Dissect - S5E18 - GOD. by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: January 14, 2020

After receiving guidance from Cousin Carl on FEAR., Kung Fu Kenny expresses the joyous feeling of being filled with the spirit of GOD. 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 Kushna. Today we continue our serialized analysis of Damn by Kendrick Lamar. On our last two episodes, we unpacked the pivotal song Fear. There we found our protagonist, Kung Fu Kenny, examining his personal history in order to understand how fear took control of his life, and how his lifelong avoidance of suffering, has led him to much turmoil, and ironically, even more suffering. He deduces that running away from suffering

has caused him to run away from God. By the song's end, Kenny was finally able to let go of his fear of pain, death, and loss after realizing he truly did not want to lose his humility and his faith in God. It 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. In this passage, Kenny states, searching for resolutions until somebody get back. We interpreted the somebody in this line to be Jesus, referring to his future resurrection in which he returns to unite heaven and earth. This idea takes us all the way back to the very first episode of the season. There we discussed Faith, a 2009 song in which Kendrick clearly asked God about his life's purpose.

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. God replied to Kendrick's question of purpose, saying, quote, live the way he did. That's all he want from me. Spread the word and witness he rose on the first Sunday.

Here God revealed Kendrick's purpose was to live like Jesus did and spread his message, specifically citing Jesus' resurrection. On the track fear, Kenny seems to finally have come to terms with the fact that living the way Jesus lives will require him to suffer the way Jesus suffered. As we already pointed out, up until this point on Dam, Kenny has been running away from suffering, which in turn had him running away from God. Kenny's attempt to run away from God's message of love was largely due to his realization that as stated in the intro to the song, Pride, Love will get you killed. It's not until the end of fear that Kenny seems to have truly come to believe that Jesus rose on the first Sunday. For Kenny, accepting Jesus' resurrection seems to have fundamentally changed the way he thinks about his life on earth. Kenny now realizes that living the way Jesus lived means that even if he dies,

his life will be raised from the dead, just like Jesus was raised from the dead. Because Jesus' resurrection delivered Kenny from the fear of pain, death, and loss, Kenny is now free to forgive his enemies and love sacrificial. This idea falls in line with the teaching that Jesus' resurrection is the ultimate sign of divine authority behind Jesus' commandments. This view of the resurrection is something that Jesus himself proclaimed while still on earth. When the religious leaders who opposed Jesus asked him to give a sign proving he had authority to issue commandments, Jesus replied, quote, A wicked generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given.

to that generation except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so I will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Here Jesus claimed that Jonah's journey of being lifted up out of the sea after three days in the belly of the beast was meant to foreshadow Jesus' journey of being resurrected from the earth after three days in the grave. We've talked extensively this season about Jonah, comparing his narrative to the narrative of Kung Fu Kenny. By depicting himself as a rebellious prophet in the vein of Jonah, Kenny himself has become a sign to our generation that we should heed Jesus' commandments and forgive our enemies and love sacrificially. And now that Kenny has turned himself away from

wickedness and violence, the past feeling of fear has been replaced with a totally different feeling. God is written and produced by Kendrick Lamar, Cardo, Ricky Riera, Soundwave, DJ Dahhee, Anthony Tiffith, and Beacon. The song's production revolves around a sample pulled from a sample pack called Boomtrap by producer Illmind. Beneath these chords, we find an 808 drumbeat in bass. This minimalistic soundscape falls in line with many of the tracks on Dam. Its pillowy, angelic tonal quality makes for the perfect environment for what will be Kenny's expression of reverence for the god he's been running from up until now on the album. As we heard moments ago, Kenny begins God by immediately highlighting the track's central message, this what God feel like.

This line is the culmination of an emotional journey that was first introduced in the track feel. Recall the verses of feel are structured as a poetic litany, where in almost every line begins with the words, I feel like. I feel like a chip on my shoulders. I feel like I'm losing my focus. I feel like I'm losing my patience. I feel like my thoughts in the basement. I feel like you miseducated. This repetitive structure helped to establish the concept of feelings as a major motif within Dan.

Moreover, the track's exclusive focus on the burdensome and isolating effects of Kenny's feelings illustrated how these feelings had become a destructive storm that was driving Kenny's life off course. In order to find peace of mind, Kenny embarked on an emotional journey where each of the next seven tracks explored Kenny's struggle with a different feeling. loyalty, pride, humility, lust, love, passion, and fear. Ultimately, Kenny realized that his journey here on earth is temporary, which meant that he should not hold on to his feelings as if they were eternal. This realization was specifically highlighted in the previous song Fear, where Kenny rapped, quote, What happens on earth stays on earth, and I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully

they disperse. Indeed, Kenny's clouded feelings had seemingly dispersed as he finally dispersed as he finally found peace of mind at the end of fear. Kenny no longer chooses to focus on what he feels like. Kenny instead now focuses on what God feels like. The contrast between the feeling of fear and the feeling of God mirrors one of the statements made by Paul, a man largely credited for spreading the word about Jesus' resurrection to non-Israelites living throughout the Roman Empire. Quote, God does not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. discipline." Paul draws the contrast between the spirit of fear and God's spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

This is the very contrast we see between the previous track fear and the beginning of the current track God. This statement also suggests that the positive feelings that have replaced Kenny's fear are simply a manifestation of Kenny being filled with God's spirit. This is the same spirit that enabled Kenny to become an anointed prophet. It's the same spirit that Kenny received at the end of Good Kid Matter. city, when he asked to be baptized in the spirit of the Lord. Moreover, it's the same spirit Kendrick addressed on the track faith when he said, searching for answers, that's human nature, you ain't in the wrong.

