Dissect - S5E19 - DUCKWORTH. by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: January 21, 2020

DUCKWORTH. tells the remarkable true story of the chance encounter between Kendrick’s father Kenny Duckworth and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith. Kendrick uses this story to illustrate the album’s central message: the (unpredictable) blessings that come from choosing weakness. 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. On our last episode, we dissected the album's penultimate song, God. There, we effectively witnessed the resolution to Kung Fu Kenny's journey throughout Dam. After following his intuition to pursue sex, money, and murder, Kenny experienced a storm of tumultuous emotions, which ultimately led him to question his suffering on earth. The answer to his question came by the way of Cousin Carl, who on the song Fear pointed Kenny towards God's commandments.

Then on the song God, Kenny reflects on his journey and expresses the joy he feels being filled with God's spirit. More specifically, it's a song's final line that succinctly expresses Kenny's newfound realization. With the line, My Heart is Rich, My Heart is Famous, Kenny finds within himself the value, gratification, and fulfillment. He was previously looking to find through external and fleshly pursuits, such as sex, money, murder, and fame. This recognition of looking within oneself for satisfaction and resolve is immediately acknowledged in the opening moments of the album's next track,

the subject of our episode today, Duckworth. Like blood, pride, and exercise. XXX, Beacon opens Duckworth with ominous vocals that highlight the central message of the album. In this case, Beacon presents us with two contrasting views on the essential conflict that Kenny faces in his life. In the first view, Kenny's conflict is primarily him against the world. We heard this view most potently expressed on the song feel. Kenny here raps about fighting any number of opponents, demons, monsters, false prophets, various racial groups, Compton, church, religion, among others.

It's essentially him against the world, and perfectly captures the isolated and embattled mentality Kenny developed after refusing to take any responsibility for his problems. At the same time, by claiming that it's him against the world, Kenny is embodying the mentality he inherited from Tupac, specifically from Tupac's 1995 album titled Me Against the World. On the title track for Me Against the World, Tupac rapped, No One in the World loves me, I'm headed for danger, don't trust strangers, put one in the chamber whenever I'm feeling this anger. These lines reveal how Tupac's feelings of anger and its inclination towards violence

are a result of him feeling like no one loves him. On the track Dear Mama from the same album, Tupac revealed that his choice to join a gang and sell drugs was a direct result of not having love from his absent father. With no one else to rely on, Tupac became fully convinced that it was him versus the world. Though heartbreaking, Tupac's story is by no means uncommon. As early as 1965, studies showed that 25% of African-American children were born to single mothers. Over the next three decades, that percentage would continue to climb, peaking in 1995 when 70% of African-American children were born to single mothers. Kendrick's own experience growing up in Compton attest to the impact that such rampant

fatherlessness had on his peers. But unlike most of his peers, Kendrick himself grew up with a father. When asked by the Rolling Stone how having a father made a difference in his life, Kendrick responded, quote, it taught me how to deal with emotions, better than a lot of my peers. when you see kids doing things that the world calls harmful or a threat, it's because they don't know how to deal with their emotions. When you have a father in your life, you do something, he'll look at you and say, what the fuck is you doing? Putting you in your place, making you feel this small.

That was a privilege for me. My peers, their mothers and grandmothers, may have taught them the love and the care, but they couldn't teach them that, unquote. According to Kendrick, the most critical thing his father taught him was how to deal with his emotions. Such emotional self-regulation contrasts with the portrait of Kung Fu Kenny that we've seen throughout most of Dam. On the track, feel, we witnessed how Kenny's life was being blown off course by a storm of emotions. We then watched Kenny struggle with seven emotions, loyalty, pride, humility, lust, love, passion, and fear.

It's notable that Kung Fu Kenny's father was seemingly absent as Kenny struggled with his emotions. This absence stands in stark contrast to the narrative of Good Kid Mad City. where Kendrick's dad repeatedly left voicemail messages, including a final pivotal message about remaining loyal to God. Sorry to hear what happened to your home, boy, but don't learn the hard way like I did hope. Any nigger can kill a man. That don't make you a real, nigger. Realness responsibility.

