Dissect - S5E17 - FEAR. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: January 7, 2020

In part two of our analysis of FEAR., we come to understand how fear has been the primary motivating factor in Kung Fu Kenny’s life. Kenny consolidates the album’s major themes into one extremely dense final verse, which unlocks many of the album’s mysteries. Finally, we dissect Cousin Carl’s voicemail that explains the reasons behind Kenny’s tumultuous emotional journey over the course of DAMN. 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 Dam by Kendrick Lamar, with part two of our analysis of the song Fear. If you haven't heard part one, definitely go back and listen to that episode now. There we began our discussion of fear by dissecting its strategic use of samples to color the song with black Americans who question their poverty and suffering living in new. United States of America. We also discussed the appearance of two of Kendrick's real-life cousins. Cousin Carl begins a song with a voicemail message that addresses Kenny's loneliness, confusion, and suffering he's been experiencing over the course of the album. He cites Deuteronomy

2828 in order to explain Kenny's mental anguish, suggesting that God is placed a curse on him and his people. As Carl begins to suggest the anecdote for Kenny's troubled mind, Carl's voice fades and replaced by Kendrick's cousin Charles. Why, God, do I gotta suffer. Pain in my heart, carry burden is full of struggle. Why God, why God do I gotta bleed? Every stone grown at you resting at my feet. Cousin'at Charles pleads with God, asking God to explain or justify his suffering.

In this way, fear sets itself up to address the suffering of not only Kung Fu Kenny, but also the suffering of his family lineage, and all black people currently suffering in America. Fear continues with Kenny reciting the same passage as Charles, only his vocals are played in reverse. By either coincidence or strategy, these backwards vocals signal a move backwards in time, as Kenny enters rapping from the perspective of his mother scolding a seven-year-old Kenny. And this way, it would appear that Kenny is using the song Fear to look back at his own history, an attempt to make sense of the suffering he feels today. By the end of verse,

one, it becomes clear that Kenny's mom is under extreme financial stress, which externalizes as threats against young Kenny. We thus discover a kind of feedback loop created by poverty and fear. That is, poverty begets anxiety, anxiety begets suffering, and suffering begets fear. And as the song Fear continues into its hook, Kenny looks for ways to calm down his nerves, to temporarily escape the immense anxiety he inherited at a young age. If I can smoke fear away, I roll that motherfucker up. Kenny imagines to a drug.

And likens being under the influence of fear to being under the influence of marijuana. At the same time, the implication here is that smoking a drug like marijuana allows a temporary escape from the fear deeply entrenched in Kenny from a young age. In this way, coming off the heels of such a heart-wrenching verse about the story. scolds from his mother, we can see how the hook is implying the reason Kenny's community often turns to drugs is to escape the harsh conditions of a life filled with fear and anxiety they inherited at birth. In addition to drugs, Kenny also implies that sex operates as a similar escape and contemporarily evades suffering. This leads to the line, life's a bitch, pull them panties

to the side now. Here, Kenny compares life itself to an unpleasant woman, whom Kenny nonetheless uses for immediate gratification. His desperation to escape is implied by his impatience, as he doesn't take the time to remove the woman's underwear before having sex with her. In this way, the hook of fear and the song itself begins to illuminate the reasons behind the sex money murder motif we've heard throughout damn. Sex and drugs offer a temporary escape from the inherent suffering and anxiety of a life and poverty. And to this point, having lived in poverty since birth, it's only natural that one would be constantly concerned with getting more money. Finally, it's poverty that causes some to use violent force

to either protect what little they have or acquire more through illegal means. At the same time, we should remember that Life's a Bitch Pulled in Panties to the Side now. It's likely a reference to Nas and AZ's classic single, Life's a Bitch. Here, AZ raps, Life's a Bitch and then you die. That's why we get high,

because you never know when you're going to go. These lines are perhaps the most iconic summary of hip-hop culture's tendency towards nihilism, which often masquerades as hedonism. In the minds of Nas and A-Z, life has no meaning, and hence, to endure its suffering, they should simply try to enjoy what pleasure they can. This is the view of life that Nas and A-Z imparted to a whole generation of young black adults and children, when Naus' seminal album was released in 1994. Fittingly, 1994 was the year that Kenny turned seven years old. After the first iteration of Fear's Hook, verse two brings with it a sudden shift in time. I probably die anonymous. I probably die with promises. I probably die walking back

home from the candy house. I probably die because these colors are standing out. I probably die because I ain't know Demarchus was snitching. I probably die at these house parties fucking with bitches. I probably die from witnesses leaving me foster cues. I probably die from thinking that me in your Who's cool, or maybe die from pressing the line, knacking to extra, or maybe die because these smokers are more than desperate. Verse 2 begins with a new subject for Kenny's confessional litany. Kenny's mom is no longer present in this verse. Rather, Kenny now raps from his own perspective.