Just know when you're feeling that way, his spirit's in the room. Similar to the track faith, Kenny spent the track fear searching for answers and resolutions to his fears. Ultimately, Kenny decided to move beyond his feelings and rest in the comfort of God's spirit. This rest was the culmination of Kenny's emotional journey within the narrative of Dam. And so when we hear the words this what God feel like, we should understand them to be extremely critical and revelatory within the framework of the album's narrative. This is the cathartic moment of release, an acknowledgement of the completion in Kung Fu Kenny's journey. Like good kid Mad City, like to pimp a butterfly, it would appear that for Kendrick Lamar, all roads lead to God.

Kenny continues the hook, laugh into the bank like aha. Flex on swole like aha. You feel some type of way than aha. Kenny here is attempting to describe the indescribable feeling he has when God is present within him. He does so by comparing these indescribable feelings to other feelings that we can more easily relate to. His first comparison is to the feeling one has while laughing to. the bank. This is a common idiom describing the joy a person feels when they gain significant wealth by doing something that others dismissed as foolish. Kenny here may be alluding to the fact that

following God's commandments, specifically the commandments to forgive, may seem like foolishness to those of us here on earth. However, people who follow these kinds of counterintuitive principles are exactly the kinds of people who Jesus claim would be blessed in the kingdom of God. Indeed, when Jesus taught about those who would be blessed in his kingdom, he concluded by saying, quote, rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Hence, Kenny's laughing to the bank seems to refer to the feeling he now has after abandoning his pursuit of temporary riches on earth so he can amass eternal riches in heaven. Next, Kenny compares what God feels like to flexing on swall. In slang, the word flex refers to the act of flaunting one's wealth in the same

way one flexes their muscles to demonstrate their power and strength. Similarly, the word swall is slaying for large muscles. Like the previous line, Kenny here seems to be alluding to his counterintuitive realization that after choosing weakness, he now feels truly powerful. This realization brings to mind the experience of Paul, whom we mentioned earlier. Paul's dedication to spreading Jesus' message caused him to endure tremendous suffering, including loss, physical pain, and eventually death. During a particularly challenging bout with physical pain, Paul asked Jesus why he did not immediately put an end to his suffering. In response, Jesus reminds Paul that God's reward and blessings were all that Paul needed, adding, quote, power is made perfect in weakness. Once Paul realized that

choosing weakness would enable him to use his power for the purpose of making the world more perfect, Paul declared, quote, Most gladly I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well-content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong, unquote. Much like Paul, Kenny has endured suffering as a result of his efforts to spread Jesus' message of love and forgiveness. Like Paul, Kenny has been insulted and persecuted on all sides by conservative Fox News hosts and liberal hip-hop artists alike. Like Paul, Kenny has finally come to the realization that suffering allows him to share in

Jesus' life, and thus share in Jesus' resurrection power. And so, like Paul, Kenny experiences an indescribable feeling of joy and devotion, celebrating his weaknesses as strengths. This indescribable feeling is what Kenny seems to be expressing when he says, you feel some type of way. This phrase is normally used when someone cannot find the words to describe a strong and complex feeling that was triggered by a given experience. In some cases, feeling some kind of way implies that the person is upset. However, the phrase is also used when a person feels a strong sense of longing for another person, specifically when those feelings of longing may grow into feelings of love. And now, having reached the end of God's hook, we come to realize that it

closely resembles two other hip-hop songs that speak about laughing to the bank and flexing power. First, there's 50 Cent's 2007 track, laughing straight to the bank. 50 Cent celebrates his escape from the streets through the wealthy accrued from rap, using the track to brag about his money, women, and guns. In other words, 50 Cent's song contributes to the sex money murder motif that runs throughout the history of hip-hop. Chief Keefe's 2012 song, Laughing to the Bank, takes a like-minded approach. Fittingly, he interjects the phrase, damn.

in a hook that sounds strikingly similar to God's. Chief Keefraps, Laughing to the Bank like ha ha ha, I'm flexing on these lames like ha ha ha. This parallels Kenny's lines, Laughing to the Bank like aha, flex on swall like aha. And it's here we understand the subtle brilliance of God's hook.