Realness is taking care of your motherfucking family. Realest God, nigga. Within the narrative of Dam, the role of providing guidance through a voicemail was fulfilled not by Kenny's dad, but by Kenny's cousin. Carl. Fittingly, the pivotal part of Cousin Carl's voicemail came when Carl compared God to a loving father, a father who disciplines his son so that he may learn how to deal with his feelings of pride, lust, and passion. Kenney thus learned to accept suffering as a form of loving discipline. Furthermore, Kenny realized that his unbridled feelings were separating him from God's love

and making him incapable of loving others. If he wanted to hold on to these invaluable and eternal relationships, he would constantly need to work towards filtering and dispersing these temporary feelings. Thus, while Kenny used to think it was him versus the world, he found out that it was him versus him. Kenny's struggle is not with other humans. His struggle is against his own feelings of pride, lust, and passion. This idea that our most dangerous enemies are the passions at war within us is something that Jesus' messenger Paul often wrote about in the Bible. quote, while we were living by our fleshly nature, our sinful passions manifested in our body to bear the fruit of death, unquote. Furthermore, to avoid becoming a slave to one's passions, Paul encouraged Jesus' followers to, quote, walk by the spirit so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, unquote.

Thus, as we're nearing the album's end, we come to realize that Kung Fu Kenny could only find peace of mind after he committed to fighting against the uncontrolled passion. and feelings that separated him from God. And since Kung Fu Kenney represents all of us, the opening lines of Duckworth claim that we can only have peace when we stop fighting with our enemies and start fighting against the feelings that separate us from one another. After asserting that our primary conflict is within ourselves, Beacon repeatedly asks why.

This repeated asking of why seems to exemplify our natural tendency to question whether focusing on our own feelings is an effective way to create peace on earth. In response to our questioning, Kit Capri suddenly returns shouting, Just remember, what happens on earth, stays on earth. Recall that this phrase was the original title of the album,

and one we've heard repeatedly, first in the introduction of the song Element and later in the song Fear. Fear, what happens on Earth, stays on Earth, and I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully they dispersed within 14 tracks, carried out over wax, searching for resolutions until somebody get back.

Fear. In fear, Kenny provides additional context around the phrase, saying, What happens on earth stays on earth, and I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully they disperse. Here, Kenny reveals that his newfound ability to let his feelings disperse is largely rooted in his realization

that he cannot take fame, fortune, and feelings with him when he leaves this earth. Once Kenny stopped trying to hold on to these temporary rewards, he was then free to hold on to the eternal rewards that come from following God's commandments. After reminding us what happens on earth stays on earth, Kid Capri continues saying, we go and put it in reverse. Although this is the first time that the word reverse has been explicitly used anywhere on Dam, the concept of reversals has already been a well-established motif in the album thus far.

Throughout our analysis this season, we've compared the narrative of Dam to the Book of Jonah, a story with a number of ironic reversals. Both narratives center around a prophet, who on multiple occasions attempts to oppose God's plans before being forced to reverse course. We've also pointed out a number of reverse sound sources used in the album's production, as well as how Cousin-Carles' message to Kenny reverses many of the worldly concerns Kenny expressed over the course of the album. Despite this, the phrase, We Go and Put It in Reverse, is the most deliberate reference to this concept of reversals, and at this point, it's likely an unexpected and cryptic concept for most listeners. We're actually going to leave this idea mystery for now, but know that we'll be returning to it

in great detail in our next episode. After the final appearance of Kid Capri, Duckworth continues with the entrance of a sample. The sample is taken from the introduction of Ted Taylor's 1978 song, Be Ever Wonderful. The sample plays relatively untouched for around 16 seconds. The sample is then chopped up by the song's producer, Ninth Wonder, to create a pattern that is then placed over a beat. What's cool about the abrupt transition from the unaltered sample to the chop sample with drums is the slide change of time signature 9th Wonder utilizes here. The original song, Be Ever Wonderful, is in 6-8-time, which means there's 6-8th

notes per measure. 6-8 time is known for its swinging, waltz-like feel. When the beat comes in and the sample is chopped, the song suddenly changes into 4-4-time, which means there's 4-4 notes per measure. This is the most common time signature in modern music, nothing really out of the ordinary, but because it's butted up right against an excerpt that is in six-eight time, it feels all the more impactful when the beat drops. As it turns out, this abrupt transition is the first of many that will occur throughout the song. the song, though all subsequent beat switches remain in 4-4 time. The first switch will occur at the 1 minute and 42 second mark. This beat is constructed on a sample of September's

