Dissect - S5E14 - XXX. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: December 23, 2019

XXX. is a multipart suite that begins to reveal the deep-rooted themes of DAMN. We find Kung Fu Kenny seemingly under demonic influence as he portrays himself as a heartless, bloodthirsty killer. By the song’s second half, we discover the event that triggered such ruthlessness. 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 Love, a song that found our protagonist Kung Fu Kenny, professing a newfound dedication and commitment to his girl, while also seeming to overcome his intuitive pursuit of money and casual sex. Two of the three real N-word conditions Kenny was diagnosed with, This gave us hope that Kenny was progressing away from the lust-driven way of wickedness

and toward the way of weakness. But as you know, a critical component of the way of weakness is not only love for those closest to you, but also the love and forgiveness of one's enemies, of one's oppressors. It's this very subject that Kenny addresses as Dam continues into its next track, the subject of our episode today, XXXX. He was sobbing, he was mobbing, wave with literature and drunk, talking out and said,

philosophy on what the Lord had done. He said, Kedah, can you pray for me? It's been a fuck the day for me. I know that you are doing. XXX is produced by Mike Will made it, Anthony Tiffith, Beacon, DJ Dahi and Soundwave,

and features an appearance from U2. The song is divided into four parts, with each part receiving its own unique soundscape. The first section begins with an arpaciated F major seven chord. Arpaciated just means that rather than playing the notes in a chord altogether, they're played individually. Now what's cool about this introduction is that it blends seamlessly with the end of the previous

song Love. There we also heard arpaciated chords played without accompaniment. Just like XXX, these chords are also in the key of F major, and so when we hear the outro of love into the intro of XXX, the transition is extremely smooth. If you weren't listening intently, it would be hard to notice that the song even changed. After this brief introduction, XXXX continues with the entrance of Beacon. Beacon has performed two of the album's ominous dichotomies, the wickedness-weakness dichotomy of blood, and the Pride-Love dichotomy presented in pride.

Given these two data points, we might expect Beacon to deliver yet another dichotomy in the intro to XXX, but he doesn't. Instead, we find a seemingly vulnerable beacon pleading with America. Beacon's direct address to America reveals that he's been speaking to a personified America all along. While we may have thought the album was primarily about Kung Fu Kenny's choice between wickedness and weakness, we learn here that on a deeper level, dam's scale encompasses America. That is, this album is about America's choice between wickedness or weakness, an idea

that will become quite clear by the song's end. At the same time, the intro is also an attempt to reach out to America. Beacon Began Begins, America, God bless you if it's good to you. Here we have the second instance on the album where the concept of blessings is mentioned. The first time occurred on the previous track Love, where Kenny spoke to his girl saying, I want your blessing today. As we already discussed, blessings are the opposite of curses, which are the main focus of the album and the inspiration behind the album's title. In addition to creating contrast between blessings and curses, the words America, God

bless you, echo the phrase God bless America. This phrase was widely popularized beginning on Armistice Day of 1938, when a singer named Katie Smith sang a rendition of Irving Berlin's iconic song God Bless America. The lyrics of the main portion of the song are, God bless America, the land that I love, stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above. Here we find God Bless America is written in the form of a prayer for God to guide America out of darkness.

With these lyrics about God standing beside America, along with the use of the pronoun her, the song effectively personifies America as a woman who needs help in order to find what she's looking for. This, of course, brings us all the way back to the opening parable and blood. There we found Kenny attempting to help a blind woman find what she's looking for. We interpreted the blind woman to be a reference to Lady Justice and a commentary about violence committed by the American justice system.

Fittingly, the words America God bless you at the beginning of XXX, suggests that Beacon is directly addressing a woman who is the personification of America. The parallels to Blood's parable continue as Beacon sings, America, please take my hand. Recall that in the Blood Parable, Kenny offered to give the blind woman a helping hand. However, in a dramatic twist, Kenny soon became the one who needed help when the woman pulled out a gun and shot him without explanation. The confusion that Kenny felt is captured by the intro to XXX, which ends with Beacon's singing, Can You Help Me Understand?

Of course, the final word understand is cut off abruptly. The suddenness of this sentence being cut short mirrors the suddenness of Kenny's life being cut short at the end of the blood parable. Beacon's intro is interrupted with the entrance of a driving 808 drumbeat programmed by Mike Will made it. Instrumentally speaking, the majority of this section is just these driving drums. As you just heard, this beat features a brief appearance of a record scratch, which is punctuated by a brief sample hit of a horn section.

