection, we found the subject matter of humble and unexpected regression from the apparent progress made on pride. In this way, we might view Kenny's embrace of his ego as a defense mechanism against his own inadequacies. That is, in the face of the truly difficult process of humility in the presence of perfection, in the presence of God, Kenny doubles down on his original decision to follow his intuition towards sex, money, and murder.

Indeed, this pursuit will crystallize in the album's next track, the subject of our episode today, Lust. Lust was produced by Soundwave, VJ Dahi, and Bad Bad Not Good, and features guest vocals by K. Trinada. The song is centered around a hypnotic guitar and bass loop provided by Bad Bad Not Good. Now we find an interesting connection between this introduction of Lust and the outro of the previous track Humble. Let's take a listen to that outro.

Now Humble's piano riff is based on three notes. The first and main note is E flat. The two other notes aside from this E-flat and the Humble piano riff are an E-natural and A-flat, but the riff's home base is that E-flat. That's the song's key signature and its natural state of rest. With that being the case, if one wanted to end Humble traditionally, that is, have the song come to a nice and neat feeling of conclusion, you would end the song on the E-flat. Doing so closes the loop and provides a solid feeling of resolution, of completeness. But that's not what happens at the end of Humble. The song doesn't end on an E-flat.

Instead, it ends on an E-natural. This leaves a song hanging. It's full of tension and doesn't resolve in the way we expect. It's the equivalent to ending a chapter in a book mid-sentence or with a triple dot-punctuation mark, otherwise known as dot-dot dot-dot. But something really cool happens when we hear the introduction to lust directly after this cliffhanger ending of Humble.

It's cool because lust is in the key of E-flat minor. and an E-flat is the first note we hear on Lus' introduction. Remember, this E-flat is the main note from Humble's piano riff, the note that would have provided the traditional resolution. And so when we hear the cliffhanger ending on Humble into Lust, lust actually resolves the tension, creating a seamless transition between the two tracks. Here's a piano recreation of this transition.

And now let's hear the actual tracks Humble and Lus back to back. Pretty cool, right? Now, after Lus' hypnotic guitar introduction, We hear the entrance of a strange percussion part. This percussion part is created by taking a standard drum beat and reversing it, that is, playing it backwards. Later in the song, we'll actually hear this backwards drum technique applied to a second drum pattern. This is now the third song on Dam that makes prominent use of a reverse sound source.

Like we mentioned in our episodes on Yaw and Loyalty, this reverse sound source is a sonic motif that will continue to hear throughout Dam, tying into the theme of reversing curses into blessings and foreshadowing the fact the entire album can be played in reverse order. And so now with a good understanding of Lust's creative and extremely unique production, let's dive into the song's lyrics. Lust opens with the song's hook. Here we find Kenny expressing thirst, saying, I need some water. Despite its simplicity, having studied so thoroughly Kendrick's back catalogue, we know this phrase and the idea of thirst is ripe with thematic significance. It's the idea central in Good Kid Mad City,

addressed specifically in the song, Sing About Me, I'm Dying the Thirst. In the story line to thirst, you die in the thirst, so hop in that water and pray that it works. In the storyline of Good Kid Mad City, Kendrick dying of thirst signifies the moment he realized that his current path, his unmediated pursuit of money and sex, is leading him and others to death. Rather than barreling down the pit of destruction, Kendrick decides instead to, quote, hop in that water and pray that it works, which is a pretty clear reference to the Christian ceremony of water baptism. Knowing that Kung Fu Kenny, like Kedod on Good Kid, has been pursuing sex, money and murder,

throughout dam. It stands to reason that holy water is the kind of water that Kenny needs here on lust. Like Kendrick's discography, this idea of thirst and holy water is a recurring motif throughout the Bible. As we discussed in our first episode this season, the prophet Amos famously spoke about Yahweh's words, being the water that Israelites needed to eradicate the injustice plaguing their society. Jesus himself also spoke of thirst and water when addressing injustice in the Israelite society. In conversation with a distraught and dispossessed woman near a water well, Jesus said, quote, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life, unquote.

As we also discussed in previous episodes, the Bible suggests that God's spirit is a metaphorical water that humans need to be filled with in order to truly live. Without God's spirit, humans will never be satisfied, nor could they live in a just society. It's for this reason that in the conclusion of the Good Kid Mad City narrative, Kendrick pledges his ultimate loyalty to Jesus. And be my Lord and Savior. And be my Lord and Savior. I receive Jesus to take control of my life. I receive Jesus to take control of my life.