1976 song, Ostavi Tragg. This excerpt undergoes a dramatic transformation as 9th Wonder again chops it up and sets it to a drumbeat. While two beat switches is more than most songs, Duckworth actually contains a third beat, which enters around the 2-minute and 4 second mark. This beat is constructed from a sample of Hiatus Coyote's 2015 song, Atari. Again, like the first two beats, this sample is then chopped up and placed over a new drumbeat. Aside from pure aesthetic effect, the three beats of Duckworth helped to conceal the fact that the song actually contains no hook, or really any semblance of a traditional song structure. Rather, Duckworth is one long extended verse, and without these ever-changing dynamic and unpredictable beat switches, the

three-minute story that unfolds over the course of the song, risks losing impact due to musical monotony. But instead, we get a virtuosic display of both creative beat assembly and impeccable storytelling. Pray with the hooligan, shadows all in the dark. Kendrick begins his verse saying, Oh, Lamar, a reference to himself in the third person. While most of us know him as Kendrick Lamar, we should remember that Lamar is Kendrick's middle name, and that his last name is Duckworth, of course, the title of the current track. Thus, by referring to himself as Lamar, Kendrick seems to be reminding us of his real-life identity,

which stands in contrast to most of the album where he's introduced as Kung Fu Kenny. The switch from Kung Fu Kenny to Kendrick Lamar is consistent with our interpretation that Kung Fu Kenny's narrative ended with the track God. What we're hearing now in Duckworth is akin to an afterward, a section at the end of a story where the author steps in and speaks directly to the audience. In most cases, the afterward will address how the story came into being. Fittingly, as we'll soon see, this function of explaining the narrative's backstory is exactly the role that Duckworth plays within the context of Dam. The backstory begins with Kendrick describing his own life as he raps, Hail Mary and marijuana, times is hard. As we discussed in our episode on XXX, the Hail Mary is a

traditional Catholic prayer in which the speaker asked Mary, Jesus' mother, to pray to Jesus on the behalf of the speaker. In XXX, Kenny juxtaposed the Hail Mary with the image of an American flag wrapped with explosives. Here in Duckworth, Kendrick juxtaposed as the Hail Mary with Mary Jane, or marijuana. This contrast between spiritual devotion and marijuana usage is something that Kendrick previously explored on his track, Kush and Corinthians. Kush is a slang term that refers to a high-grade strain of marijuana. Meanwhile, Corinthians refers to two letters written by Jesus' messenger Paul. In particular, Second Corinthians is a letter in which Paul asked Jesus why he was suffering. Jesus replied by saying, quote,

My grace is sufficient for you because power is made perfect in weakness. Similarly, on Duckworth, Kendrick seems to be acknowledging his own history of suffering as he says, times is hard. Kendrick then goes on to say, pray with the hooligans, shadows all in the dark, fellowship with demons and relatives, I'm a star. Kendrick here juxtaposes the dark forces around him, hooligans, shadows, darkness, and demons, with his own bright presence of a star, something capable of shining so bright that it transcends its dark environment and emits light all around it. It's likely this is a commentary on Kendrick's ascension from the streets of Compton to a world-renowned superstar. It's also hard to hear the word star used in this way,

and not think of the opening moments of Kendrick's previous album to Pimp a Butterfly. This sample asserts that every black person is a star, and thus has the potential to break through the forces of darkness and illuminate everything around them. Over the course of Tipip a butterfly, Kendrick goes on to exemplify through his own story how one does this, through respect and love of self, and respect and love of one's enemies. Similarly, we heard Kung Fu Kenny come to a similar conclusion at the end of Dam. Here in the afterword of Dam, Kendrick seems to be summarizing this journey in just a few lines, so we can elaborate on a few key details that made this transformation possible. Next Kendrick raps, life is one funny motherfucker. Life is one funny motherfucker. A true comedian, you gotta love him. You gotta trust him. I might be bugging. Infermercials and no sleep. Introverted by my thoughts. Children listen to it's deep. See once upon a time inside the niggins and garden projects to object what's the process. Next, Kendrick wraps, Life is one funny motherfucker. A true comedian, you gotta love him. You gotta trust him.

Here, Kenny compares life to a comedian. Of course, comedians are known for telling stories about unfortunate events and finding ways to inspire joy and relief. Because comedy so frequently involves surprising twists and reversals, the audience has to hold themselves in suspense and trust that the comedian is going to deliver satisfaction, that all will end well and humorous. This principle of waiting for a reversal seems to have been a pivotal lesson as Kendrick transcended the tragedy of his past, and it seems that Duckworth intends to illustrate one such comedic reversal. Indeed, Kendrick thinks his audience will scarcely believe the story he's about to tell. He admits that he might be going a little crazy, as he says, I might be bugging, infomercials

and no sleep, introverted by my thoughts. Nonetheless, Kendrick calls us to pay close attention to his story as he says, children, listen, it gets deep. He then begins his story proper by saying, See Once Upon a Time inside the Nickerson Garden projects. Of course, Once Upon a Time is one of the most common ways to begin fairy tales or other children's stories. As such, this phrase connects back to the previous line, Listen, Children, it gets deep. At the same time, by evoking the phrase Once Upon a Time in a hip-hop song, Kendrick is almost certainly alluding to Slick's classic 1989 single,