Kenny plays off a phrase, Laughing to the Bank, that has traditionally been reserved in hip-hop to gloat about materialism, sexual dominance, and violent, power. These are the exact real N-word conditions Kenny was diagnosed with on Yah, the same unholy trinity of sex, money, and murder that Kenny pursued once he decided to run from God and follow his own intuition. Here at the end of Kenny's journey told over the course of Dam,

Kenny displaced his transcendence of sex, money, and murder by utilizing the language typically reserved for the reverence of oneself and replaces it with his reverence for God. Now his joy comes from the power, love, and discipline needed to follow God's commandments, not from material pursuits, sexual gratification, and murderous revenge he's pursued ever since he was a young man. Kenny begins the verse by saying, All I want to be was a gunman. Kenny highlights how his environment growing up in Compton conditioned him to be attracted to committing acts of violence. The sentiment is similar to one Kendrick expressed on a track called

Po Man's Dreams from Section 80. There Kendrick rapped, I used to want to see the penitentiary, way after elementary, thought it was cool to look the judge in the face when he sentenced me. Since my uncles was institutionalized, my intuition had said I was suited for family ties. These lines provide us with a troubling picture of Kendrick as a young man who's actually attracted to being condemned by a judge.

Moreover, these lines reveal how Kendrick's intuition for violence was heavily influenced by his desire to keep the family together, which included his uncles in prison. Earlier in Dam, we saw how that same intuition to keep the family together made Kenny reluctant to leave his element. His violent tendencies even became a large part of what motivated him, him to dominate his rivals in the rap game. We see a similar pattern here in God, as Kenny says, Shooting up the charts, better run man, y'all got to see that I won man. Kenny's use of the word

shooting implies that his desire to dominate the Billboard music charts was closely tied to his desire to be a gunman. Kenny's desire for others to see that he won shows how Kenny's violent and confrontational mentality was largely motivated by pride, but it also points to a larger win he's now experiencing on God, that is the victory of having traded his intuition to be a gunman for his commitment to a life dedicated to a higher power. As God continues, Kenny lays down one of the most intricate passages on the entire album. Kenny raps, Slick as Elda barge with a fingerwaves, work at JT. Handle bars like a fade, watch me like a circuit JT. I'm selling versus JT, watch me work at JT. Kenny wraps Slicka's L. DeBarge with the finger waves Work It JT.

Here Kenny compares his coolness to El Debarge, an iconic R&B singer who was popular in the late 80s and early 90s. His mix of high tenor and falsetto singing was a perfect voice for his steamy love songs, like his hit single, Can't Get Enough. Kenny's reference to El Debarge's finger wave hairstyle suggests that he wanted to look like El Debarge when he was younger, likely to attract women the way Elda Barge did. But we find additional significance in this line when we realize that Elda Barge struggled with drug addiction, ultimately leading to a sharp decline in his career beginning in the mid-90s. After a string of drug charges and probation,

Elda Barge was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of crack cocaine in 2008. Speaking to NPR in 2010, Elda Barge said of this time, quote, prison was the rescue mission that God had put me on. He sent out his angels to rescue me. It was just for me to get my willpower back, get my strength back, get my focus together, unquote.

Elda Barge would make a return to music after a 16-year hiatus with this 2010 album, Second Chance. The album was acclaimed by critics, debuting at number 13 on the hip-hop and R&B Billboard charts. In the song Second Chance, Elda Barge sings, you can write the song you want to hear, and I pray to live mine. So in the mirror speaks, it tells me you have faced your inner fears, and in loving this song, so tonight I lay me down to sleep and pray my soul to keep, and that your love will rescue me for the rest of my life.

Here, Elda Bard describes how one can compose their life in the same way a songwriter writes a song. He prays to God that he can live his song by overcoming his inner fears. He then acknowledges how God's love rescued him and that he'll enjoy eternal life with God in heaven. Elda Barge's redemption story, both in real life and in the song's Second Chance, is shockingly similar to Kenny's own story told over Dam. Like Kenny, Eldabarge's stardom found in pursuing any number of vices that became available to him, leading to much turmoil and suffering. Like Kenny, Elda barge eventually recognized his suffering as God's way of correcting him and setting him on the right path. Like Kenny, Eldabarge notes that overcoming his inner fears

and replacing them with feelings of God's love is what made his redemption possible. As we'll see, this is just the first of many very calculated references that Kenny works into this virtuosic lyrical passage. Next he wraps, handle bars like a fade, watch me work at J.T. This line is pretty clever on a few different levels. First, keeping in line with the verses reference to Kenny's childhood, the word handlebars seems to depict Kenny's youth riding around the neighborhood on a bike. Second, Kenny managed to rhyme the word bars with the name Eldabarge, as well as the word fade with the word waves. Third, we should note that the word fade is used to refer to a common hairstyle among black men, where the hair length on top of the head is longer, but gradually

gets shorter as it moves down the sides and back. This reference to a black hairstyle combined with the image of a hand within the word handle, forms a parallel with the previous line, where Kenny mentioned waves as a hairstyle, and also said the word finger. At the same time, the word fade can also be used in the phrase catch a fade, which refers to getting knocked out in a fistfight. In this case, the line handle bars like a fade is a boast about how he knocks out rap bars, acknowledging his ability to write clever lyrics like we're hearing now. Kenny's lyrical dominance is further emphasized by the phrase handle bars, which in this context seems to refer to Kenny's ability to handle or manipulate