This sample is taken from Get Up Off That Thing by James Brown. Aside from the inclusion of this brief sample hit, this section of XXX is minimal in its production, allowing Kenny's haunting vocals to rise to the surface. Throw a steak off the ark to a pool full of sharks here, take it. The wood of this with a sworn nemesis, he'll make it. Take the gratitude from him. Kenny says, throw a stake off the ark to a pool full of sharks. He'll take it. Here Kenny makes an

illusion to the story of Noah's ark from the Bible. In that narrative, God sends a flood to wipe the earth clean of all wickedness and start creation anew. To repopulate the earth, a man named Noah was instructed to build an ark or ship to withstand the flood. Noah did so, and his family, along with one mating pair of animals from each species, boarded the ship and survived the flood. flood. Kenny claims to eat a steak thrown off the ark, thus depicting himself as someone whose uncontrollable appetite drives him to consume one of the only cows left in the world, effectively driving a species to extinction. Moreover, Kenny seems confident that he could take on a pool full of sharks to fetch the steak, thus personifying himself as a kind of predatory and ruthless savage.

Kenny's ferociousness continues with the line, leave him in the wilderness with a sworn nemesis, he'll make it. Here, Kenny suggests that if he were placed in the wild with an enemy, he would find a way to survive, even if it takes killing another human like a wild beast. Moreover, like the previous reference to the biblical flood, this scenario seems to allude directly to the story of Jesus in the wilderness. There, Jesus was led by God's spirit into the wilderness, where he faced off against the devil, the figure who Jesus believed was the true enemy of humanity. Jesus had to exercise control over his appetite, as God called him to fast from food for 40 days. Much like the snake tempted the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the devil tempted Jesus

to turn stone into bread and eat, rather than following God's commandment to fast. Jesus was even offered all the kingdoms of the world if he were just to pledge his trust and loyalty to the devil. However, Jesus resisted these temptations. Hence, Jesus' example of remaining loyal to God in his commandments, contrasts with the woman in the garden who eats the forbidden fruit and with Kenny, who kills a cow to eat a steak off the ark and kills his enemy in the wilderness. Kenny continues by saying, take the gratitude from him, I bet he'll show you something. Here, Kenny again seems to be depicting himself as a king who believes that everyone around him owes him their loyalty and gratitude. If King Kenny's subjects refuse to offer them their

debt of gratitude, Kenny is going to show them something, which seems to imply that that Kenny will use his power to violently retaliate. And so we can now look back and see that each of these opening lines describe what Kenny is likely to do if he's theoretically placed in a confrontational situation. Together, these lines foreshadow the fact Kenny will soon be placed in an actual confrontational situation later in the song.

The question is, how will Kenny respond in real life when hostilities inevitably arise? nothing. After using third person, Kenny suddenly switches to the first person. The fact that he used to the court like, bitch I did that X rated. After using third person pronouns in the previous three lines, Kenny suddenly switches to the first person. The fact that he uses first and third person pronouns combined with the dark menacing character of Kenny's voice may suggest that there's another entity involved here, an entity speaking through Kenny. This interpretation would match what we heard in lust, when Kenny, using a similar vocal

tone, seemed to be under the control of demonic spirits using Kenny to speak to and influence a whole crowd of people. We also think of Dam's album cover, which pictures Kenny possessed by something dark and sinister. Kenny continues repeating the phrase, I'll chip an N-word little bit of nothing. Here the word chip is slang for shooting someone to death. This slang usage could be derived from the fact that the word chip means to cut or break a small piece off a larger body, which is exactly what happens when someone is shot. Meanwhile, the phrase, little bit of nothing, is often used in hip-hop to describe people who are willing to kill someone for little or no incentive. This further emphasizes Kenny's willingness and intuition to kill for no reason other than it's

in his DNA. After repeating, I'll chip at N-word little bit of nothing two times. He further elaborates his murderous plan, saying, I'll chip at N-word, then throw the blower in his lap, walk myself to the court like, bitch, I did that. The word blower here is slang for gun. Thus, by throwing the blower in his lap, Kenny is saying that as his enemy's bloody body crumbles, he'll proudly throw the murder weapon in his victim's lap. He'll then take his pride to a new level by walking himself to the local courthouse

and boasting about his recent murder. After recounting what is likely one of the most cold-hearted murder plots you've ever heard, Kenny ends this section saying, X-rated. X-rated, of course, refers to the classification of films whose extreme graphic depictions of sex are determined to be unsuitable for anyone who's not over the age of 18. Despite the majority of X-rated films being pornographic in nature, a film can also be X-rated for depictions of violence, particularly when they are capable of inciting the viewership to perpetrate those acts of violence. This explains why Kenny says X-rated right after his depiction of murder, which of course also refers to the track's title.