fittingly titled Children's Story. Children's story is among the most stern and justice stood and people were behaving like they ought to good to live the little boy who was Children's story is among the most influential tracks in hip hop history. According to many hip hop historians,

children's story is the most iconic example of storytelling in a rap song. The track opens with a few children asking their uncle Slick Rick to tell them a bedtime story. Slick Rick agrees rapping Once upon a time not long ago when people wore pajamas and live life

slow, when laws were stern and justice stood, and people were behaving like they ought to, good. This fairy tale opening presumably indicates we're in for a happy children's story, but the plot immediately turns. Here we're introduced to a boy who was misled by another little boy and this is what he said. after his friend convinces him to start robbing old people. One day, the boy unknowingly tries to rob an undercover cop, which turns out to be a terrible mistake. After shooting at police vehicles, stealing a car,

and pointing a gun at a pregnant woman in attempt to take her hostage, the boy is eventually surrounded by the police. So went to glory, and this is the way I have to end this story. He was only what? In a madman's dream, the cop shot, the kid will still hear him scream. This ain't funny, so don't you dear laugh. Just another case about the wrong. Despite the boy surrendering, the police shoot him dead. We find out that the little boy was 17.

Coincidentally, the same age Kenny expressed his fear dying in the streets of Compton on the song Fear. Slick Rick then reflects on the moral of the story by saying it's yet another case of someone who should have taken the straight and narrow path, but ended up deviating from the course. This moral happens to be taken directly from Jesus' teachings on the Kingdom of God. God, specifically the part where Jesus warns his followers saying, quote, Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it, but narrow is the gate and straight is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it, unquote. The fact that Kendrick seems to be making reference to this cautionary tale rooted in the teachings of Jesus

might make us think that Duckworth is going to present us with another tragic story about a young man who turns to robbery. And indeed, this is exactly what happens. But since Kendrick has already indicated that we're in for a comedy, we should trust that somehow life is going to reverse this tragedy and a joyous and unbelievable way. Now properly set up, Kendrick will begin to tell his story. We'll dissect this story right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we examined the opening moments of Duckworth's extended verse. We heard a reference to Slick Rick's children's story, a clue to us listeners that were about to hear a story in a similar vein. Like any good author, Kendrick begins by establishing the setting for his story, both in terms of

time and place. Kendrick listen to Get Deep Kendrick begins One of Time Inside the Nickerson Garden Projects To object what's the process And digest

Poverty's dialect Adaptation inevitable Gun violence Cracks by federal policies Ray builders and drug professionals Anthony What's the oldest Asa Sessions

Once Upon a Time Inside the Nickerson Garden Projects Here the word projects refers to public housing projects Which are neighborhoods owned by the government And used to house

families living in poverty In the earlier half of the 20th century, people from all ethnic groups occupied public housing. But due to increased segregation, racial tensions, and the flight of white people from urban areas to suburbs, public housing became stereotypically linked to African Americans by the 1970s. This stereotype only worsened when then-president Richard Nixon described housing projects as, quote, monstrous, depressing places, run down, overcrowded, and crime-ridden, unquote. The Nickerson Garden Projects Kendrick sites are located in Watts, California, and 95% of their residents are African American.

Kendrick continues describing the mindset of these project residents by saying, quote, the object was to process and digest poverty's dialect. Here, Kendrick likens living in poverty to living in a foreign country, where one has to internalize a new dialect, an altered form of language that is needed to survive in a specific region. He then says, Adaptation inevitable, gun violence, crack spot. Here, Kendrick points out that the need to survive forces individuals to adapt or act in ways they otherwise would not have if they'd grown up in a different environment.

Hence, along with learning poverty's dialect, the project residents survived by selling crack cocaine, which also led to an endless cycle of gang warfare and shootings. This increasingly dangerous environment led the government to take action, indicated by the line, federal policies, raid buildings, and drug professionals. Here, Kendrick seems to be referencing the war on drugs, which was a series of federal policies we covered at length in our episode on XXX, enacted by President Nixon, and later amplified by President Ronald Reagan, the war on drugs enacted a number of laws in the name of drug enforcement. Among these new policies was a comprehensive crime control act of 1984, which

established mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession and led to an exponential increase in the number of incarcerated black men. Moreover, by 1983, Reagan was able to increase the FBI's funding for drug enforcement from $8 million to $95 million. This increased spending was justified as a response to the rapid growth of crack cocaine sales and usage in places like the Nickerson Garden Projects. By referencing this historical context, Kendrick has effectively established that are story takes place somewhere between the mid-1970s in the late 1980s. With the time and place now established, Kendrick moves on to introduce us to the protagonist of our story. Anthony West, the oldest of seven, well-respected, calm and collected, laughing and joking

made life easier. Hard times, mom on crack. A four-year-old telling his nanny he needed, his family history pimping and banking. He was meant to be dangerous. Clacked him a grip and In this section, Kendrick introduces us to the story's first main character named Anthony, the oldest of seven children. Having such a big family living in poverty further highlights how Anthony grew up where there's never enough to go around. The fact Anthony was the oldest also suggests that he likely felt taking matters into his own hands was the only way his family could escape the projects.

Kendrick helps us to see Anthony's potential for good by describing him as someone who is quote, calm, collected, laughing and joking. However, we also hear that telling jokes is a coping mechanism for the trauma he experienced as a kid. Specifically, we learned that Anthony's mother was addicted to crack cocaine. We also hear a heart-wrenching anecdote of a four-year-old Anthony pleading with his nanny to stay because his parents couldn't take care of him. With the lines family history pimping and bangin, we learn that Anthony's family heritage is comprised of men who've made a living selling both drugs and prostitutes. Given the destructive tendencies in his DNA,

it's easy to believe that Anthony was, quote, meant to be dangerous, which seems to imply that Anthony is cursed to repeat the sins of the previous generation. He was meant to be dangerous. Clacked him a grip and starts slanking. 15 stripping up his jeans with quarter pieces. Even got some hair from a smoker last weekend.

That your police been working for his dick on me. Smart town hustler graduated to a brick on him. 10,000 dollars out of her for breakfast. Project housing, that's on the daily, seen his first meal 20 years old, had a couple of babies. After revealing Anthony's troubled family history and implying that Anthony is cursed to repeat it, Kendrick immediately moves forward to the moment where Anthony, quote, clocked him at grip and start slinging. Clocked here refers to hustling or finding shrewd ways to make money illegally.

Grip refers to a large sum of cash that someone is holding. In some cases, the word grip specifically refers to $10,000. Lastly, slangan refers to selling drugs, likely cocaine. Hence the line, clocked him a grip and start slinging, describes how Anthony found a way to quickly make $10,000, use that money to buy cocaine, and then launched his own drug selling enterprise. Indeed, the next lines describe how Anthony was, quote, 15 scraping up his jeans with quarter pieces. Scraping up his jeans refers to keeping crack rocks in the pockets of his jeans. Meanwhile, quarterpiece. refers to small Ziploc bags filled with a quarter ounce of cocaine.

From his earliest days in the crack game, Anthony managed to succeed, as indicated by the lines, dodged a policeman working for his big homie, small-time hustler, graduated to a brick on him. Here, a brick refers to a kilogram of cocaine, which is over 140 times the amount of cocaine in a quarter ounce. As Anthony drastically increased his sales volume, he also increased his revenue. Kendrick wraps $10,000 out of a project housing that's on the daily. $10,000 a day would mean Anthony was making around $3 million a year. Kendrick confirms this figure in the next line, as he says, seen his first mill 20 years old, had a couple of babies, had a couple of shooters.

Hence, by the time most kids would be in college, Anthony was running a million dollar business and fathering two children. In addition, we learned that Anthony has enlisted a couple of shooters who can take aim at Anthony's enemies. The existence of these shooters seems to imply that Anthony tried to have someone killed at least on one occasion. Indeed, as the story continues to unfold,

we hear that Anthony was unsuccessfully tried for murder. He'd seen his first meal 20 years old, had a couple of babies, had a couple of shooters, car to murder case, fingerprints on the gun, they're assuming, but witnesses couldn't prove it.

That was back when he turned his back and they killed his cousin. He beat the case and went back to hustling, bird shuffling, Anthony rang. The first in the projects with the two-tone Mustang. That 5.0 thing. They say 5-0 came circling parking lots and parking spots and hopping out while harassing the corner blocks.