words and bend them to his will. And that's obviously important to you that no word is wasted. Definitely. I just love words. I should love how to bend them. I love how to break them. I love how to twist them, turn them, make them in couplets. You can manipulate it. You know, you can manipulate it. And that shows the true craft and your swordsmanship. Given how much Kenny enjoys manipulating words, the line, handle bars like a fade, is a perfect illustration of Kenny's elite craft as a writer. Kenny continues to show his skills with the lines, I'm at large running plays like a circuit, JT. The phrase at large is normally used to refer to criminals who are on the run or actively evading the police. This connects back to the first line about Kenny's childhood

desire to be a gunman, the previous line about catching a fade, and to the current line about him running plays. Similarly, the phrase running plays like a circuit could refer to the idea of circuit training, a form of physical training in which an athlete cycles through a series of prescribed exercises in rapid succession. In this interpretation, Kenny is claiming to run circles around its competition. At the same time, a circuit could refer to a theater circuit, a phrase describing a network of theaters that allows staged plays to go on tour through multiple cities. Here, running plays takes on a new meaning, continuing the previous lines that boast about his lyrical ability. Only now, Kenny's bragging about his ability to craft narrative stories

with multiple characters like a play. Of course, in the same way Kenny bragged about his lyrical ability in real time through the clever bars he was currently rapping, the album Damn we're hearing now, is one such narrative he's referring to in the line, Running Plays Like a circuit. Finally, we can't help but consider one more possible meaning relating to this real-time reference to the narrative of Dam. The word circuit can also be used to mean a circular journey, one that begins and ends in the same place. This reading alludes to the narrative of Dam, which as we'll soon discover is like a circle and that its end takes us directly back to its beginning. Kenny continues to highlight his writing ability as he boasts, I'm selling verses JT,

watch me work it JT. Here, Kenny could be referring to the fact that his lyrical skill allows him to make a living just by doing guest verses on other artist's songs. But selling verses could also refer to Kenny ghostwriting for other rappers, which further emphasizes Kenny as one of the few true writers in the game. Moreover, after discussing the pursuit of sex with a line about Eldabarch and his pursuit of murder with the line about being a gunman, Kenny has now completed the sex money murder trifecta by discussing his pursuit of money with a line about selling rap verses.

Having now reached the end of these extremely intricate four bars, we can properly highlight the design of this section. Like he's done several times throughout Dam, Kenny ends each of these lines with the same word. In this case, the word of choice is the name J.T. in the phrase, work at J.T. This makes a clear reference to J.T. Matthews, one of the main characters in the 1991 film entitled The Five Heartbreaks. The film depicts the rise and fall of a five-man Motown singing group. J.T. Matthews is part of this group, along with his brother whose nickname is Duck. Duck is responsible for writing all the songs that the group sings. The point of tension that leads to the group's demise is J.T's insatiable lust for women while the group is on tour. Early on, J.T. often

uses his brother, Duck, to manipulate women into believing that J.T. is insati's insatiable lusts for women. is shy. The idea is that the women will let their guard down and accept J.T.'s advances. One evening, while the group is hanging out at a lounge, a woman flirts with Duck. Having learned from J.T., Duck now asked J.T. to act as his wingman and convince the woman to accept Duck's advances. J.T. approaches the woman that Duck is interested in. However, rather than try to convince the woman that Duck is shy and lovable, J.T. secretly bad-moused duck. That's my baby brother over there.

Yeah, it's kind of cute. I'm kind of having a bad time tonight because I have to babysit. Can't dance. Do not to talk to women. It's a virgin. Look at that dumb little look on his face. Now that you mentioned it, he does look stupid. So why don't we get out of here?

Let's go do something. Anything. J.T. convinces the woman to leave the lounge. then agrees to have sex with J.T. instead. As this is going on, Duck still thinks that J.T. is helping him get the girl. He excitedly cheers J.T. on with a now iconic line that Kenny quotes in God. As J.T. and the woman are getting up to go, Duck gets up thinking that J.T. is going to introduce the woman to him. However, J.T. walks past Duck and reveals that he's tricked him. Ironically, J.T.'s deception ends up leading to his own destruction. The woman's boyfriend sees J.T. leaving with

his girl and starts a fight with him. Every night to prove my love, what you do with my woman? As it turns out, this scene foreshadows the later events in the film. Duck finds out that J.T. has been having an affair with Duck's fiancé. This revelation leads to the climax of the film, where Duck is giving at an award speech. During the speech, Duck reflars. on his new realization that suffering is going to make him a better writer. Music critic said, I'm going to be a great writer one day when he suffers more. I said to myself, what does that mean?