On one level, saying X-rated reminds us of the merging of sex and violence on element, specifically when Kenny described making graphic retaliatory violence look sexy. On another level, hearing X-rated after such a ruthless account of murder, reminds us that demonic forces might be at the heart of Kenny's message, forces that are seeking to control, encourage, and incite violence. This idea of inciting violence as a way to control matches Kendrick's explanation of what XXX means to him. XXX is the idea of complete chaos and madness.

That's what I got from it. Organized madness, controlled Magnus, you know, us trying to control this magnetism. So when you hear them lyrics of what he's saying, you know, it's a place, you know, it's an idea. It's a kind of us trying to control that idea. As we'll see, the idea of people trying to control that idea. control the madness by any means necessary and the consequences of our inability to let go

will come up again and again throughout XXX. As the song continues, a wobbling detuned piano enters, eventually joining the driving 808 drumbeat. And with this new musical texture, Kenny 2 changes perspectives, introducing a boy named Johnny. Johnny don't want to go to school no more, no more. Johnny said books ain't cool no more. cousin Johnny called a body yesterday out hustling. God bless America, you know we all love him. The character Johnny here seems to represent the kind of kid that might listen to Kenny's music in neighborhoods like Compton. He raps, Johnny don't want to go to school no more. Johnny said books ain't cool no more. Due to the long history of black men being enslaved in prison, oppressed,

and otherwise deprived of economic opportunities, Johnny, like many of his peers, sees no point in attempting to improve his life through the socially approved methods of education and climbing the ladder of corporate America. Instead, Johnny aspires to become a hip-hop artist, indicated by the line, Johnny want to be a rapper like his big cousin. Here, Johnny is playing into a common stereotype that sports or music are the only two avenues through which young black males can make it out the hood. However, given that hip-hop has often been a vehicle for transmitting X-rated depictions of violence, Johnny's dreams of becoming a rapper has also inspired him to seek short-term economic gains through gang-banging. These destructive influence fully manifest in the line, Johnny caught a body yesterday out hustling.

In slang, catching a body refers to putting someone in a body bag. Meanwhile, hustling refers to making money illegally, often through selling drugs. Hence, it would appear that Johnny's rejection of education, combined with his ambitions of becoming a rapper, have led him to murder someone over a small amount of money. We may find Johnny's actions deplorable, since we tend to judge and condemn individuals who murder for money. But on the other hand, we also accept and even celebrate societies that kill humans in the name of economic stability.

This is especially true in America, a nation established from a violent revolution over increased taxes, a nation that subsequently became a major economic power by clinging to slave labor. This implicit critique of America is hidden to death, as Kenny follows the depiction of murder with the line, God bless America, you know we all love him. This final line of the section confirms our suspicion that the song's opening was indeed referencing the song God Bless America. Yet, after connecting America to Johnny's murderous

tendencies, were made aware that Kenny's prayer to Bless America is dripping in irony. In particular, this final line questions whether America is a place where we love people like. like Johnny. Indeed, whether we condemn Johnny, enable Johnny, or simply ignore Johnny, it's clear that America as a whole is not invested in the best interests of people like Johnny. Neither are we, as individuals, willing to sacrifice our self-interest to uplift the Johnny's that we may know. And it's here that we recognize the strategic use of the name Johnny itself, as it's a name we typically associate with stereotypical suburban white American males. By naming a stereotypical blackmail from somewhere like Compton, Johnny, Kenny seems to be deliberately pointing to the fact that despite what our history and actions might suggest, black men are American as American as white johnnies from America's suburbs.

To ignore, abuse, or turn our back on black Johnny, America effectively turns its back on itself. Because of insufficient funds, he was sobbing, he was mobbing, wave of literature and drunk, talking out and said philosophy on what the Lord had done. He said, care that can you pray for me? As XXX continues, we get yet another beat switch. We'll unpack this abrupt shift in musical environment, along with this new section's opening lyrics, right after the break. Welcome back to Dysect.