Crooked cops told Anthony he'd you kick it. We brushed him off and walked back to the Kentucky fried chicken. Kendrick Raps caught a murder case, fingerprints on the gun they assume in, but witnesses couldn't prove it. That was back when he turned his back and they killed his cousin. Here we learn Anthony was formerly tried for murder due to fingerprint evidence that implicated him, but it seems that a lack of witness testimony ultimately led to the charges being dropped or Anthony being found innocent. Still, Kendrick lets us know that the murder case happened

after some unnamed people killed Anthony's cousin while his back was turned. This could imply that Anthony later ordered a murder to take revenge for his cousin's death. However, a darker reading could reveal that Anthony intentionally turned his back so that his shooters could kill his own cousin, likely due to some active betrayal. Either way, Anthony, quote, beat the case and went back to hustling, which means he escaped a guilty verdict and promptly returned to his drug enterprise. This return to drug sales is further reinforced by the phrase bird shufflin, wherein a bird is slaying for a kilogram of cocaine. Kendrick continues by highlighting Anthony's monetary success in contrasts with his peers and the projects. He wraps Anthony Rang, the first in the projects with the two

Tone Mustang, that 5.0 thing. Anthony's visible displays of wealth likely caught the attention of law enforcement as Kendrick wraps, they say 5-0 came, circling parking lots and parking spots, and hopping out while harassing the corner blocks. While the 5.0 in the previous line referred to engine cylinders on Anthony's Mustang, here 5-0 is a slang term for the police. The term is derived from a 1970s TV show named Hawaii 5-0, which at the time was like the longest running police drama in the history of American television. In contrast to the more positive, heroic portrayal of police officers in Hawaii 50, Kendrick describes the police in Watts, California, as if they're ruthless sharks who circle the projects looking for young black men

to racially profile and harass. After reminding us of the historically fraught relationship between the police and black communities, the focus shifts to Anthony's specific relationship with the police. Kendrick reps, Crooked cops told Anthony he should kick it. He brushed him off and walked back to the Kentucky fried chicken. Here, Kendrick makes it clear that the police officers harassing Anthony and others were themselves crooked. They seemed to have routinely targeted Anthony because they told him he should kick it.

This seems to imply that police were enticing Anthony to stick around, perhaps with the intent of pinning a crime on him. Anthony knew better than to kick it with the cops, so we walked over to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, and it's here at this KFC that we meet the story's second main character. Here. Here we brushed him off and walked back to the Kentucky fried chicken. Here we're introduced to a lot with a curly top and a gap in his teeth. He worked a window.

His name was Ducky. He came from the streets to robber Taylor home, Southside project, Shire rack, the Teradone, drove to California with a woman on the five. Here we're introduced to another man named Ducky, who is described as a talkative, light-skinned black man with curly hair and a gap in his teeth. Ducky apparently worked at the KFC near the Nickerson Garden projects in Watts, California. Yet, we also learned that Ducky is originally from the Robert Taylor Homes, which is a housing project in the south side of Chicago. Rather than mention Chicago by its proper name, Kendrick refers to it as Shirek, a nickname for Chicago derived from blending Chicago and Iraq.

This nickname grew prominent due to its usage by hip-hop artists in the early 2010s, the same time the United States was winding down its near-decade-long war in Iraq. Around the same time, rappers noted that there are more civilians getting killed in Chicago than soldiers getting killed in Iraq. Kendrick also refers to Chicago as the Terrordome. Terrordome is the name of a gang in Chicago and might be used to suggest that Ducky was affiliated with this gang in some way. Still, the most famous use of the words Terodome is found in the 1990 track, Welcome to the

Terror Dome by Public Enemy. Welcome to the Terror Dome would later inspire a 1995 film of the same name. The film takes place in the dystopian future where all black people are forced to live in a huge ghetto called the Terrordome. After police brutality ignites racial tensions, the Terrordome eventually breaks out into an all-out race war. Hence, the usage of the name Terrordome, along with the name Chirac, establishes Chicago as a war zone, from which Ducky and his girl eventually became refugees.

Apparently, the Derrydon grow to California with a woman on in the $500. They had a son hoping that he see college hustling on the side with a 9 to 5 to freak it. Cadillac severely ride his son around the weekends. Three-piece special with his name on his shirt pocket. Across the street front of projects,

Anthony plant to rob it. Apparently, the gang violence in Chicago had escalated so much that Ducky and his girl fled to California with what little money they had. Of course, California is the state where Anthony lived. Like Anthony, Duckie became a father and started hustling to make ends meet. But unlike Anthony, we hear that Duckie has an honest day job working from 9 to 5. And rather than driving a Mustang sports car, Duckie drives a Cadillac sedan. Most importantly, we learn that unlike most kids growing up in the projects,

Duckie's son is blessed to have a father who takes an active role in his life. Ducky even takes a break from Hustlin to drive his son around in the aforementioned Cadillac Seville. Kendrick then describes Ducky holding the KFC three-piece special. Kendrick also mentions that Ducky has a name tag on his shirt. These details verified that Ducky works from 9 to 5 at the Kentucky Fried Chicken across the street from the Nickerson Garden projects. We should now recall that earlier in the verse, Kendrick rapped, Crooked cops told Anthony he should kick it. He brushed him off and walked back to the Kentucky Fried Chicken.