Now I know what it means. I'm on my way to becoming a great writer, and I like to thank two people in particular, my fiancee, my brother. He's always been the same selfish motherfucker. after reflecting on his suffering duck reveals that he knows about the affair he then declares that he'll be leaving the group effectively signaling the dissolution of the five heartbeats bringing this all back to god Kenny's repetition of the line work at j t seems to have several layers of significance on the first level

Kenny seems to be comparing himself to j t like j t Kenny has repeatedly depicted himself as someone overcome with lust, first in his pursuit of hitting bitches on Yah, his underhanded attempts to put the head in on lust, his humping on Keisha's daughter on fear, and his desire to be slick as elder barge here on God. In almost all of these cases, Kenny's decision to pursue sex at the expense of his most important loyalties led to his own destruction and the dissolution of relationships. This mirrors closely JT's experience in the five heartbreaks. At the same time, if we recall that the line Work at JT is actually spoken by Duck, we see that Kenny is also comparing himself to Duck. First, we acknowledge the similarity of the name Duck compared to Kendrick Lamar's

last name, Duckworth, which also happens to be the name of the album's next and final song. Similar to Duck, Kenny is a skilled writer who can make a fortune selling verses. Kenny, like Duck, wants to do everything he can to maintain his loyalty and trust with the people whom he loves. Like Duck, Kenny has been hurt after realizing that the family has been faking. Kenny also ultimately came to the conclusion that all of his suffering will make him into a better writer who can more effectively spread a message about love. J.T. and Duck thus illustrate the duality within Kenny we've heard throughout Dam. Is it wickedness or weakness? Is it love or pride? Is it love or lust? Is it temporary pleasure or temporary pain? Is it J.T. Matthews or Duck Matthews? Kenny will have to

decide. After this virtuosic lyrical passage, God's first verse takes an unexpected turn. We'll dissect this turn along with the rest of this pivotal track right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we examined the intricate lyrical passage based on the movie The Five Heartbreaks. As God continues, the song's first verse takes a sudden turn. Here in this section, it appeared that Kenny was going to continue his boasts, saying, look, look. But he then cuts himself off, saying, hold up. Hearing this, we can't help but think of the song humble. As the hook prominently features Kenny saying, hold up little bitch, to humble his haters.

By cutting himself off and saying hold up here in God, Kenny might be realizing now that he's the bitch that needs to sit down and be humble. Such a self-critique naturally follows from comparing himself to JT in the previous lines. Fittingly, the hold-up here marks a clear turning point in the verse, as Kenny suddenly pleads, Don't Judge Me. Recall on the previous track, Fear, Kenny revealed that when he was 27 years old, his greatest fear was being judged by America. By the end of the song, Kenny seemed to have finally overcome his fear of being judged by people. However, now at age 29, it appears he still fears being judged by God. This fear of God's judgment may have been inspired by his reading of James chapter 4, the same book and chapter he quoted on lust. James 4 verse 12 reads,

There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy. Kenny begins this section of God by clearly linking back to the beginning of the verse. He says, My mama caught me with the strap. Don't judge me. This of course connects to the verse's opening line, ever since a young man, all I want to be is a gunman. It's also hard to hear. It's also hard to hear about God's judgment, Mama, and Straps, and not think of Tupac's 1996 track, only God can judge me. Here Tupac says, Dear Mama, can you save me? And fuck peace, because the streets got our babies, we got to eat.

No more hesitation. Each and every black male is trapped, and they wonder why we're suicidal running around strapped. Tupac highlights the tremendous stress placed on those growing up in poor urban America. Tupac's depiction of urban life is a clear attempt to justify the wickedness and violence perpetrated by black men of his generation. While the vengeful and defiant attitude that Tupac exhibits here clearly influence Kenny from a young age, Kenny's emotional journey over Dam seems to have allowed all such

feelings to disperse. In their place, Kenny now expresses a deep sense of contrition as he begins to repeatedly plead, don't judge me. Along with these pleas, Kenny will now humble himself as he confesses his past wickedness in front of God and the people he's hurt. Case in point, Kenny continues saying, I was young, fucking all the brats, don't judge me. Kenny confesses to how he carelessly used women as objects for his own sexual gratification. This is followed by the line, aiming at your head for a stack, don't judge me. In slang, the word stack refers to a thousand dollars. Hence, Kenny is confessing to armed robbery. And it's here that we realize that Kenny has now confessed about sex, money, and murder, the very three things he admitted to pursuing

in the JT stanzas, and the three things that have been running throughout the narrative of Dam, since establishing them as being traits inherit to all humans in the song DNA. Next, Kenny says, Now my home got a valley peak, don't judge me. This line signals that Kenny has moved forward in time to confess destructive behavior as a rich and famous adult. Valley Peak is likely a reference to the San Fernando Valley, one of the most expensive real estate markets in America, and features multi-million dollar houses built on the peaks of mountains that surround the valley. On the surface, we might assume Kenny is bragging about his expensive mansion

or questioning why he feels judged for owning such a property. Here we should recall the conversation that Jesus had with the rich young ruler, who asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told the rich young ruler that he needed to follow the commandments, which the ruler claimed to have done since he was a young man. Jesus then told the man that if he truly wanted to follow the commandments perfectly, he would need to sell all that he has and give the money to the poor. Similarly, Kenny seems to be confessing that he's not lived up to Jesus' standard

of minimizing wealth and giving generously to the poor. Kenny then goes on to him. to say, if I press your line, you have freak. Don't judge me. Here the word freak is a label most often applied to a woman, suggesting that while she looks innocent, she's actually desperate to perform sexual acts that are unusual or extraordinary. Ironically, Kenny has on multiple occasions identified himself as the person demanding such extraordinary acts. We first heard about this on the track Humble, when Kenny said, I get way too petty once you let me do the extras. Later, we heard a similar idea on the track Fear when a 17-year-old Kenny said that he would maybe die

from pressing the line acting too extra. In our analysis of that line from fear, we suggested that pressing the line refers to any act that ignores established limits within a society. Hence when Kenny says, if I press your line, you a freak, here in the first verse of God, Kenny seems to be confessing that due to his fame, he can ignore a woman's sexual limits and then defend himself publicly by claiming the woman a freak. This mentality appears to be what Kenny is confessing to here, as this line, like the others, is punctuated with, don't judge me. However, after this final plea for mercy, something seems to change.