His voice sounds resigned, numb, and defeated, indicating that Kenny has lost the characteristic hope and innocence of childhood. Indeed, Kenny's fear of physical pain from his mother has now escalated to a fear of death as a teenager living in Compton. Almost every single line will begin with the words, I'll probably die, or maybe die. Kenny begins the verse wrapping, I'll probably die anonymous, I'll probably die with promises. Kenny here is resigned to the fact that his eminent premature death will become just another anonymous statistic. Any potential shown or promises made will simply vanish from the earth without trace. Kenny continues by going through all the scenarios that could

lead to his death. He wraps, I'll probably die walking back from the candy house. I'll probably die because these colors are standing out. A candy house is a house out of which gang members sell drugs. Gang members normally indicate their affiliation by wearing a designated color. Hence, Kenny's life is put in legitimate danger if he visits a candy house wearing the wrong color. Moreover, as we heard in the first verse of XXXX, debts incurred from gang-related drug sales can easily lead to someone's son getting killed. Being collateral damage in such a scenario is just one of the many real ways teenage Kenny could die. Kenny continues by saying, I'll probably die because I ain't no Demarchus was snitchin. I'll probably die at these house parties fucking with bitches. Here we

should recall the first line Kendrick wraps on Good Kid Mad City. I met her at this house party on El Segundo and Central. In the narrative of Good Kid Mad City, Kendrick was 17 years old, and meeting Shireen at a house party did not ultimately end well. Though he didn't die, one of Kendrick's friends did, and Kendrick himself got stomped out and shot at. Next, Kenny says, I'll probably die from witnesses leaving me false accused. I'll probably die from thinking that me in your hood was cool. Despite being a good kid and a mad city, these lines make clear that Kenny's innocence does not exempt him from being racially profiled by witnesses that could easily land him in prison. Nor does his lack of gang affiliation protect him from the dangers of gang territories or relationships.

It would seem that in Compton, USA, you're guilty by association. Kenny continues, or maybe die from pressing the line act into extra. Here, pressing the line refers to any act that ignores society's established limits. Similarly, acting extra refers to behavior that is dramatic or over the top. However, even if Kenny does act normal, he could still die because the erratic action of others. He says, maybe die because these smokers are more than desperate. Here, Kenny is worried about being attacked by crack addicts looking for money for their next hit. As the verse continues, Kenny turns his attention to his fear of law enforcement. Smokers are more than desperate. I probably

die from one of these bats and blue badges. Body slammed in black and white paint, my bone snapping. Or maybe die from panic or die from being too lax. Or die for waiting on and die because I'm moving too fast. I probably died. As dangerous as drug addicts might be, Kenny faces an even greater danger as a result of the war on drugs and the associated incidents of police brutality. He raps, I'll probably die from one of these bats and blue badges, body slammed on black and white paint, my bones snapping. And what's surely one of the most vivid depictions of violence in this verse, Kenny fears police officers using excessive. force, which includes being beaten with batons and being body slammed directly onto the pavement, snapping his teenage bones in half. The likelihood of Kenny dying at the hands of police officers,

being equal to the likelihood of him dying at the hands of gang members, displays the conundrum teenage Kenny faces. That is, Kenny has no safe haven. His home, his neighborhood, and his community's law enforcement are all threats. This damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, is further highlighted in the next lines, or maybe die from panic or die from being too lax, or die from waiting on it, die because I'm moving too fast. These lines suggest that Kenny is cursed to die

whether he tenses up or calms down, whether he moves fast or moves slow. Kenny goes on to say, I'll probably die trying to buy weed at the apartment. I'll probably die trying to diffuse two homies arguing. Once again, Kenny highlights how his attempts to smoke away his anxiety, will probably get him killed. The phrase, diffused two homies arguing, implicitly compares these young men to bombs that will inevitably explode, killing themselves and those around them. Thus, in such a harsh

environment, Kenny's attempts to resolve conflict and encourage peace will probably get him killed as well. As verse two comes to a close, Kenny once again abandons his litany to punctuate the verse with a compelling couplet. Kenny raps in a hurry I wish I control things Kenny wraps I'll probably die because that's what you do when you're 17 While we already guess this verse depicts Kenny as a teenager It's revealed that Kenny has been rapping from the perspective of his 17-year-old self

This age is significant for at least three reasons First being 17 finds Kenny a decade older than the 7-year-old Kenny being chastised in verse 1 As we'll soon hear this pattern of Kenny examining himself in 10-year increments will continue into the final verse. 17 is also significant because this was Kendrick's age during the tragic events of Good Kid Mad City, and the verse seems to reflect the trauma and fear he experienced after his friend's death. Lastly, 17 happens to be the number of ways that Kenny said he might die prior to this line. While it's unclear if this was intentional, we can't put it past Kendrick to include this subtle

reminder that each year on this earth has been a struggle to stay alive. Kenny's constant struggle to live leads directly into the final line. He says, All worries in a hurry, I wish I controlled things. The constant threat of death has caused Kenny to be controlled by his worried feelings. As such, this line directly mirrors the final line of verse one. There we heard Kenny's mom say, N-word, you're going to fear me if you don't fear no one else. Together, these two lines revealed that beneath all of Kenny's external manifestations and actions is fear, is his primary motivator. As such, we can conclude that it was fear and his lack of being able to control his world that motivated Kenny to become rich and famous and escape his

harsh environment. Given that we know Kenny did eventually succeed as a rapper, we may assume his fears subsided. However, after a repetition of the song's hook, the third verse reveals that Kenny's fears have grown just as much as his wealth and status have. Accumulated ten times over throughout the years. My newfound life made, all of me magnified. How many accolades do I need to block denial? The shock value of my success propotes in me. From the opening moments of verse 3, it's immediately clear that we're veering away from the structural template used in verses 1 and 2. For starters, Kenny switches from present to past tense, that is, we've returned to the present moment, and Kenny is now able to look back with clarity