And that I might live for him from this day forward. and that I may live for him and this day forth. Thank you, Lord. If we recall our discussion of the spiritual themes throughout Kendrick's early work, we remember that Kendrick consistently presents human existence as a struggle between choosing God's spirit that leads to freedom and life, or choosing evil spirits that lead to slavery and death.

Of course, Dam is no different, as this idea is fully on display in the album's opening presentation of wickedness versus weakness. And after hearing the boasts about sex, money and murder on the previous track Humble, it seems that Kenny has yet again rejected God's spirit and is now firmly under the influence of evil spirits or demons. This idea gives way to the next lines and lust's hook. Something came over me, way too hot to simmer down, might as well overheat. This idea that something came over Kenny harkens back to the pivotal line we heard in pride.

Sick venom and men and women overcome with pride. Having already been overcome with the spirit of pride, it would seem that Kenny is now overcome by the spirit of lust. Kenny's sense of being overcome is immediately connected to a description of his environment being excessively hot, which seems to be a clear reference to the Christian concept of hell, a place where demons, along with those who practice wickedness, are destroyed by fire. This concept of hell was actually inspired by a valley east of Jerusalem, where the wicked kings of Israel burn their children alive as sacrifices to other gods. These horrific acts caused Jeremiah, the same prophet who told the king of Jerusalem to humble himself,

to prophecy that this wicked valley would be forever cursed. Over the centuries, this valley became the primary image that the Israelites used to explain how one day, those who perpetrated wickedness will suffer the same fate they subjected others to. And it would seem that for Kenny, that day has already come. Kenny's observation that it's way too hot to simmer down suggests that Kenny is now experiencing hell on earth. That is, the injustice caused by his desire for sex, money, and murder seem to be fully consuming him. Moreover, by saying might as well overheat, Kenny implies that dying of thirst is unavoidable, maybe even preferable. Indeed, as we'll see throughout lust,

Kenny is going to become just like the Israelite kings, who led their own people down into a valley of death and destruction. As Lust's hook continues, we see the immediate results of Kenny's lust-inspired actions. want me, am I asking too much? Here Kenny seems to express that his wealth and success place him in close proximity to various forms of physical pleasure and temptation, and find him fiending like a junkie. Specifically, Kenny seems to be addicted to being desired by someone else, someone we might assume is a woman that Kendrick is attracted to. This desire of being wanted sexually gives a secondary meaning to the phrase, I need some water, as Kenny now appears

to be thirsty, a slang word for someone who is desperate to fulfill a sexual urge. This idea leads into the second half of Lus Hook, wherein Kenny says, let me put the head in, I don't want more than that, girl, I respect the cat, I promise just a touch, let me put the head in if it's okay, she said it's okay. These lines make it explicitly clear that Kenny is thirsty for sex. Since he's not immediately getting what he desires, Kenny tries to convince the woman to play just the tip, a sexual act in which a man attempts to engage in intercourse by saying he'll only insert the head of his penis into the woman. The inherent irony of Just the Tip is that it almost invariably leads to going further. In some cases, the game is simply a charade to ease partners

into intercourse. In other cases, Just the Tip is a manipulation tactic employed by men to convince a woman to have sex before she's physically or emotionally ready. Thus, even though Kenny promises just a touch and claims to respect the cat, i.e. the woman's vagina, he simply cannot stop himself from resorting to underhanded tactics to get what he desires. In the end, Kenny justifies his actions saying, she said it's okay. It's not the most convincing response, and we of course never hear from the woman directly. These subtle details about consent, or the lack of it, seem to be by design. As we've already established, lust reveals that Kenny has been overtaken by a demonic influence. Hence, Kenny's words reflect the

ways by which evil spirits overpower human beings. Much like Kenny may have ignored the woman's apprehension, lust itself is persistent in its desires, even if we've previously said no. In this way, we can see this game of just the tip as a larger metaphor about lust in general, showcasing the powerful ways lust utilizes deception to get what it wants. Lust will not only have you deceiving others, but it'll have you deceiving yourself as well. We've all likely had the experience of indulging in activities, food, or even people we know are bad for us. We talk ourselves into pursuing our desires. We willfully and consciously distort reality, despite knowing in our hearts what we are doing is hollow and wrong. In this way, lust is spiritually akin to the snake in the garden who deceived

Adam and Eve. It's a part of the venomous cocktail served up by the devil that, along with pride, will find you taking ever more drastic measures to get what you think you want. If taken far enough, you end up like Kenny suggests, a junkie, desperate for your next fix, a slave to your own lust-born addictions. I need some water, indeed. As we just heard, Lus continues with a strange post hook wherein Kenny says, I need everybody's motherfucking hands up right now. These words create the image of Kenny performing at a concert.