After Kenny's confession of his past transgressions, He says, won't you tell a friend y'all going see? This is what God feel like. Recall that on the track faith, Jesus told Kendrick to spread the word about Jesus' resurrection when Kendrick asked what his purpose was. Here, Kenny seems to be encouraging the listener to join him and spreading this good news. Coming directly after Kenny's confessions of his past transgressions, the good news seems to be that God did not judge Kenny as he feared, but rather showed mercy once Kenny admitted to his wrongdoings. this point, we recall Cousin Carl's words to Kenny on the previous track, Fear, as it seems that

Kenny took his message to heart. In fear, Carl and Kenny emphasize how God is both a God of love and discipline, of both mercy and justice, and even God's discipline is meant to be seen as an essential aspect of God's love. This idea seems to be inspired by the teachings of John, one of Jesus' most loved disciples. Quote, God is love, and the one who resides in love, resides in God, and God resides in Him. In this way, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is in this world, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love, unquote.

This passage suggests that love is the most essential trait of God's character. If we apply its message to Kenny's story, we can see how up until now, Kenny's fear of punishment or suffering has kept him from being perfected in love. But now that Kenny is maturing in his love for God, he's also maturing in his love for other humans. This maturity is exemplified by Kenny's efforts to confess his past transgressions to the people whom he hurt throughout the first verse. The fact that Kenny is inspired to take such actions further illustrates the central message behind God's hook, namely that God has not given Kenney a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. After a repetition of the song's hook, God continues into its second verse.

Having talked about the past for most of verse one, Kenny remains in the present in verse two. He asks, fuck is you talking to? A, do you know? know who you talking to? Here, Kenny adopts a confrontational attitude as he warns an unnamed person to not underestimate him. The attitude of demanding respect and recognition closely resembles Kenny's mindset on DNA, a song in which Kenny defended himself against unnamed opponents. And like DNA, Kenny's demand for respect here on God is followed by a threat of violence. He says, slide on you like fallen drapes. Kenny here uses a metaphor of window drapes falling on someone as a way to threaten that he will kill his enemies.

We previously heard Kenny used the word slide in a similar fashion on the second verse of loyalty. There he said, is it anybody that you would ride for, anybody that you would slide for, anybody you'd die for? The confrontational and violent attitude of the first three lines of God's second verse effectively brings us back to the early moments of Dam's narrative. Knowing that the track's hook is centered around the transformative power of God's spirit, Kenny's return to the mentality that began the album could be a clever way for him to once again reflect on his progression over the course of the album. The following line, God Toss full of Carnival, is admittedly cryptic.

However, the words Toss and Carnivals bring to mind the various carnival games wherein the player tries to throw or toss an object at a target. In addition, the word toss could imply a coin toss or some other game of chance. This could imply that Kenny's life of following God is filled with difficult choices, challenges, and risk. Kenny continues by saying, I kill him with kindness, or I kill him with diamonds, or I put up like 1,500, get your ass killed by the finest. Here, Kenny is faced with the choice of whether to respond to his enemies with wickedness or weakness. The wicked approach would evolve proudly declaring that he's the finest and using his wealth to kill his enemies, implying his ability to put

a bounty on the heads of his enemies. In contrast to this way of wickedness, Kenny could follow the way of weakness by choosing to kill his enemies with kindness. Killing with kindness is a standard English phrase that describes treating one's enemies with extreme kindness and respect, so much so that they feel a kind of discomfort with their own adversarial mentality. Traditionally, this phrase is also closely tied to the biblical proverb, if your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. According to this proverb, treating one's enemies with kindness is like placing fire on their heads, meaning that kindness will cause them intense discomfort, and may even cause them to change direction.

This proverb also claims that God will reward such acts of kindness, which mirrors Jesus' claim that those who are persecuted for choosing weakness should rejoice because their reward is great in heaven. by the finest, everything life is a gamble. Nothing in life I can't handle. See it all, done it all felt pain more. For the cause I don't put blood on swart. Everything I do is to embrace y'all.

Everything I ride is a damn made more. Everything I touch is a damn gold mind. Everything I say is from an angel. Kenny continues by saying, Everything in life is a gamble. Nothing in life I can't handle. Kenny reflects on the fact that life is inherently risky, whether he chooses wickedness or weakness.