on his earlier years described in the first two verses. And to this point, the third verse also abandons the use of litany. Knowing that Kenny used litany to express his more visceral emotions, we suspect his abandonment of the form will signal a shift to a directness and clarity of thought that will help us make sense of his emotional journey throughout Dam. This new directness is present in the opening line. When I was 27, I grew accustomed to more fear. Unlike verses 1 and 2, Kenny here reveals his age at the beginning of the verse. By doing so, Kenny draws increased attention to the fact that the three verses on fear

reveal Kenny's thoughts at three different ages, each a decade apart, 7, 17, and now 27. Thus, when taken together, the verses show both the progression and continuity in Kenny's life over a span of 20 years. And it's here we realize that this isn't the first time Kenny has shown us the progression and continuity in his life over 20 years. During the first verse of DNA, Kenny rapped, when I was 9, On Sale Motel, We Didn't Have Nowhere stay. At 29, I've done so well, hit cartwheel in my estate. As we noted in our first episode on DNA, Kenny was able to use these two lines to show his progression from poverty to wealth. At the same time, the image of Kenny reliving his childhood by doing cartwheels as a grown adult reveals the

continuity of Kenny's life over 20 years. When Kenny expresses in two lines on DNA, he's now expanded into three whole verses on fear. But rather than comment, on his rags to Rich's story, Kenny on fear uses the two decades span to track the growth of his fear and the poverty from which his fear was born. To this point, Fear's third verse continues, When I was 27, I grew accustomed to more fear, accumulated 10 times over throughout the years. Here, Kenny plays off the 10-year span between each verse, noting how his fear grew 10 times over as he grew older. Indeed, Kenny's tremendous success as a rapper has actually caused his fears to accumulate rather than disperse. Kenny continues to expound on these unexpected

side effects with the lines, my newfound life made all of me magnified. How many accolades do I need to block denial? Kenny here describes the discomfort and vulnerability that resulted from living under a microscope of public opinion. At the same time, Kenny continues to live in denial about his status in the world, which leaves him perpetually looking for more accolades to prove his own worth. Of course, these were the exact emotions Kendrick expressed in the narrative of Tipa Pimpa Butterfly, an album very much about the aftermath of his sudden success. And in the same way that age 17 of verse 2 reflected his age in the narrative of Good Kid Mad City, Kendrick was 27 years old when he released Tipa Butterfly. Of course, these relationships are not

coincidental, and will come to have more significance by the song's end. As the verse proceeds, Kenny he continues to express the negative side effects of fame and fortune, wrapping, The shock value of my success put bolts in me. Shock value is a term describing the degree to which a given piece of content shocks or disturbs an audience. Here, Kendrick uses the phrase to describe his rapid ascension into stardom, and how his reaction was like fearful prey seeing a predator. It froze him still.

We also recognize the clever wordplay of shock and bolts, as he likens his success to getting struck by lightning, noting its rarity and its painful consequences. As fear continues, Kenny pivots on this line, considering the source of lightning bolts themselves as an act of God. The idea to block denial. The shock value of my success propotes in me. All this money is God playing a joke on me. Is it for the moment

and will he see me as Job? Take it from me and leave me worse than I was before. The idea of God sending down lightning to destroy Kenny's career directly mirrors the biblical story of Job, which gives way to the line, is it for the moment? And will he see me as Job? Take it from me and leave me worse than I was before.

Knowing that fear began by framing itself as addressing Kenny's suffering, it's very strategic that Kendrick chose to incite the story of Job, as it's a lengthy biblical story that discusses why humans suffer. In this story, we're introduced to a man named Job, who is described as, quote-unquote, perfect, because he fears God and turns from evil. We're also told that Job is blessed with 10 children, 10,000 livestock, and many servants, which is ironic given that Job's name means hated. However, it's soon revealed that Job is hated by a spiritual figure referred to as the accuser, which in Hebrew is the word Satan. Unbeknownst to Job, the accuser approaches God and accuses Job of not being as righteous as he seems. The accuser suggests that if God

allows Job to suffer, then Job will show his true colors and forsake his loyalty to God. To our surprise, God listens and actually allows Job to suffer. In the span of of a few minutes, his children, livestock, and servants are all killed. After losing it all, God then allows Job to be stricken with a painful skin disease. While Job had continued to express his loyalty after losing it all, the physical and mental anguish from the skin disease drives Job to his breaking point. Job expresses his doubts and suspicions about God, and questions whether God is just. Among other things, Job asks, why is light given to him who suffers? and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but there is none, for what I have feared has

come upon me, and what I was afraid of has happened to me." Here Job questions why God allows humans to suffer from the very things that they fear. These questions are heard by some of Job's friends, who insist that Job's suffering must have been caused by some act of great wickedness Job committed. Job rejected the accusations of his friends and demanded answers directly from God. It's at this point in this story that we can already see numerous parallels between Job and Kenny. Like Job, Kendrick has been blessed with great fortune. And at the conclusion of to pimp a butterfly, Kendrick depicted himself as someone who, like Job, had turned away from evil and committed himself to following God's command to love others. However, Kendrick's message of love was met with hatred by