chicken. As fate would have it, Anthony walked across the street right into the KFC that Ducky worked at. However, before we get a chance to appreciate this coincidence, the narrative tension escalates as we find out exactly why Anthony walked into the restaurant. Across the street from the projects, Anthony planned to rob it, stuck up the place before back in 84. That's when affiliation was really eight years of war. So many relatives telling us, selling us, devilish work, scalenist, crime, intelligent, felonist, prevalent proposition, After establishing that the KFC that Ducky worked at was across the street from the projects, Kendrick drops the first bombshell by telling us that, quote, Anthony planned to rob it.

As it turns out, this wasn't the first time that Anthony robbed this particular KFC. Kendrick explains that Anthony, quote, stuck up the place before, back in 84. That's when affiliation was really eight gears of war. Kendrick describes the year 1984 as a time period where gang affiliation shifted, into warfare, like a war machine shifting into its eighth gear. Moreover, Kendrick characterizes that era as a time with, quote, So many relatives telling us, selling us devilish works, killing us, crime, intelligent, felonist, prevalent proposition with nines.

In these artfully crafted lines, we hear Kendrick swing back around to the idea of fellowshiping with relatives and demons, he mentioned near the beginning of the verse. Kendrick recognizes how these familial associates are trapping subsequent generations in a cycle of addiction, crime, and killings. Rather than voting on ballot propositions to address the problems created by racism and poverty, residents of the projects often resign themselves to thinking that 9mm bullets were the way out, hence the line, prevalent proposition with 9s. After taking a moment to help us empathize with the mentality that inspired Anthony to rob a restaurant,

Kendrick continues his story. shot a customer last year. These lines revealed that Ducky has recognized Anthony as someone who robbed the same KFC the previous year. Anthony apparently still frequented the KFC after the robbing. Knowing all this could have led Ducky to call the cops on Anthony or otherwise act hostile to him. However, Ducky took a different approach. Kendrick wraps, he'd figure he'd get on these NWords good sides, free chicken every time Anthony posted in line, two extra biscuits. Ducky decided to treat Anthony with overwhelming generosity, dishing out free chicken and two extra biscuits every time Anthony came in to eat.

Thus, whether Ducky knew it or not, he exemplified the biblical proverb that says, quote, If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you, unquote. Indeed, because he repeatedly offered bread to Anthony, Ducky was eventually rewarded on the fateful day Anthony came to Robert. the KFC. Kendrick wraps, Anthony liked him and then let him slide. They didn't kill him. In fact,

it looked like they were the last to survive. Pay attention. Here we find out that Ducky received the most priceless reward when Anthony spared Ducky's life. However, that's not the end of the story. Kendrick abruptly moves forward in time so we can look back and recognize the transformation that was made possible because Ducky decided to love his enemy. He wraps, that one decision, change both of their lives, one curse at a time. Reverse the manifest in good karma, and I'll tell you why. Kenny here again returns to the idea of reversals that was first highlighted by Kid Capri during the track's intro. Specifically, Kendrick suggests that Anthony and Duckie's decision to maintain peace created good karma. Here, karma refers to the Eastern spiritual principle of cause and effect, the idea that the

intent and actions of an individual influences the future of that individual, including their life after death. The principle of karma is thus similar to the biblical proverb, you reap what you sow, which Kendrick alluded to when he explored his heritage on the song DNA. Quote, this is how it is when you end the matrix, dodge in bullets, reap in what you sow. As it turns out, the best way to dodge bullets is to sow seeds of peace. Moreover, Kendrick claims that Duckie's decision to love his enemy, combined with Anthony's decision to turn away from violence, effectively reverse the curse that had been placed on them and their families. Thus, it's revealed that the moral of the story we hear in Duckworth, as well as the entire narrative of Dam, is that we can reverse our

inherited curses and transform those curses into blessings if we choose weakness instead of wickedness. This transformation from curse to blessing is then perfectly illustrated in the story's grand finale. one final reversal for the road and for the ages. them predicaments. Give them a soul so they can make their own choices and live with it. Twenty years later, them same strangers, you make them meet again, inside recording studios where they reaping their benefits. Then you start reminding them of that chicken incident, whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence. This is the moment Kendrick finally reveals the jaw-dropping reversal of fortunes that happened when fate brought Duckie and Anthony