This idea of gambling and facing a challenge. challenge may also connect back to the idea of tossing coins or tossing objects at a carnival. But Kenny also recognizes that he's already beaten the odds just by making it out of Compton, noting that he's been hardened from the experience. He says, seen it all, done it all, felt pain more. For the cause, a done put blood on sword. Kenny confesses that in the past he's committed bloodshed for the sake of the cause, which seems to allude to his gang or street mentality at the time. We also consider the fact that Kenny could be referring to his own blood, noting how hard he worked and continues to work for a larger cause of helping his community.

This idea leads us into the next lines. Everything I do is to embrace y'all. Everything I write is a damn eight ball. Everything I touch is a damn goldmine. Everything I say from an angel. Kenny here reminds us of how hard he's worked to accept and support us. He claims that his lyrics are a damn eight ball, which refers to the classic toy used to foretell one's fortune or give advice. The implication here is that

Kenny's lyrics in general, and damn in particular, are prophetic statements meant to provide us with advice on how to live our lives. Likewise, Kenny claims that anything he touches is a damn gold mine, which is an allusion to King Midas, a legendary king in Greek mythology, who prayed for the power to make everything he touched turn into gold. Unfortunately, after King Midas received this power, He soon realized he could no longer eat food. Worse still, he accidentally touched his daughter and turned her into gold. Once King Midas realized that his blessing had now turned into a curse, he prayed to have his new power taken away.

Thankfully, his prayers were answered and the curse was reversed. As a result of this ordeal, King Midas had a change of heart. He became extremely generous and began to give away his wealth to others. King Midas' story in many ways parallels King Kenny's story. of acquiring fame and fortune, only to have those blessings turn into curses. Similar to King Midas, Kenny had a change of heart after he realized that holding onto relationships is more valuable than holding on to wealth. On another level, we should also note that by declaring that anything he touches turns into a dam gold mine, Kenny seems to be claiming that his artistic projects in general,

and dam in particular, are filled with intellectual and spiritual treasures that can be unearthed by those who are willing to dig deep and dissect his work. Moreover, Kenny claims that all the words he says on this album come from an angel. As we discussed in our analysis of XXX, Kenny's claim that his words are from an angel is consistent with the biblical genre of apocalyptic writing, a literary form in which a prophet is taken up to heaven by an angel, so the prophet can describe current events from the perspective of heaven. This claim is also consistent with Kendrick's view that his words come from a source

beyond himself. It's out of my hands. These words, you know, and I 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.

This response suggests that Kendrick's inspiration comes from being connected to a higher power. This connection is what allows Kendrick's work to transcend hip-hop, while simultaneously embodying the conflicted mentality that is a quintessential element of the genre. Fittingly, the image of Kenny rising above conflict will become the central focus of God's bridge section. Kenny says, I don't

I got a bad habit Levitate ducking haters Kenny says I don't rush shit which seems to highlight the patience and methodical focus that allows him to make

intricate pieces of art At the same time Kenny seems to be conveying his reluctance of rushing into bullshit referring to foolish, senseless and confrontational words or actions this leads us into the next lines

fuck shit always your shit my shit cannonballs to ignite shit. Kenny compares the conflict with his adversaries to a battle in which a cannon fire ignites ever-increasing tensions. In the midst of all this conflict that rages around him, Kenny continues to work without a break, as indicated by the lines, morning to the night shift, I'm on. Kenny refuses to apologize for this approach, as he says, I ain't sorry for it,

ask for a piece of mine, you charged me for it. Here Kenny points out the absurdity of the conflict. He compares his enemy to a person asking him to give him some of what already belongs to him and then forcing him to pay for this act of charity. At the same time, the line can be heard peace of mind, as in P-E-A-C-E, which we could interpret as Kenny asking for a resolution to the conflict so his mind can experience some semblance of peace. Kenny hopes that his enemies can learn to ignore bullshit rather than igniting it, indicated by the line, I want to see sometimes if you ignore it.

I'm in the streets sometimes and can't afford it. Kenny recognizes he can't afford to spend much time in the streets because there's too many people trying to make Kenny pay for a piece of his. Kenny thus seems to finally acknowledge the inherent danger in refusing to be taken out of his element and his intuition to make violence look attractive as he's continued to do throughout this verse. Kenny's recognition of these destructive patterns in his own life

forces him to admit, I got a bad habit, which seems to refer to the ways in which he continues to engage in street conflicts. This admission also seems to remind Kenny of his need to rise above the conflict, leading him to say, levitating, ducking haters. Here, Kenny's use of the word levitating might reference Kendrick's 2016 track, Untitled 07, levitate. Hate won't get you eyes this. Levitate, Levitate, Levitate, Levitate. In Untitled 07, Levitate,

Kendrick listed numerous things that will not get us high. The list includes love, drugs, fame, expensive chain jewelry, street credibility, crews of friends and hatred. It's notable that the track actually never informs us what will get us this high. But if we view this idea within the context of Damn, Kenny's use of the word levitating suggests that only God can provide us with the feelings of pure euphoria. Moreover, after highlighting the ways that God helps him rise above conflict, Kenny immediately emphasizes his need to get low in order to duck haters. Paring these

ideas of going high to avoid conflict, calls to mind the phrase taking the high road, which implies not lowering yourself to the level of someone attempting to bait you into a fight. By ducking his haters, Kenny has chosen to retreat rather than retaliate. That is, he's following the way of weakness rather than wickedness. This implication is further supported when we consider what caused Kendrick's teenage friends not to duck. As you'll recall, this verse from Sing About Me I'm Dying a Thirst is wrapped from the perspective of Kendrick's slain friend's brother. He says, a demon glued to my back, whispering get him, I got him and I ain't give a fuck, that same mentality that told my brother not to duck.