while telling a crowd to put their hands up is typically a way for a performer to inspire the crowd to move. The dissonant tonal landscape and Kenny's distorted, monotonous voice and slow breathing make the statement sound dark and foreboding. It's almost as if he's putting the crowd in a trance, that he's conducting some kind of mass hypnosis. Given that most do as they're told when a performer makes such a request, we may view this line as commenting on how easily humans allow themselves to be controlled by forces that are untrustworthy. Moreover, this line illustrates how one voice can inspire a whole group of people

to willingly perform a given set of actions. While this may feel like a stretch now, we'll soon see that this idea of humans mindlessly following the commands of a controlling influence is the central motif that less presents. The next thing of note in this post-hook is the sample that suddenly cuts Kenny off. The sample is taken from Rat Boy's song Knock Knock Knock, Knock. though hard to make out. The words Rat Boy sings are, Door and his Nike air rattles, rush the fire exit, no time for battles. Well, I never

expected. The lyrics here of course are pretty cryptic, though the way they fit sonically into less production adds a kind of dark demonic texture. But things get a little interesting when we view the lyrics within the context of Knock Knock Knock's full verse. Rat Boy sings Knock Knock Knock on the door. Who could it be? Puffy jacket, bad man wants his money. Rip down the door and his Nike air rattles, rushed the fire exit no time for battles. Well, I never expected it from you. According to Rat Boy, this story about a man breaking down a door looking for his money is based on a true story. As Rat Boy tells it, he was in a recording studio with two collaborators when a man unexpectedly burst through the door and held Rat Boy and

his collaborators hostage while attempting to rob the studio. Apparently, the intruder was trying to get back money that was owed to him by the two collaborators. If this Ratboy sample was chosen for any other reason than an aesthetic flourish, we might speculate that it was used to illustrate how a person's desire for something they think they need can motivate them to act in destructive ways, a thematic idea that will become even more clear as Luss continues into its first verse. Wake up in the morning thinking about money kick your feet up. Watch you a comedy, take a shit The first verse some weed up, go hit you a lick, go fuck on the bitch, don't go to work today. Cop you a fitter, maybe some kicks and make it.

The first verse begins a sequence of imperative statements. Coming directly after the interlude that seemed to set the song in a concert atmosphere, it would seem that Kenny is wrapping this list of commands to the crowd at his concert. Each of the commands seem to be directed at stereotypical men from a neighborhood like Compton. The list of imperatives begin, wake up in the morning, thinking about money. This early reference to money sets our expectations that these commands are going to direct the men to pursue sex, money, and murder, the unholy Trinity that has appeared multiple times throughout Dam. Ironically, after just telling the men to wake up and think about money,

Kenny commands them, kick your feet up, another way to say that they should relax instead of seeking gainful employment. This inconsistency between their thoughts and actions helps establish the idea that these men are going to be stuck in a futile mindset that will ultimately leave them unsatisfied. Their aimless way of life continues as they're told, watch you a comedy, take a shit, then roll some weed up. Next, they're told to go hit you a lick, which is slaying for making a lot of money in a short time frame, most often through illegal activities. Now with a little bit of money, these listeners are immediately directed towards self-gratification and laziness. Kenny says, go fuck on a bitch, don't work today, cop you a fit, or maybe some kicks.

Cop here is of course slang for purchasing, and in this case they're told to purchase an outfit and some sneakers. As the verse continues, it seems Kenny's list of demands will also continue, but Kenny is suddenly interrupted by the rap boy sample, which is followed by a strange series of stops and starts. Wake up in the morning thinking about money kick your feet up, watch you a comic, hold up. Wake up in the morning thinking about money, kick your feet up, watch you a comedy, take a shit and roll some weed up, go hit you a lick, go get you a fuck on a bitch. It's not immediately clear why Kenny was interrupted, or why it took him three tries to get this far into the list of commands.

One idea is that Kenny said one of these lines incorrectly, and because this is being performed in front of a crowd, he says, hold up and starts over. We also might speculate that this stopping and starting of a list of hypnotic daily commands might be used to imply that these actions are habitual and repetitive. That is, we wake up and robotically start the cycle again. This idea of being stuck in our ways, and specifically stuck in a daily repetition of lustful pursuits, will come into clear focus in the song's conclusion. As lust continues, so too does Kenny's commands aimed at men. you work today hang with the homie stunt on your baby mama sip some lean go get a pistol shoot out the