Fox News, who, along with some influential members of the black community, leveled various accusations against Kendrick. In the current verse of fear, Kenny made clear that he very much feared being judged unjustly by America. Thus, like Job, when the thing that Kenny feared happened to him, Kenny experienced a great deal of mental anguish and was tempted to abandon his loyalty to God. Like Job's friends who felt his suffering was caused by some act of wickedness Job committed, Kenny's cousin Carl implies that Kenny's suffering is caused by his failure to follow God's commandments

and as evident in the very beginning of fear Kenny seems to have ignored Carl's words for now and instead demanded answers directly from God himself by the third verse of fear Kenny too recognizes the parallels between himself and Job prompting him to fear that God will take away his fame and fortune and leave him worse off than he was before which was growing up poor in Compton

while the numerous stories of famous celebrities going bankrupt seemed to validate Kenny's fear, it's important to note that in saying that God left Job worse than he was before, Kenny is not taking the entire story of Job into account. That's because after Job and his friends spent 36 chapters philosophizing about what the Lord had done, God actually answers Job directly. However, God doesn't explain or justify Job's suffering. Instead, God opens by asking Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

God then goes on to ask if Job personally witnessed the creation of the universe. God's point in all of this seems to be that while Job and Kenny might try to look back to the earliest memories of their lives to try and understand why they're currently suffering, God is the only one who could look back to the birth of the universe. He alone can fathom every move of every atom that led to the world we currently inhabit. As such, God informs Job that is not a lot of the universe. possible for him to fully understand how his suffering fits into the grand scheme of the universe. Instead, God encourages Job to trust the God who holds the universe together.

God eventually commends Job for wrestling with him until his doubts subsided. However, God chastises Job's friends for making false accusations against Job. God tells the friends that they must go to Job and ask Job to pray for God to forgive them. It was then that, quote, the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, unquote. In a surprising twist, the curse on Job's life was reversed when he prayed for his accusers. And it's with this knowledge of Job's story that he gets a very clever and likely very

intentional foreshadowing of Kenny's story. Job's reversal of fortunes from wealth to poverty to even greater wealth suggests that the people who have been asking Kenny to pray for them have been sent by God. It is through them and Kenny's prayer for others that will reverse the curse on Kenny's own life. In light of this information, we can look back on the Ain't Nobody Praying for Me motif heard throughout damn with increased insight. Specifically, we see irony in the last line of feel, the song that marked the beginning of Kenny's emotional journey. 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?

Ain't nobody praying for me. We realize now that Kenny's exclusive focus on himself and his reluctance to serve others seems to be what's holding him back from experiencing God's blessing in his life. We keep this important revelation in mind when we continue our dissection of fear right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we detailed the story of Job, the biblical character Kenny fears becoming. We heard how Job lost his family and fortune, and like Kenny on the introduction to fear, question why God would allow such suffering. In a surprising twist, the curse on Job is reversed when Job prays for others rather than continually worrying about

his own misfortune. We keep this revelation in mind as we continue to dissect Fear's final verse. from hard to ha. Scared to go back to Section 8 when my mama's stressing. 30 shows a month and I still won't buy me no Lexus. When is an advisor, somebody that's holding my checks, just to fuck me over and put my finances in debt. I read a case about Rihanna's accountant and wonder. I did the bad girl feel when she looked at them numbers.

That type of shit will make me flip out. Kenny continues, at 27, my biggest fear was losing at all. In the same way, Kenny's fear progressed from physical, use to death, we now see that Kenny's fear of death has progressed into a fear of losing his wealth and status. For someone who defied the odds and rose out of poverty, it makes sense that Kenny would now fear losing all he's earned more than losing his life. That is, he'd rather die than go back to broke. This explains why on Element, Kenny rapped, I'm willing to die for this shit. I'll take your fucking life for this shit. We ain't going back to broke, family selling dope.

while on element, Kenny's apprehensions about going back into poverty manifested as anger. He reveals here that his apprehension is actually rooted in fear. This idea is crystallized in the subsequent lines of fear as he wraps, Scared to spend money, had me sleeping from hall to hall, scared to go back to Section 8 with my mama's stressing, 30 shows a month, and I still won't buy me no Lexus. Here, Kenny reflects back on the overwhelming fear that took control of him when his mother repeatedly threatened to beat his ass. 20 years later, he now recognizes his mom's behavior as rooted in her fear that their family would lose what little they had, leaving them homeless.

This fear of poverty Kenny inherited still controls him despite his extreme wealth, so much so that even after performing a sold-out concert every day of the month, Kenny is too afraid to spend any of the money he's earned. He finds himself sleeping in hallways rather than getting a hotel room and driving his old car rather than buying a luxury vehicle. Even if Kenny refrains from spending his money, Kenny realizes his livelihood could be threatened if someone close to him betrays his loyalty. In particular, Kenny asks, what's an advisor, somebody that's holding my checks, just to fuck me over and put my finances in debt? Kenny here worries that his financial advisor could one day betray him by stealing his money and leaving him in debt.

For Kenny, such concerns are no longer theoretical because he personally knows someone who suffered from this exact scenario. He says, I read a case about Rihanna's accountant and wondered, how did the bad girl feel when she looked at them numbers. Kenny's fear of rogue advisors stems from hearing about the mismanagement of Rihanna's $11 million net worth, leaving her effectively bankrupt. We detailed this story on our discussion of loyalty, the track in which Rihanna herself is featured. There, we theorized that Rihanna's feature was meant to connect to her music video for bitch better have my money. That video revealed that the bitch who was referenced in the title was Rihanna's real-life accountant. The video depicted Rihanna's intuition to make violence look sexy

by kidnapping the accountant's wife, torturing her, using her as ransom, and stabbing the accountant to death. We thus hypothesized that bad girl Riri's inclusion and loyalty was meant to indicate that Kung Fu Kenny shared this same inclination to use violence in order to get his money back, And it would appear our theory is confirmed as fear continues. Referring to the hypothetical betrayal of a rogue accountant that steals his money, Kenny raps, that type of shit will make me flip out and just kill something, drill something, get ill, and fill ratchets with a little something. The terms flip out and get ill are slang for acting in an angry, crazed, or deprived manner.