These lines show Kendrick's belief that demonic forces are what influences one's decision to retaliate and not duck. Hence, Kenny's choice to duck here in God reverses the demonic influence that inspired Kendrick and his friends to retaliate against their enemies on Good Kid Mad City. Moreover, the image of Kenny getting low to the ground also suggests that he's chosen to sit down and be humble. This renewed humility leads directly into the verse's cathartic ending. In the final line of the track, Kenny says, oh my heart is rich, my heart is famous. In the final line of the track, Kenny says, oh my heart is rich, my heart is famous. Here,

Kenny expresses genuine surprise and wonder at his newfound conviction, that he no longer needs to engage in conflict in order to become rich and famous because his heart is already rich and famous. This conviction is clearly a breakthrough. On the previous track, Fear, Kenny revealed that its greatest fears at the age of 27 were losing a fortune due to a disloyal advisor and losing his fame due to the public judging him. Here on God, those fears now seem to have completely dispersed. This breakthrough about the inherent value of his heart seems inspired by Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of God, specifically in the verse in which Jesus said, quote, do not store up for your yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up yourselves for treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, unquote. According to this verse, it's futile for humans to amass riches and fame on earth. Jesus warned that individuals who place their worth in such earthly pursuits will have to face the constant fear of potentially losing their riches and fame. Due to the inherent uncertainty of life on earth, Jesus taught that his followers should seek to accumulate riches and fame in heaven, i.e. the richness of being filled with God's spirit, and the fame of being known by the maker of the universe. Jesus taught that such treasure is the only thing humans can take with them after leaving

this earth. Everything else that happens on earth stays on earth. Moreover, Jesus taught that those who set their hearts on eternal riches and fame, can experience heaven while still living on earth. With this final line of Dam's penultimate song, it would appear that Kung Fu Kenny has finally accepted and embraced this most central teaching of Jesus, of the human incarnation of God. Conclusions God effectively resolves the narrative of Kung Fu Kenny we've heard throughout Dam. Having rejected God's call back on the song Ya, we followed Kenny as he experienced the crippling, confusing, and destructive consequences of following his own intuition and trusting

his own theories and suspicions over the word of God. Here on Dam's penultimate track, Kenny now accepts Cousin Carl's words about God rather than rejecting them as he did on Yah. Thus, Kenny's able to look back on his emotional journey, celebrate his transformation, repent his past transgressions, and express the positive sensation of allowing God's spirit to fill him, effectively replacing his fear of suffering with the awe-inspiring fear of God. In this way, our conflicted and rebellious prophet Kung Fu Kenny has finally answered God's original call. And through the humble and honest expression of his moral failures and imperfections, Kenny has effectively fulfilled God's prophecy, because as we've discussed, Kenny's story holds up a mirror not only to America, but all those

who currently reside in her borders and question the suffering they and or others are experiencing. The implication seems to be that we too might consider abandoning our own theories and suspicions about the universe in favor of God's divine order and commandments. Yet despite the song's title and hook, God isn't the kind of clear-cut happily ever after resolution we've come to expect in modern narratives. Indeed, Kenny seems very aware that despite having recommitted himself to God, he remains encoded with the same human and thus flawed and conflicted DNA he was born with. Because of this, the choice between wickedness or weakness, between love or lust, love or pride, fear of suffering, or the fear of God, these choices will always persist.

His commitment will be tested in smaller, large ways on a daily basis. But enlightened by the revelation that his heart is rich and famous, that material external manifestations of success on earth does not translate to internal worth and eternity. Kenny can be now more disciplined in his decision-making, guided now by his loyalty to God rather than his loyalty to self or his mortal life on earth. And it's this emphasis on choice that seems to be at the heart of Dan. Throughout the album, Kendrick has persistently presented us with a series of dichotomous choices to ponder, forcing us to really question what is motivating our decisions on a daily basis.

Is it self-sacrificial love and humility or self-preservational pride and ego? There's no controlling what's encoded in your DNA. There's no choosing your family, your race, your gender, your childhood environment, be it by God or by chance. All of that is preordained before you had any power to control your own life. But the question is, now that you do have power, now that you can make choices, it's up to you to decide how you'll continue to move through this life. It's up to you to decide what moral principles guide your decisions.

It's up to you to decide how you might transcend or reverse the circumstantial curses you inherited. Using Kung Fu Kenney as an archetypal exemplar, Dan presents to us a case study in individual decision-making and how the exponential effects of our individual choices forever affect not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us and the lives of the generations of humans that come after us. And if this idea isn't explicit already, the album's next track will make it painstakingly clear. Of course, this is Duckworth, Dam's final track, and a song will dissect 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 the original dissect themes composed by Birocrati. 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

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