window bet your favorite team play you some mad and go to the club or your mama house whatever you're doing just make it count okay okay kent continues his instructions hang with your homies stunt on your baby mama stunt here is slang for flaunting your wealth or belongings in hopes of making someone jealous this act is especially harmful here since the target is the person's baby mama or mother of his child. Kenny is pushing his subjects to continue an already hostile and embittered relationship between the mother and father of a young child. The men are then told to sip some lean, the popular mixture of cough syrup, Sprite, and Jolly Ranch are candies. Lean became tremendously popular after hip-hop artists such as DJ Screw, Pimpsey, and Freddie Santano, talked obsessively

about the drug in their lyrics. In tragic irony, all three of these men died from overdosing on lean. Assuming that Kenny's listeners avoided the fate of these fallen hip-hop artists, the men are then supposed to go get you a pistol and shoot out the window, presumably an attempt to murder one of their rivals. Now that they've silenced the competition, the men are told to bet your favorite team and play you some Madden, which of course refers to gambling on sports and playing the video game Madden NFL football, two activities that have also been known to trigger arguments and even shootouts.

To top their night off, the men are told, to the club or your mama's house. Finally, Kenny ends the verse saying, Whatever you doing, just make it count. This final line seems similar to the ancient Latin phrase, Carpe Diem, commonly translated to cease the day. Such an attitude normally implies that one should live for the moment with no regard for the future. The list of commands Kenny gave throughout the verse certainly implied such a short-sighted mindset, living for the pleasures of the moment, with no regard for the necessary sacrifices that's required for a better future. It's at this moment that we hear a repetition of the opening phrase of the song's hook.

Hearing the phrase, I need some water, interjected after the verse's hypnotic list of commands, provides us with additional evidence in our initial interpretation of the hook's lyrics. Indeed, we're briefly reminded that Kenny is dying of thirst. He's rejected God's spirit, lost access to living water and is now experiencing hell on earth. Moreover, those who are deceived into following the commands that are being channeled through Kenny's music will themselves experience such a thirst, such hell. After this brief interjection of I Need Some Water, Kenny continues into the song's second verse. A verse will dissect right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we dissected the first verse of lust, a list of hypnotic commands Kenny recites to stereotypical men from an

neighborhood like Compton. With verse two, Kenny turns his focus to stereotypical women. Just make it count. Wake up in the morning thinking about money, kick your feet up, hop in a shower, put on your makeup, lace your weave up. Touch on yourself, call up your nigger, tell them he ain't shit. Credit card scam, get you a visa, make it pay your rent. Hop on the ground, flex on the bitches that be ha'y no, you pop you a pill, call up your bitches haven't weighed, no, you go to the club, how you so fun, make that ass bounce, it's whatever, just make it count. Much like the previous verse, Kenny issued a little bit.

a list of imperative statements, although as we already noted, this time they are given to stereotypical women from a neighborhood like Compton. The commands actually begin by repeating the same two commands that open the first verse, wake up in the morning, thinking about money, kick your feet up. This repetition shows how the destructive way of life described in verse one is rooted in vices that afflict both men and women. Indeed, we'll actually find that each of the commands given to the women, mere commands given to the men. For instance, Since, Kenny tells the women, hop in the shower, put on your makeup, lace your weave up. These commands instruct women to focus on external appearances.

This mirrors how men were told to focus on their appearance by obtaining outfits and sneakers. After making themselves feel more attractive, the women are then told to touch on yourself, referring to masturbation. After the women have gratified themselves, they have no need for a man and are thus told, call up your N-word, tell him he ain't shit. This pattern of sexual gratification outside a relationship, combined with the expressions of contempt inside a relationship, mirrors how the men were told to fuck on a bitch and stunt on your baby mama. The lack of relational commitment seems to have left these women struggling financially,

making an appealing to quote, credit card scam, get you a visa, make it pay your rent. This use of illegal means to get money mirrors how the men were told, go hit you a lick. Next, the women are told, hop on the gram, flex on the bitches that be hating on you. Here, these stereotypical women attempt to make their rivals jealous by posting photos of themselves with expensive clothing, bags, and jewelry on social media. These acts of passive aggression toward rival women mirror the active forms of aggression the men were told to perform when Kenny said, go get you a pistol, shoot out the window. Having silenced their haters, the women are then told, pop you a pill, call up your bitches,

have them waiting on you, which is meant to inspire drug use prior to social engagements. This mirrors how the men were told roll you some weed up and sip some lean. After getting together with friends, the women are told, go to the club, have you some fun, make that ass bounce, which mirrors how the men were told go to the club or your mama's house. Kenny then ends the second verse saying, It's whatever, just make it count. Again, implying that there's no need to think about what they're doing, but simply enjoy the pleasures of the moment.