To drill something is slang for violently penetrating someone, be it during sex or when firing bullets. Hence, just like Kenny's mentality on Element, and Rihanna's on Bitch Better Have My Money, we see here how the threat to Kenny's livelihood, i.e. his wealth, triggers him to feel like violence and sex as the most attractive option of retaliation. In other words, he's once again making violence look sexy. We also recognize this as a parallel to the message of the hook, that emotional distress is dealt with by compulsively pursuing vices. Kenny continues rapping, I practice running from fear, guess I had some good luck. At 27 years old, my biggest fear was being judged.

Earlier in the verse, Kenny stated his biggest fear was losing at all, which initially seemed to be mostly about losing his fortune. However, here we find that Kenny's biggest fear also included losing his fame as a result of being judged negatively by others. By the time he turned 27, Kenny's fear of being judged eclipsed the fear of death that plagued him at the age of 17. This idea that being judged is worse than dying seems to be something first implied on Dam's opening track blood. In our discussion of that track, we noted how the parable about Kenny being shot by a blind woman, in part represented Kenny's experience of being judged by Fox News and some of his peers in the rap game. Here in fear, Kenny elaborates on this,

saying, how they look at me reflect on myself, my family, my city. What they say about me, reveal if my reputation would miss me. What they see from me would trickle down generations and time. What they hear from me would make them highlight my simplest lines. Kenny reveals that his fear of being judged is rooted not just in his pride of self, but also the pride he takes in being a leader and representative for his friends and family in Compton, both in the present and for generations to come. This explains the sensitivity regarding the misrepresentation of his message from outlets like Fox News. news and others. While some in similar high-profile positions can brush off negative press coverage, for Kenny, any attack on his character, is an attack on everything he loves. As fear continues,

we hear a noticeable shift in the verse. Indeed, this turn signals one of the most significant passages of the album, a passage that's critical in unlocking the meaning behind Dan's narrative structure. Fear missing out on you and me. I'm talking fear. Fear losing loyalty for pride because my DNA won't let me involve in the light of God.

I'm talking fear. Fear that my humbleness is gone. I'm talking fear. Fear that love ain't living here no more. I'm talking fear. Fear that is wickedness or weakness. Fear. Whatever it is both is distinctive.

Fear. What happens on earth stays on earth and I can't take these feelings with me so hopefully they disperse within 14 tracks. carried out over wax, searching for resolutions until somebody get back. Fear. Kenny continues to unpack his fear of losing it all rapping.

I'm talking fear. Fear of losing creativity. I'm talking fear. Fear of missing out on you and me. After spending most of the verse expressing his fear of losing exterior manifestations of success like fame and fortune, Kenny now realizes he's even more afraid of losing internal manifestations of success, such as creativity and healthy relationships. We also recognize how these two things could be opposed to each other. That is, Kenny's drive to create art takes him away from

spending time with his loved ones, and spending time with his loved ones takes him away from spending time working on his art. As he continues, Kenny understands that losing such things would be caused by his inability to follow God's commandments. He says, I'm talking fear, fear of losing loyalty from pride, because my DNA won't let me evolve in the light of God. I'm talking fear, fear that my humbleness is gone. I'm talking fear, fear that love ain't living here no more. Kenny's breakthrough moment here begins in earnest as he utters the most self-reflective lines on damn thus far. The idea that he would lose his loyalty to God because of his pride is a reflection of the biblical teaching of James 4 we discussed at the end of lust. The central teaching in that passage

displayed how God opposes the proud, but gives the Spirit of God to the humble. Thus, Kenny finally recognizes that his pride and lack of humility has caused him to be denied God's spirit, or as he puts it, my DNA won't let me evolve in the light of God. Kenny has finally reached the point where he can look back on his journey with a degree of moral clarity, allowing him to unify the disparate parts of the album and to one cohesive train of thought. This attempt to place the entire album within a unified perspective is immediately apparent when we recognize that Kenny here references seven of the 14 track names on Dam, including fear, loyalty, pride, DNA, God, humble, and love. Kenny uses these track references to show how the entire album boils down to Kenny's struggle to choose humility

over pride. Kenny clearly recognizes that the negative consequences he's endured is caused by his decision to choose pride. He now recognizes that pride could cause him to abas him to abas. He now recognizes that pride could cause him to abandon his ultimate loyalty to God. He now recognizes that pride could cause him to embrace the destructive traits in his DNA that render him incapable of evolving into an enlightened human being. He recognizes that pride can quickly displace the humility he once had as a child. He recognizes that due to the dichotomy between love and pride, choosing pride means he'll deprive himself of love. After subtly alluding to these dichotomies of pride versus love, and pride versus humility. Kenny then says, I'm talking fear, fear that it's wickedness or weakness,

fear, whatever it is, both is distinctive, fear. Of course, wickedness or weakness is the central dichotomy we've heard reverberate through almost every track since the album's opening moments. It's the choice that we know will lead to one of two distinct outcomes, either life or death. At the same time, we should mark this moment in fear as the first time Kenny is personal acknowledge the wickedness-weakness dichotomy. Of course, Kendrick the writer has used this dichotomy to frame the entire album, but Kung Fu Kenny the character has until now been oblivious of this choice. By articulating these ideas, it would appear that Kenny is now fulfilling his calling to be a prophet in the mold of Moses and Jesus, the two Israelite prophets whose ideas seem to be represented in