together again. We learned that Duckie is a nickname for Kendrick's own father, Kenny Duckworth. Meanwhile, Anthony is none other than Anthony Top Dog Tiffith, the man who discovered and signed Kendrick to a record deal when Kendrick was 16 years old, the very man who enabled Kendrick to grow into the greatest rapper of his generation, the man who allowed all of us to be blessed now by hearing Kendrick's songs. When Anthony signed Kendrick, he had no idea who Kendrick's father was, and similarly, Kendrick's father had no idea that the owner of Kendrick's record label was the same man who robbed the Kentucky Fried Chicken. However, the two men immediately put the pieces together when Kendrick's dad came to visit Kendrick in the recording studio. In his interview

with Zane Lowe, Kendrick reflected on this moment while confirming it a true story. About a year after I met Top Dog, I met when I was 16. My pops came to the studio after I I've been locked in with him for a minute and we got a relationship now. Bring my pops through. He heard, you know, I was dealing with Top Dog, but my pops personally don't know him as Top Dog. You know, the industry known him as Top Dog. Before he was Top Dog, he was another name.

So when he walked in their room and he seen that Top Dog was this guy, they flipped. Top himself didn't know I was going to do it. or even executed in that fashion to be the last song or to be anywhere just making it make sense. I remember playing it for him and he flipped because further than the song when you really can hear the word here,

your life, you know, in words, you know, that is so true to you and that affected your life 100% through one decision, it really make you sit back and cherish the moment. And I think that's something that we all did playing that record. Like, man, look what we're at. We're recording music for the world to hear, and we're taking care of families, and we're blessed.

But listen to these words, like, this is what happened. This is real life. It's amazing. And since a kid, man, I always said to myself, bro, anything is possible and it always comes around tenfold, a hundred percent confirmation

and that story is confirmation. It was only then inside that recording studio that the two men realized the degree to which their decision changed Kendrick's life and the world at large, something Kendrick reflects on in the final lines of this virtuosic extended verse.

Whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence because if Anthony killed Duckie Top Dog could be serving life While I grow up without a fire, then die in a gunfight. So I was taking a walk. Duckworth's only verse ends as Kendrick Raps because, Top Doggoy could be serving life, while I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight. Here Kendrick imagines an alternative reality, one where Duckie never distinguishes himself through kindness, where Anthony

kills Duckie and ends up serving a lifetime prison sentence. In this alternative reality, Kendrick would be raised fatherless and would never have gotten signed by Anthony's record label, two things that Kendrick himself credits for saving him from an abbreviated life in the streets of Compton. As you know from our first episode this season, Kendrick avoided more than his peers the dangers of gang-banging due to the guidance of his father and his decision to spend as much time as he could in the recording studio perfecting his craft. Without Duckie and Anthony, these two things would have never been possible, and thus Kendrick predicts that he would have died in a gunfight as a teenager, likely due to his decision to join a gang in this alternative

reality. It was because of Ducky and Anthony's one single act of mutual kindness that Kendrick was able to reverse the curse of his inherited circumstances and DNA and transform them into the blessings he now experiences as the world's greatest rapper. The verse's last line is of course followed by the sound of a gunshot, which is immediately followed with another instance of audio played in reverse. If we play this audio forwards, we hear that Kendrick is actually rewinding through the album Damn we just heard. The reversed audio The reversed audio repeats the line because if Anthony killed Duckie, Top Dog could be serving

life while I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight. The audio then jumps to the seventh track Pride for a few seconds. Finally, the reversed audio ends with the first few lines of the album's second track DNA. Then, after rewinding to the beginning of the album, we hear Kenny say, So I was taken a walk the other day. This, of course, is the same way the parable begins on the album's first track, Blood. This return to the beginning of Dam, leaves us wondering where the parable of blood fits in within the album's narrative.

is at the beginning or the end. Meanwhile, the alternative reality that ended Duckworth leaves us wondering whether anything on the album actually happened. And why did the track rewind itself? Is this what Kid Capri was referring to when he said, we go and put it in reverse? Do we need to listen to the album in reverse order to answer these questions? We'll find out next time on Dissect.

Dysect is produced by me for Spotify Studios. Today's episode was written by Femi Olutade and me. Song Recreations by Andrew Atwood. Audio editing by Eric Bass and me. Original theme music by Birocratic. You can now stream all the original Dysect themes composed by Birocratic on Spotify. Just click the link in the show notes. If you enjoy Dysect, please tell a friend about the show,

and be sure to say hi on Twitter and Instagram at Dysect Podcast. You can also purchase Dysect merchandise at Dysect Podcast. com. Okay, thanks for listening, everyone. I'll talk to you next episode.