After a repetition of the song's hook, Luss proceeds into the third verse. Here, the environment changes from Kenny on stage to Kenny in a hotel room the morning following his concert performance. I wake in the morning, my head spinning from the last night, both in the trans, feelings I dead, what a fast life, manager car, the lobby call, it's 11.30, did this before, I promise myself I'd be an hour early.

Room full of clothes, back full of money, call it loose change. Bumble my jewelry, a hundred K, I lost a new chain. Hop on a bird, hit the next city for another, With the third verse, it quickly becomes apparent that Kenya's himself lived out as raps about drug use in women. He says, I wake in the morning, my head spinning from the last night, both in a trance. In addition to implying drug usage, the word both suggests that Kenny has woke up with someone, likely a woman he had sex with the night before. Kenny's patterns of heartless sexual activity is further confirmed with the lines, feelings are dead, what a fast life. Kenny and this woman have no real romantic or intimate connection. Rather, their relationship

was inspired by drug use and a byproduct of the lust-inspired trance they both were under. Kenny's wild night seems to have caused him to sleep through most of the morning, putting him at risk of missing a scheduled departure. He says, manager called the lobby call, it's 1130. Did this before, promise myself I'd be an hour early. These latter lines clue us in on the habitual nature of this scenario and Kenny's half-hearted desire to change. Kenny's carelessness with his time causes him to act carelessly with his money and possessions as he says, room full of clothes, bag full of money, call it loose change, fumbled my jewelry, 100K, I lost a new chain. However, there's no time to look back. The tour must go on, as indicated by the line,

hop on the bird, hit the next city for another M. Here, Bird refers to the airplane that takes Kenny to his next tour stop so he can make another M or a million dollars. It would seem that Kenny too woke up thinking about money. The constant repetition of this cyclical routine is implied in the next line, take me a nap and do it again. The implication here is that all the exploits Kenny just documented, waking up hung over with a stranger, being late for departure, losing his possessions, all of this will happen again and again and again. At this point, we're fairly convinced that regardless of his fame and fortune, Kenny is enslaved to the same daily cycle of futility that he's been peddling to the more disenfranchised men and women at his concerts.

However, with the second half of verse 2, it becomes abundantly clear that Kenny and his peers from the hood are not the only ones caught up in a cycle of futility. We all woke up trying to tune to the daily news looking for confirmation, hoping election wasn't true, all of us worried, all of us buried in our feelings deep, none of us married to his proposal, make us feel chief. As the second half of the street with your voice proudly. As the second half of the verse begins, Kenny abruptly shifts from the present tense to the past tense and from singular to plural first person nouns. He says, we all woke up, trying to tune into the daily

news, looking for confirmation, hope and election wasn't true. Here, Kenny is taking us all the way back to the morning of November 9th, 2016, the day after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. It would seem that we finally arrived at the moment many of us have been waiting for, the moment when the greatest rapper of our generation eviscerates Donald Trump. Remember, Dan was released in April of 2017, just five months after the election. Most of Kendrick's core audience was still struggling to understand what had happened. Naturally, fans were anticipating that the same rapper who gave us all right, the anthem of the Black Lives Matter protests, would rise to the occasion and disavow Trump.

This anticipation only grew after Kenjik released the Heart Part 4 in the weeks leaning up to the release of Damn. The song included lines that called out Trump by name and insinuated that God would one day break judgment on the polarizing president. White's that do to dab, Donald Trump is a chump, know how we feel punk, tell him that guy coming, and Russia need a replay button, y'all love to something.

Electorio votes looked like memorial votes. But America's truth and ignoring the votes. We could hardly think of a better track than Lust for Kenny to expose Trump, especially given the numerous allegations of sexual misconduct Trump has faced. Given all this buildup, it may be shocking to learn that Kenny does not criticize Donald Trump on this track or on any track on damn for that matter. Here on Lust, Kenny doesn't even mention Trump by name, because in the end, Donald Trump is not the subject of this verse, we are.

Right, exactly. But I wanted them all self. you know, self-evaluate, evaluation, yeah, discipline. Because what's going on now, we're not focusing on him. What's going on now, we're focusing on self. Now we see we can't control what's going on out there. You know, it's a whole other power to be. So what we can do now, we can start coming together

and figuring out our own problems and our own solutions, you know? And I think that's, I believe, I know, that's what this album reflects. This collective focus on self that Kendrick speaks of is immediately apparent in the opening line of this section of the verse. Kenny says, We all woke up, all of us worried, all of us buried in our feelings deep. This initial awakening might imply the reality check that was the election of Donald Trump, as many didn't believe it would be possible for a person like him to be elected president. The depiction of us being buried in our feelings deep is surely reminiscent of the track feel.