Before the break, we approached XXX's dramatic beat switch. Most notable about this change in musical atmosphere is the moment. use of a siren. Of course, because of their use as an emergency signal, we hear sirens and associate them with panic and anxiety. Beneath this siren, we hear a new drum pattern, which is joined by my favorite element of the track, a slow sliding baseline. Kenny matches the frenetic energy of this beat with an intense story about how to respond to the death of a loved one at the hands of your enemies. Kenny raps, yesterday I got a call like from my dog like one-on-one, said they killed his only son because of insufficient funds. Here, Kenny recounts the recent phone conversation that he had

with a loyal friend he refers to as his dog, all of 101 Dalmatians. The friend called Kenny to tell him that his only son was just killed over a debt his friend owed to an unnamed group of people. Given the references to hustling in the previous section, it's likely the friend's son was engaged in some form of illegal enterprise and was killed by gang members who demanded their money. It's unclear whether the friend's son is Johnny, the person who Johnny put in the body bag, or someone unrelated to Johnny. However, at the very least, it seems clear Kenny is depicting his friend's son as a victim of the violent mentality that Johnny prototypically embodied. It's also important to note that by recounting a narrative about a man's only son being killed

over a debt, Kenny seems to be drawing a direct parallel with one of the most important narratives in the Bible, the death of Jesus. Jesus was referred to by the design. disciple John as God's only son. It was killed as a result of forgiving people of the debts that they owed to society. Quote, God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another, unquote. Here the author claimed that God sent his only son to free humanity, knowing full well that those humans would kill his only son. It's through this act of self-sacrifice that God covered the

debts that humans owed to society, an action often referred to as atonement. However, God also commanded humans to follow his example by loving each other and forgiving each other's debts. The necessity of following this commandment is best illustrated by Matthew 6, quote, If you forgive others for their debts, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your father will not forgive your debts." This teaching emphasizes the idea that unless we love others and forgive their debts, God will not forgive our debts. In the ancient world, those who owed debts were normally sold into slavery. Similarly, humans who debts have not been forgiven remain enslaved to evil spirits. Hence the line said they killed his only son because of

insufficient funds is a much larger commentary that shows how those who murder rather than forgive are submitting themselves to demonic control. After revealing the tragic circumstances that caused his friend to call, Kenny describes his friend's emotional distress with the lines, he was sobbing, he was mobbing, way belligerent and drunk, talking out his head, philosophizing on what the Lord had done. These lines reveal how the friend's attempts to drown out his feelings of sadness and anger with alcohol proved to be futile. Subsequently, Kenny's friend turns to God. However, rather than trusting God, the friend rants about his theories and suspicions that God is to blame for the death of his son. The frantic nature of the friend's behavior is expressed with the phrase, talking out his head,

which is slang for someone who's uttering crazy, senseless speech due to trauma or intoxication. After his self-generated philosophies failed to provide him with any comfort or guidance, the friend asks Kenny for help. Kenny rapsed, K.D.K.D. Can you bring him closer to the spiritual? My spirit do no better, but I told him I can't sugarcoat the ass. Kenny raps, K.D. Can You Pray for Me? It's been a fucked up day for me. Here, Kenny's friend refers to him as KDot, a moniker that, as you know, is Kendrick's nickname, as well as his rap moniker prior to devoting his rap career to spreading Jesus' message. The use of this old nickname connects Kenny back to his teenage self,

and reminds us how far he's come to be the person whom friends call for prayer request. However, the nickname also reminds us that the tendencies that were cultivated inside Kenny as a youth in Compton are still very much a part of his DNA. We've seen these tendencies expressed very clearly throughout Dam, and so having been called upon to pray for others, we're left wondering if Kenny is finally ready to answer that call. Of course, the friend's request for prayer fits right into the album's recurring motif about the need for prayer. In particular, we should recall that at the end of the track feel, Kenny debated whether he

He should abandon the people who were requesting prayers because he felt no one was praying for him. Maybe it's too late for him. I feel like the whole world want me to pray for him, but who the fuck praying for me? We also recognize that Kenny's friend's words, pray for me, it's been a fucked up day for me. Closely resemble Kenny's opening words on Humble. It's been that day for me. Yeah, yeah. Here Kenny demands that nobody pray for him because it's been that day for him.