the opening lines of blood. Thus, Kenny can now view his suffering on earth from a divine perspective, and has found the words to articulate deeper truths. This leads him to proclaim, What Happens on Earth stays on Earth, and I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully they disperse. Similar to the wickedness-weakness dichotomy, we've previously heard what happens on earth stays on Earth, as a line recited not by Kenny, but by DJ Kid Capri. In our analysis of this line, we noted that this phrase was inspired by two related phrases, What Happens on Tour, stays on Tour, and the marketing campaign, What Happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Historically, both of these phrases have been used by men who set aside their loyalty to their significant others in order to indulge in promiscuous sex while traveling away from home. Indeed, during the track Lust, we witnessed how Kenny became unloyal to his girl and even adopted manipulative tactics to sexually exploit women on tour. However, here in fear, Kenny realizes that his entire life on earth is a tour.

a temporary journey. Indeed, throughout Dam, we've heard Kenny's life depicted as an emotional journey as he tries to find a way to make it on this earth. All of these emotions have placed a tremendous burden on Kenny, a burden he's been unable to offload. However, Kenny now realizes that he can't carry this emotional baggage with him when he leaves this earth and goes to his true home. It's likely that Kenny is alluding to the heavenly home Jesus spoke of the night before the events of Good Friday. told his disciples, quote, In my father's house are many dwelling places, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me,

so that where I am, there you may be also, and you know the way where I'm going. I am the way and the truth and the life, unquote. In this passage, Jesus states the reason he ascended into heaven after his resurrection was to prepare a home for all of his followers to inhabit when Jesus came back to reunite heaven with earth. Given that most of his followers would have been long dead by the time Jesus came back, the promise of a new home implies that those who have suffered like Jesus will be resurrected like Jesus, and like the humble bandit, will be invited into paradise with Jesus. Kenny alludes to this future return of Jesus as he says,

I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully they disperse, within 14 tracks carried out over wax, searching for resolutions until somebody get back. Kenny seems to have come to terms with the belief that the suffering he continues to experience on earth will never be fully resolved until Jesus comes back. This is the same conclusion that Job came to in the middle of his suffering when he said, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth, and even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God. Both Job and Kenny seem to believe that God will one day come to free them

from their life of suffering and their history of trauma. Even if their suffering leads to death in this life, both Job and Kenny have faith that God will raise them up from the dead and bring them into new life. The only difference is that while the Book of Job used 40 chapters of ancient poetry to work through Job's theories and suspicions, Dam has used 14 tracks of hip-hop poetry that has allowed us to hear Kenny worked through his theories and suspicions on wax, a term rappers used to refer to the lyrics they've recorded in the studio. This implicit parallel between scripture and rap lyrics leads to the final lines of the verse. fear are living through rap.

Damn. In this final line, Kenny provides us with yet another dichotomy. This time it's his personal choice between living through fear or living through rap. All three verses of fear have clearly illustrated what it looks like when Kenny's life is immersed in fear. However, we may wonder why for Kenny, living through rap is the opposite of living through fear. It might be helpful to recall the interview in which Kendrick talked about how he lives

with the words that he puts on record. These words, you know, they're not just made up words. You know, when I say I sit and I live with them, you know, and I really zone into them, these are ideas that's coming way beyond me. And that's just how I feel about it since day one. On top of noting how he zones into the words he puts on wax, Kenny claimed those words come from a source that is beyond him. Of course, as we've discussed throughout the season,

Kenny's role as prophet implies that the spirit of God, is the source from which Kenny receives his lyrics. With this insight into the significance Kenny places into his own words, we recognize now the spiritual realization that occurs with Kenny's dramatic final line performed on fear. For Kenny, living through rap, means that he's living through God's spirit, instead of living through fear. Thus, he now understands that his fear of suffering on earth, a fear that leads to wicked, selfish acts of preservation, violence, and death, can be replaced with the awe-inspiring fear of God, a fear that leads to selfless acts of non-violence, forgiveness,

and a new life in his permanent home in the heavens. At the same time, we can also see how the idea of living through rap cleverly implies that the story of Kung Fu Kenny is fictional, based of course on Kendrick Lamar's own emotions and experience, but a story he himself did not fully live out in real life. By creating a fictional character and living through him, Kendrick, the author and artist, is able to express the more negative emotions he feels through his music in an attempt to cathartically dispel those feelings instead of acting on them.

Hence the lines, hopefully they disperse over 14 tracks, carried out over wax, and living through rap. In this way, we see how Kendrick's fictional story about a character who turns away from God's commandments to pursue his intuition towards sex, money, and murder is a way to correct himself. He imagines a world where he actually allows these negative emotions to play out fully so he can observe their consequences. But we also know that Kung Fu Kenny is not just representative of Kendrick Lamar. Kung Fu Kenney also represents the United States of America. As such, we realize that Kendrick Lamar, the author, is fulfilling his role as prophet, using his inspired words to spread God's message and attempt to correct not only himself, but America at large.