There, Kenny described feeling that his thoughts were in the basement and proceeded to blame everyone but himself for the way he was feeling. As we'll see, this foreshadows perfectly his message on this section of lust. Next, Kenny says, none of us married to his proposal make us feel cheap. Here, the clever wordplay likens Trump's policy proposals to the half-baked marriage proposal of an unwanted suitor. This analogy places us in the role of a betrothed woman who feels cheap or worthless after being forced to and accept an undesired proposal. We might also hear this as a subtle reference to Trump's immigration proposals that many felt devalued immigrants and minorities in general. Kenny continues by saying, still and sad, distraught and mad, tell the neighbor about it,

bet they agree, parade the streets with your voice proudly. On the morning after the election, it was certainly a natural reaction for many to vent their feelings of sadness, anger, and fear to others. However, the way that Kenny says, bet they agree, seems to imply that many of us were presumptuous in assuming that any sane neighbor must agree with our political views despite nearly half the country voting for Trump. This presumptuous attitude is further hinted at, as Kenny describes us parading through the streets with our voices yelling proudly. While we might normally interpret proud voices as being a positive description, within the context of damn, it's been pretty well established that

pride divides humans from God's perfection, and is thus the root cause for the imperfection that exists in the world. Again, it might come to a shock to hear Kendrick seemingly criticize the same protesters he inspired with the track all right. However, as the second verse comes to an end, we find that the criticism is not directed so much at the act of protesting as much as what we do when we come home from the protest. and things change, reverting back to our daily programs stuck in our ways. Kenny says, time pass and things change, reverting back to our daily programs stuck in our ways, lust.

Here, Kenny finally narrows in on the problem that continues to undermine generations of woke individuals. Simply put, the problem is that despite our pleased to change the world, we're unable to change ourselves. While the prospect of having our voices heard may motivate us to join a protest against the injustices of the Trump administration, such fanfare does not inspire us to live more justly in our daily lives, particularly when no one is watching. In the same way that Kenny abandoned God's spirit and reverted back to his thirsty way of life, it's far too easy for us to abandon our new resolutions

and revert back to our daily routine of self-gratification. We may even join another protest after subsequent news cycles unveils new allegations against the Trump administration. However, more often than not, we sink back into our old way of life as we discover that it's too hard to play just the tip with all that we desire. Hence, because we cannot change ourselves, our efforts at changing the world become stalled by our own cycle of futility and stubborn addiction to self-gratification. As we discussed in our episode on Feel, Kendrick revealed that this idea of needing to change the self before one can change the world is precisely what distinguishes Dam from Tipiba Butterfly. To Piper Butterfly would be the idea of the thought of changing the world, you know, and how we work and how we approach things. Dan would be the idea of I can't change the world until I change myself. Thinking of the idea of the world and self and combine them in two records, I will hope the listener can take heed and grab something from both of them to ideas.

and carry out their day to the best potential of themselves they see. When the Rolling Stone asked Kendrick why he'd been so quiet about Donald Trump on dam, Kendrick replied, quote, I mean, it's like beating a dead horse. We already know what it is. Are we going to keep talking about it? Are we going to take action?

On and off the album, I took it upon myself to take action in my community. On the record, I made an action to not speak about what's going on in the world or the places they put us in. Speak on self. Reflection of self first. That's where the initial change will start from, unquote. Based on both his interviews and his lyrics,

it's clear that the central idea behind Dam is the need to change certain things about ourselves in order to restore justice in the world. On lust, Kenny is clearly calling out a specific area for us to focus on, which he crystallizes in the final lines of the verse, reverting to our daily program, stuck in our ways, lust. In modern times, many people assume the word lust implies uncontrollable,

often elicit sexual desire. However, centuries ago when the Bible was first translated into English, the word lust was actually a neutral term that could refer to any desire, including the desire for sex, money, murder, drugs, fame, status, power, and all the other pursuits we've seen on display throughout the verses of this track. Having established the actions of the verses as fueled by lust, Kendrick elaborates on the idea that lust inhibits personal transformation and societal change. I feel like I've been lusting over the fame. Lately we lust on the same routine of shame. Lately, lately, my lust been heightened.

Lately, it's all a contradiction. Lately, I'm not here. Lately I lust over self. Lus turn into fear. Lately and James 4. I says, friend of the world is in the need of the Lord. Brace yourself. Lust is all yours.