In contrast with Kenny's friend, Kenny demanded nobody pray for him so he can indulge in taking shots at his enemies, assumingly because he had a bad or fucked up day. On Humble, Kenny did exactly that, as the song is a barrage of disparaging insults, exalting claims of superiority, and violent threats against his enemies. But while earlier in the album Kenny seemed unwilling to pray for others and even demanded that no one pray for him, he has experienced a sea change of sorts. Specifically, the track Lust ended with Kenny confessing his shortcomings and recognizing that. he didn't want to become the enemy of the Lord. Moreover, in the previous track, Love, Kenny

recommitted himself to his girl and claimed to be on the way toward becoming like Jesus. The fact that Kenny picked up this phone call would suggest that he might now be willing to offer prayers and guidance to those in need. Maybe Kenny will help his friend make sense of his fucked up day by sharing a message from God, similar to how Kendrick comforted his people on to Pimp a Butterfly with the words, I'm fucked up, homie you fucked up, but if God got us, then we gonna be all right. Kenny's friend is clearly looking to him for this kind of spiritual direction. He says to Kenny, I know that you anointed, show me how to overcome. While many of us might gloss over this line, it happens to be one of the most pivotal and theologically

dense lines on the entire album. It's for this reason that we're going to take the rest of today's episode to focus specifically on the theological references that underscore this line, and how the track uses them to present us with the fundamental question at the heart of dam. Okay, so the first thing we're going to dive into is this word anointed. Within the Bible, anointing is when an established prophet pours fragrant olive oil onto the head and body of a person who God has chosen to become the new leader of God's people. The pouring of oil was meant to be a visible sign to reveal how God's spirit was being poured into that person's body and mind. God's spirit would then empower that person with the wisdom, strength, and many other traits needed

to lead God's people. In the majority of cases, the anointed one is a regular person who's been set apart for God's plan and purposes. And so when Kenny's friend says, I know that you anointed, the friend is reminding Kenny, reminding us, that Kenny has been filled with God's spirit so that he can unite his people to live under God's rule and show them how to overcome. And this leads us into the fundamental question that Kenny's friend, and really the entire narrative of Dam, presents to us, how do we overcome? Implicit within this question is another more subtle question, who or what are we meant to overcome. The first place we might look for answers is modern American history. In this recent history, the language of overcoming has

primarily been associated with protest movements. The popular usage of the word overcome was largely inspired by a gospel song entitled We Shall Overcome. We Shall Overcome became the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, similar to how Kendrick's track All Right became the unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement. The song's role in the civil rights movement was specifically highlighted by Martin Luther King Jr. No, before this victory is won, some will have to get thrown in jail some more, but we shall overcome. Before the victory is won, even some will have to face physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent psychological death, then nothing shall be more redemptive. We shall overcome. In addition to

acknowledging the role of We Shall Overcome, MLK's speech suggested that those who attempt to overcome will face trouble and suffering. However, the speech, like the song We Shall Overcome itself, does not provide any specifics about how we will overcome or even what we will. entity we need to overcome. This is likely due to the fact that the song is a piece of gospel music and is thus rooted in the ideas of the gospel. We therefore turn to examining how the word overcome is used throughout the New Testament. By far the most pivotal instance of the word overcome occurs as Jesus is giving his final set of teachings before getting arrested on Good Friday. Quote, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and

suffering, but take courage, I have overcome the world. Here Jesus clarifies that his followers are meant to overcome the world. We of course have already heard Kenny describe the world as the enemy of God on lust. Similar to James 44, Kenny quotes here, Jesus used the term the world to refer to the imperfect systems that govern the world, the very systems that the devil offered to Jesus in the wilderness. Thus, within the New Testament, those who maintain their friendship with the world and enjoy its unjust benefits are in reality pledging their trust and loyalty to the devil, making themselves enemies of the Lord. In contrast, Jesus claimed that he overcame the world, not because he defeated

the armies of the Roman Empire or ousted Caesar from power. Rather, Jesus overcame the temptation to use violence against humans, even as those humans would arrest him, condemn him, and execute him without just cause. And while Jesus's choice to choose weakness on Good Friday is certainly inspiring, we're still left to wonder how his life and death should affect our own choices. We could easily read his story as a unique outlier or isolated case in history. Do we really need to go to the extremes that Jesus did and put our own lives at risk to overcome temptation and end injustice in the world? This question is addressed in the very last book of the Bible. It comes in the form of an allegorical parable about a woman who is led into the wilderness after a serpent dragon tries to kill her and her