We are living through rap. Damn. God damn you. God damn me. God damn us. God damn we. God us all. After experiencing a spiritual breakthrough,

all that Kenny can say is damn. Kenny's use of the album title as an interjection then gives way to Beacon, who uses the album title to refer to curses as he sing, God damn you, God damn me, God damn us, God damn we, God damn us all. In our last episode on XXX, we pointed out all the various lyrical cues that Kendrick employs to subtly imply that the story of Kung Fu Kenny is not only representative of Kendrick Lamar, but of America as a whole and perhaps humanity at large. Here, near the conclusion of the album's most

revealing track, Kendrick pulls back the curtain and abandons all ambiguity. Damn is about everyone currently attempting to make their way on this earth and questioning the suffering they endure. Thus, we're reminded of Deuteronomy's claim that we've all been cursed, that the wayward chaos of the modern era is due to our unwillingness to abide by God's commandments. This sets us up to hear the remainder of the voicemail from Carl Duckworth. The voicemail jumps into the middle of his speech in which Carl tells Kenny, quote, Verse 2 says, You only have I known all the families of the earth.

Therefore, I will punish you for all your inequities. At first, we might assume Carl is still quoting Deuteronomy chapter 28. But Carl here has actually jumped to chapter 3 of the book of the prophet Amos. As we discussed in our episode on lust, Amos prophesied that because the Israelites continued to ignore God's commandments, the Israelites would faint for thirst after experiencing a judgment. drought of hearing the words of God. In Amos chapter 3 verse 2, God states that the reason he'll take such harsh actions against the Israelites is because God had revealed himself to them in a way he had

never done with any other nations. Because the Israelites had been blessed with such a unique relationship to the God who created the universe, God held them to a much higher standard. When they refused to follow God's commandments, God decided to make an example of the Israelites to teach all nations that disregarding God's commandments will leave us all cursed. Carl goes on to say that the people whom God chose to be his family are the so-called blacks, Hispanics, and Native American Indians. He claims that these ethnic groups are the true descendants of Israel according to the Bible. On our last episode, we discussed the origins of the black Hebrew Israelites,

noting that various branches of this larger group developed over time. The idea that Hispanics and Native Americans are included among the descendants of Israel is a distinct teaching first spread by the One West Camp, a black nationalist branch of the Black Hebrew Israelites established in 1969. The One West Camp's spiritual heritage can be traced back to Frank Cherry, a man who prophesied that Jesus would come back to start a race war and enslave all white people to serve black people. Over the subsequent decades, the One West Camp would splinter into different sorts.

subgroups, with some being more extreme than others. However, most of these groups maintain their conviction that the so-called black, Hispanics, and Native Americans should look forward to the day when God will destroy their enemies. In pay shall rule over their oppressors. Does that sound like God is playing with these people? Now, this is God saying he's going to give us our land back and he's going to give us our servants back. We are no longer going to be under the people. We are no longer going to be their rule. I don't have to spend six years in college to figure out what I want to be because, hey, you know what? We're going to be rich. We're going to rule the world. It's going to be ours once again. This clip was taken from a street demonstration by Israel United in Christ, or IUIC,

a faction of the black Hebrew Israelites founded in 2003 by Nathaniel Ben Israel, a former member of the One West Camp. IUIC maintains many of the teachings of the One West Camp, and including the belief that blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. The IUC has since been branded a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its Black national ideology. Cousin Carl is a member of the IUC and is now known by the name Karnai Ben Israel. Seeing how Kung Fu Kenny claimed to be an Israelite on Yaw, and that he chose to feature Cousin Carl's message on such a pivotal track on the album, We might wonder if Kendrick himself is associated with the IUC.

Cousin Carl made it a point to address this question in a YouTube video posted shortly after Dan's release. So what's going on with cousin Kendra? Everything is going well with him. He texts me and say it's a lot of politicking and a lot of people flipping on them now. You know, and I just constantly try to answer all the questions that he asked me. Well, he is not committed to IUC. No, no, yeah. So it's being away there.

I know everybody trying to holler at the brother. When asked directly by ID Vice if he embraced the theology of his cousin Carl, Kendrick responded, quote, Everything that I say on that record is from his perspective. That's always been my thing. Always listen to people's history and their background. It may not be like mine. It may not be like yours.

It was taking his perspective on the world and life as a people and putting it to where people can listen to it and make their own perspective from it, whether you agree or you don't agree. That's what I think music is for. It's a mouthpiece, unquote. The interviewer then asked Kendrick if he believes black people are cursed by God as per Deuteronomy. Kendrick replied, quote, That shit's truth. There's so many different ways to interpret it, but it's definitely truth when you're talking about unity in our community and some of the things that we have no control over,

where there's fighting against the government, where there's fighting against our own political views, there's always a higher being, right there willing to stop it, unquote. Despite Kendrick's hesitance to fully embrace Carl's theological beliefs, he finds truth in his perspective, and thus gives Carl the stage in the most pivotal song on dam. Carl suggests that suffering is God's way of correcting his people, describing it as a curse caused by our disobedience. He compares God to a father who chastises or disciplines his son, not to destroy his son, but to prevent him from destroying his own life through bad decisions. Fittingly, Carl seems to have taken this idea directly from Deuteronomy, specifically chapter 8, where Moses says to the Israelites, quote,

You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you into the wilderness these 40 years, that he might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart. whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and then fed you. Thus, you are to know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. This passage makes clear that often God allows his people to endure periods of suffering and hunger as a way to test his people, to reveal what in their hearts, to humble them, and to draw his people near to him through the awe-inspiring fear of the Lord. As such, suffering can be seen as an expression of God's love and his desire to

provide what's best for the future of his children. This idea of God correcting humans through suffering is a point that Kendrick made when he responded to a DJ booth blog post and wrote, Our God is a loving God, yes. He's a merciful God, yes. But even more so, a God of discipline, 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 you, it will be corrected. This quote shows that despite the fact Dan provides a profound critique of tribalism and ethnic hatred that often underscores the most visible segments of the Black Hebrew-Israelite movements,