The first thing we should notice about this section is Kenny's use of a confessional litany form, similar to the form of the track feel. There, every line began with some derivative of the phrase, I feel like. Here in the outro to lust, each line begins with the word lately, and most lines contain the word lust. Kenny uses this confessional litany to reflect back on the verses of the track and display how lust is the underlying culprit that causes a destructive way of life. Kenny starts with himself, saying, lately, I feel like I've been lusting over the fame. This helps explain the first half of verse 3 that focused on the aftermath of Kenny's drug-induced hotel debacle on tour. It also helps to explain the framing of the song as a performance to an audience who are

influenced by his words. Given the market potential for hip-hop songs that glorify sex, money, and murder, it makes sense that Kenny, who is lusting for fame, so blatantly promotes these things to his audience and appeals to their most base desires and tendencies. Next, Kenny says, lately, we lust on the same routine of shame. Here, Kenny points out that lust is the driving force behind the pursuits of our guilty pleasures that comprise our daily routines, routines that at their core may not be too dissimilar to the ones we heard in the first two verses. Kenny then says that his lust has been heightened, which implies that after indulging himself,

his feelings of lust have become more intense, triggering the cycle all over again. We also recognize that heightened implies that satisfying his lust, has been elevated above his other pursuits, like the care for other human beings, or even above his service and loyalty to God. Kenny then says, Lately, it's all contradiction. Lately, I'm not here. Lest has so thoroughly hijacked Kenny's life and mind that it's almost as if he's not here

anymore. Rather, his daily routines have become a mindless pursuit towards the things that he lusts. This helps to explain the monotonous, hypnotic tone of the song's verses. It also calls to mind Dam's Alps. cover, where Kendrick is pictured possessed by some dark or demonic force, a blood-red M sitting atop his head like devil horns. Kenny continues, lately, I lust over self. Lust turn into fear. Kenny's desire for self-preservation is as strong as ever. Thus, he dreads the thought that his life might be threatened, or that his fleshly desires could be taken away. Hence the line,

lust turn into fear. This illustrates how feelings of lust can suddenly transform into feelings of fear that then justify the use of violence. This last point is crucial, and one that seems to drive Kenny to pick his Bible back up. Kenny says, lately in James 4-4 says, Friend of the World is in the need of the Lord. Kenny says, Lately and James 4-4 says, Friend of the world is enemy of the Lord. Here Kenny quotes a passage from the book of James in the New Testament. Kenny's quotation of James, chapter 4, it's extremely clever as it not only connects to the themes of lust, but to every major

theme we've talked about on tracks that deal with human emotions, loyalty, pride, humble, and lust. For context, James was the leader of the first New Testament church community in Jerusalem, a community that was often tempted to join one of the many violent uprisings that sought to overcome the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. James Chapter 4 begins with James admonishing his church community saying, quote, where do wars and fighting among you come from? Don't they come from your lusts that war in your body parts? You lust and you don't have. You murder and envy and you can't obtain. You fight and make war, unquote. Here, James asks why his community is so eager to join violent uprisings and kill their enemies. He determines that lust is what fuels all of their

violent tendencies. Similar to Kenny's words during the outro, James observes that when his people lust after things they cannot obtain, they become so envious that they're willing to murder those who have what they want. James goes on to say, quote, you adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God, unquote. Here James likens those who follow the wisdom of the world to selfishly pursue their lust-inspired desires are cheating on God. Like we, heard on the song Loyalty, James is questioning who they're ultimately loyal to, their own

earthly desires, or God. Furthermore, James 44 claims that those who are loyal to the imperfect ways of the world make themselves enemies of God. As proof, James goes on to quote a proverb from the Old Testament that says, quote, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Here, James places lust-driven warfare, deceit, and those who are loyal to their mortal existence, in this world and not God, under an umbrella of pride. This harkens back to the track pride, specifically the line, sick venom and men and women overcome with pride. A perfect world is never perfect, only filled with lies. On the other hand, James claims that God gives grace to the humble, and ultimately encourages his people by saying, quote, therefore, submit yourself to God,

but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. James's advice to humble yourself of course mirrors Kenny's famous words, Sit down, be humble. Moreover, James states that rather than rise up against their enemies, the focus of his people's resistance should be directed towards resisting the devil. James encourages his people to trust that after humbling themselves, God will lift them up, just like God lifted Jonah up from the belly of the beast at the bottom of the sea. Having considered all of this, we can recognize Kenny's direct reference to James 4-4, as yet another acknowledgement of this choice between the pride of this world or the humility of God.