descendants. This parable is clearly a retelling of the Garden of Eden narrative, bringing the entire biblical narrative full circle, back to the story with which it began. In this new iteration of the story, the woman does not succumb to the devil's temptation. Rather, she follows the example of Jesus of going into the wilderness and resisting the devil. Meanwhile, the author explicitly states that the descendants of the woman represent all humans who follow God's commandments. It's through their obedience to God and resisting the devil that the great serpent is thrown down. Quote, they overcame the accuser by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony because they did not love their life so much that they were afraid to die. It's revealed here how God's people can overcome the devil

and his temptations, noting that they must be willing to die, rather than betray Jesus' message about sacrificial love, radical forgiveness, and freedom from bondage. Fittingly, we've already heard all these ideas established in the first half of damn. On blood, we heard a parable very likely inspired by Jesus' act of self-sacrifice. On DNA, Kenny discussed the idea of testifying about Jesus in court with the line, Nazareth going to plead his case. On loyalty, when questioning whether any loyalty was worth. dying for, Kenny said, that's what God for. And finally, pride contained the only other usage of the

word overcome on the album. Here, Kenny first used the word overcome to describe the conflict that men and women faced with the snake, the true enemy of humanity, who overcomes humans by filling them with venomous pride. All these parallels support our theory that the question of how we overcome is the central question that Dam asks of us. The question of course, course, has two possible answers. Is it wickedness or is it weakness? While the answer may have been debatable when we first heard these options, everything we've heard up until now points to the paradoxical answer that we could only overcome through weakness. As one who is anointed and has been filled with God's spirit, Kenny surely knows all of this. He knows that his friend will

remain enslaved unless the friend makes the heart-wrenching decision to forgive his son's killers. Kendrick exhibited this knowledge in the narrative of Good Kid Mad City, when he and his friends decided not to retaliate against those who killed their homie, but instead chose to be baptized in Holy Water. We also heard this knowledge in the narrative of Tabimba Butterfly. After a pivotal trip to South Africa, where Kendrick heard God's message from a homeless man, Kendrick spoke to his Compton community and encouraged them to end the eternal struggle by respecting and loving themselves and forgiving their rival gang members. We even heard Kendrick display this knowledge as far back as 2009, and the song Faith from the Kendrick Lamar EP.

As a Sunday service, embarrassed so I start questioning God, what is my purpose? He said to live the way he did, that's all he want for me. Spread the word and witness, he rose on the first Sunday. I said, all right, enthused that my Lord gave a listen. I opened my Bible in search to be a better Christian. And this from a person that never... As you know from our first episode this season, faith discusses Kendrick finding his purpose and spreading God's message

and committing himself to living like Jesus. However, that purpose, along with Kendrick's faith, was lost when he got a phone call that informed him that his friend was murdered. Kendrick eventually came to believe that such moments of tragedy and suffering are used by God to test his people and reveal their true character in the same way precious metals are tested by fire. And so here in XXXX, Kenney, presents the same situation he presented as far back as 2009. He gets a call informing that his

homie's son was murdered. It's a test of his faith, a test meant to reveal his true character. As the Anointed One, Kenny's answer to his friend will reveal the way he feels all those like his friend should respond to acts of oppression and injustice. Will Kenny remain faithful to Jesus' message of forgiveness and sacrificial love for one's enemies? Or will he respond with retaliatory violence, continuing the bloody cycle of wicked, prideful vengeance. Well, judging by Kenny's response, it appears Kenny's rage possesses him to choose the latter. My spirit do no better, but I told him I can't sugarcoat the answer for you. This is how I feel. If somebody killed my son, that means somebody getting killed. Tell me what you do for love,

loyalty and passion of all the memories collected moments you can never touch. I went in front of niggas spot and watching me hit his black. I catch a nigger leaving service if that's all I got it. Given all we know about Kenny's knowledge of God's commandments, this violent response is a bit puzzling. It appears that Kenny is abandoning everything he knows to be true. The question is, why? We'll find out in part two of our two-part analysis of XXXX, next time on Dissect. Dysect is produced by me for Spotify Studios.

Today's episode was written by Femi Olutade and me. song recreations by Andrew Atwood, audio editing by Eric Bass and me, original theme music by Birocratic. You can now stream all the original Dysect themes composed by Birocratic on Spotify. Just click the link in the show notes. If you enjoy Dysect, please tell a friend about the show, and be sure to say hi on Twitter and Instagram at Dysect Podcast. You can also purchase Dysectmerch merchandise at Dysectpodcast.com. Okay, thanks for listening, everyone. I'll talk to you next So.