Kendrick is humble enough to listen to people from these groups and highlight the deeper truths beneath their controversial rhetoric. This pattern of humbly listening to a messenger from an oppressed people group is exactly what reverses the curse for the people living in Nineveh in Jonah's day. And in a time of extreme political polarization, where division and animosity across party lines has never been more intense, where our conflicting ideology can so often blind us from seeing the humanity in our fellow man, perhaps such radical, humble, earnest listening to others might just be what's needed to reverse the curse for those of us living here today in the United States of America. As Carl ends his voicemail message, his parting words signal a reversal of three primary concerns

that have plagued Kenny throughout Dam. Carl says, I pray for you, which is the reversal of Kenny's earliest statement that ain't nobody praying for me. Carl says, God bless you, which is a reversal of Kenny's statement that God will damn us all. Finally, Carl ends his message in the track itself by saying shalom, a Hebrew greeting used to say goodbye, but most literally means peace. On one level, Carl's use of the word shalom is merely an artifact of Carl's association with the black Hebrew Israelites. However, on a deeper level, the word peace reverses the chaos and fear that has plagued Kenny since he was seven years old. Moreover, after being smitten by madness and and blindness and astonishment of heart, the appearance of the word shalom as the last word

on this pivotal track suggests that Kenny has finally found peace of mind. Over the course of the seven and a half minute epic fear, Kung Fu Kenny undergoes a deep self-examination as he walks through his own history and discovers how his attempts to avoid suffering has allowed fear to take control of his life. The strategic use of samples placed the song within an existential framework, as members of the 24-carat black, question the idea that paradise or happiness can be found for those in poverty looking for a way to make it on this earth. This seemed to directly challenge Jesus' claim that blessed are the poor, for them belongs the kingdom of God. Indeed, this notion is confirmed when we hear Cousin Charles asking God directly what he ever did to deserve the suffering he

endures, only to be overcome with resentment and wish for total annihilation of the earth. The through line of poverty continues as Kenny wraps from the perspective of his scolding mother in the song's opening verse. It's here we discovered that the stresses of a life and poverty led to a fear of survival, a fear that Kenny inherits at a young age. In verse two, we observed how this fear continued to manifest as Kenny's impoverished and stressed neighborhood had 17-year-old Kenny continually fearing for his life, resembling the events told over good kid mad city. By verse 3 and age 27, we find Kenny reflecting on his attempts to escape as inherited fears by becoming rich and famous. However, his plan backfired as he became even more fearful of losing all that he had

gained. Kenny comes to realize that his poverty extends beyond finances, he's suffering from poverty of spirit. Like verse two alluding to the events of Good Kid Mad City, this third verse resembles the narrative of Tipinpa Butterfly. Thus, while Kung Fu Kenny the character is looking back at his life throughout fear, Kendrick Lamar is simultaneously reflecting on his own discography. And it's here that we realize that the fear of suffering is at the heart of all the choices Kendrick has made and expressed throughout both his past albums and the current album Dan. On songs like Yah, Element and Humble, Kenny's fear of suffering in poverty led him to violently protect his wealth through acts of self-preservational pride. His fear of suffering from being judged

led him to lashing out at his accusers rather than forgiving them. On loyalty, his fear of suffering from betrayal caused him to act like an authoritarian and demand unquestioned allegiance from everyone around him. On lust, Kenny's fear of suffering from vulnerability led him to indulge heavily in drugs and sex. On XXXX, his fear of suffering from the loss of a family member led him to call for a violent retaliation against his enemies. And as Kenny reflects back on his actions here on, fear, the prideful, violent, and protective mentality that developed because of his inherited fear, now has Kenny fearing that he's lost his loyalty, love, compassion, and humility, i.e. his weakness. Thus, if life is in fact a choice between wickedness or weakness, he fears that the fear he inherited

in his DNA has hindered him from evolving in the light of God. With help from his cousin Carl, Kenny conceptualizes his inheritance as a curse that can only be reversed when he repairs his relationship with the Heavenly Father. Carl explains that God has chastised Kenny by allowing him to suffer from his selfish acts of pride and his unwillingness to abide by God's commandments. This chastisement helped Kenny come to terms with the fact that following God's commandments will require him to choose weakness. Kenny now knows he must commit to loving his enemies, despite the fact that doing so will make him vulnerable to those who might try to steal money from him, accuse him falsely, threaten his livelihood, or even threaten his very life.

Thus, Kenny realizes that he cannot put his trust in money or fame, since those things can be lost at any moment, it will never be as valuable as his relationships with God and others. Instead, Kenny puts his trust in Jesus' promise of a future resurrection. Kenny's belief in the resurrection finally convinces him, that his relationships with God and others are the only things he can take with him in the afterlife. Since his conflicted feelings and their influence on his problematic acts of wickedness are the biggest threat to these relationships, Kenny realizes that like money and fame,

he can't take his troubled feelings with him when he leaves this earth. Thus he hopes to dispel these feelings by expressing them through rap, which makes room for a new transcendent feeling, namely the feeling of being filled with the spirit of God. Of course, this is Dan's penultimate track, God. A song will examine note by note, line by line, next time on Dysect. 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 of the original Dicect 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 Dysc merchandise at Dysectpodcast.com. Okay, thanks for listening, everyone.

I'll talk to you next episode.