It seems that Kenny now recognizes that his lust for sex, money, and murder are driving him to choose pride, but God's spirit offers to satisfy his deeper thirst for peace and justice if only he would choose to humble himself. Moreover, if Kung Fu Kenny continues to align with the demonic influences that seek to enslave humanity, the very influences he promoted to his audience on lust, he would become, as James 4-4 suggests, an enemy of the Lord, and would thus have to brace himself to fight against God. This is why the outro of lust ends with the line, brace yourself, lust is all yours. It implies that those who are driven by lust are acting in opposition to God,

and thus will have to prepare to battle him. This idea harkens back to Kenny's claim to be an Israelite on Dan's third track, Yaw. As we explained in our episode on Yaw, the name Israel means one who wrestles with God. Similarly, the story of the ancient Israelites is itself a story of a group of people who abandoned their loyalty to God and chose to worship the gods of fertility, prosperity, and military success. In other words, like the people James spoke to, the Israelites rejected God in favor of earthly benefits. However, once the Israelites realized that their lust for such comforts were causing them to die of thirst, many of them confessed their wickedness and turned back to God.

Likewise, the track lust ends with Kenny confessing the recent manifestations of his imperfections. In doing so, Kenny takes a pivotal step out of slavery and on the way towards freedom. Conclusions A few weeks after the release of Dam, Kendrick responded directly to a DJ Booth article written about Kendrick's fear of God. In his response, Kendrick discussed how as a child, he always felt a little unsatisfied after attending sermons at his local church. Kendrick explains, quote,

After being heavily in my studies these past few years, I finally figured out why I left those services feeling spiritually unsatisfied as a child. I discovered more truth, but simple truth. Our God is a loving God, yes. He's a merciful God, yes. But he's even more so a God of disciple, obedience, a jealous God. And for every conscious choice of sin will be corrected through his discipline, whether physical or mental, direct or indirect, through your sufferings or someone that's close to kin. It shall be corrected. Hence the concept, the wages of sin is death. It shall be corrected, unquote. Later in the article, Kendrick shared how he feels spreading this side of God

as his duty, quote, I feel it's my calling to share the joy of God, but with exclamation, more so, the fear of God, the balance, knowing the power in what he can build, but also what he can destroy at any given moment, unquote. With the song Lust, we find her first clear-cut example of Kendrick warning his listeners of the inevitable consequences of their conscious choice of sin. He frames lust as the primary driving force behind our actions of sin, providing a sweeping mosaic of daily routines that are fueled by our conscious or unconscious pursuit of earthly-based desires. He excuses no one from his evaluation. He lets no one off the hook. He strategically focuses on men, then women, then himself, and finally, all of us. In the end, he quotes James 4-4

to warn that those who pledge their ultimate allegiance to their earthly lust-driven desires will become an enemy of God and will suffer the consequences of their choices. Hence, Kendrick's final line of the song, Brace yourself, lust is all yours. In other words, if you continue to choose lust over love and devotion to God, you better be prepared to experience hell on earth because you're flirting with the devil. Indeed, as Kendrick put it, the wages of sin is death. You don't have to believe in God to understand.

understand the concept Kendrick is laying out here on lust. We've all witnessed and likely suffered firsthand the consequences of decisions we know were bad, decisions we were responsible for. Whether you believe the suffering caused by your bad decision was distributed by a higher power or not, bad things happening because of bad decisions made by individuals is an inescapable fact of the reality we inhabit. And so if we're really listening to the message of lust, It should inspire us to evaluate our own actions, take stock of our daily routines down to the tiniest of decisions, and really articulate to ourselves what is influencing these actions, and how these decisions we make daily might be contributing to the world around us.

As much as we might complain about the actions of others and fault them for the wicked ways of the world, it's much harder to critically evaluate yourself and how your actions or inactions might be contributing to that wickedness. It's all too easy to blame institutions, corporations, the government, or even being itself, for the injustice in our inherently imperfect world. And while accountability is important, we also need to evaluate ourselves just as critically, just as harshly, and hold ourselves truly accountable. Because we too easily overlook how the simplest daily actions perpetuate either good or evil in the world.

We too easily forget the exponential effects of the smallest of gestures, and how they affect the lives of our family, friends, coworkers, our city, our state, our country, our world, and even history itself. This concept is the opposite of nihilism. It's the idea that everything matters. The idea that the world we inhabit is the accumulation of small decisions made by individuals. As such, you should never underestimate your singular power to make the world we share either better or worse for us all. If you ever question the meaning of life, consider this idea because what you do on earth does matter, it does contribute. It truly means something in a very real, very tangible way. And so, you might ask yourself, when you wake up tomorrow,

am I going to be a force for good today or a force for evil? Am I going to make the world more beautiful or contribute to its decay, its anger, its suffering? Am I going to choose love or lust? Love and lost Damn All in glass