Dissect - S5E2 - TPAB as Preface to DAMN.

Episode Date: October 10, 2019

We revisit To Pimp a Butterfly with a special focus on how its ending connects directly with the opening of DAMN. Say hi @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Purchase Dissect merch at https://shop.dissectpodcast.com/. Listen to original Dissect themes on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k8BsZM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushna. Today, we continue our season-long examination of Kendrick Lamar's Dam, with part two of our two-part introductory preface. On our last episode, we dissected Kendrick's early life and discography through the lens of his developing spiritual philosophy. By exploring the stories in songs like Faith, Kisha's song, and Sing About Me I'm Dying a Thirst. We heard how Kendrick believes that humans are spiritual beings whose actions are influenced by various spirits. Through the deaths of Keisha and Kendrick's friend, we heard how evil spirits lead us to our grave by enslaving us in pursuits of vices like sex, money, and murder.

On the other hand, Kendrick showed through his own story told over Good Kid Mad City that his community can reverse the curses they inherit by allowing God's spirit to fill them, a spirit that ultimately leads to a new, real life. This new life was celebrated with Good Kid Mad City's final song, Compton, where we hear Kendrick crowned himself king, conqueror of his circumstances. And so Good Kid Kid Mad City ultimately ends in celebration. Through his music and a commitment to God, Kendrick was able to escape the tragic fate he seemed to be destined for in the streets of Compton.

And while this transformation happened at age 16, Kendrick's telling of this story almost 10 years later would actually transform his life once again. Indeed, the success of Good Kid Mad City elevated Kendrick Lamar into the global spotlight. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard chart and was nominated for four Grammy Awards including album of the year. But while on the outside, Kendrick's ascension appeared to be a rags-to-rich's American dream come true, Kendrick's newfound success would ultimately come with it some unexpected consequences. For one, Kendrick was now a profitable and promising young icon that others constantly looked to exploit. The temptations of sex, drugs, and power were at Kendrick's disposal at all times.

There was also a deep sense of survival's guilt Kendrick felt for leaving his friends and family who were still struggling in Compton. And so while the success of Good Kid Mad City catapulted Kendrick to the status of metaphoric king, he found himself struggling to adapt to his new role, triggering an emotional and spiritual crisis. This crisis would become the subject of his next album, Tipinpa Butterfly. Tapimpa Butterfly was released on March 16, 2015, and is considered by many to be a musical masterwork. The album was actually the inspiration for this podcast, and we spent our entire first season exploring the intricacies of Tapimpa Butterfly over 22 episodes. I encourage everyone to

check that season out if you so desire, but I did want to take this episode to review the narrative of Tapimp a butterfly with a special focus on the album's contribution to Kendrick's ongoing exploration of spirituality. In combination with our previous episode, this will provide us the proper context to begin our season-long examination of Dam, a work very much grounded in Kendrick's spiritual beliefs and a direct continuation of Tipinpa Butterfly's cliffhanger ending. Okay, so Tipa Butterfly. In a nutshell, the album tells the story of Kendrick's transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly, from prisoner to profit, from slave to savior, moving from darkness into light. It does this through a narrative that can be divided into two large parts.

Each of these two large parts closely mirror each other in both themes and structure, and by the album's end, we understand how both parts ultimately become one. As we'll see, this multi-layered strategy serves to exemplify how the political and social issues that afflict Kendrick and his family are in reality manifestations of the spiritual issues we discussed at length in our last episode. To Pimp a Butterfly begins with the song Wesley's Theory. In contrast, what we might expect from the conclusion of Good Kid Mad City, Wesley's theory finds Kendrick talking all about the cars, jewelry and guns that he dreamed of amassing once he finally signed a record deal. In Wesley's series' second verse, Kendrick raps from the perspective of America as personified by Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam encourages Kendrick to indulge in his materialistic fantasies and spend his money irresponsibly.

Wesley Theory's two A house, you a car 40 acres and a mule of piano and guitar anything say my name is Uncle Sam on your dog

motherfucker you can live at the mall I know you're a guy Wesley theory's two contrasting verses display out the American dream as personified by Kendrick

is ultimately a scheme used to feed America's greed as personified by Uncle Sam this master slave dynamic is further portrayed

into Pimpa Butterfly's third track, King Cunta Now I run the game got the whole world talking Similar to the good kid Kunti, black man taking no loss.

Bitch where you and I was walking. Now I run a game got the whole world talking. King Kunti, everyone wants Kunti is ultimately an oxymoron, King Kunti finds Kendrick proclaiming himself a king. We find him back in Compton, rubbing his newfound success and wealth in the faces of his local enemies. But despite the power he might feel, King Kunta is ultimately an oxymoron, as Kunta Kenta was a fictional 18th century sloth.

whose right foot was cut off by slave hunters. The deeper meaning here is that despite feeling like a king because of his wealth and celebrity, Kendrick is ultimately still a slave to Uncle Sam, who is exploiting Kendrick for profit. King Kunta is followed by Tipinpa Butterfly's fourth track, institutionalized. It's here that Kendrick more explicitly shows that money has not provided the freedom that the American dream promised him. when I ain't proud to admit it, institutional lies if I keep running back for a visit. Hold up. Kendrick wraps, I'm trapped inside the ghetto and I ain't proud to admit it. Institutionalized, I can still kill me at N-word.

These lines suggest Kendrick's newfound economic freedom do not release him from the violent mentality that possessed him while growing up in Compton. Also, Kendrick's attempts to profit from his superstardom distracted him from taking care of his friends and family in his hometown. As he explains on the track, You, Kendrick blames himself for the murder of his best friend's little brother in Compton while Kendrick was living it up on tour. Far from leading him to life and liberty, Kendrick's pursuit of money has led to death and

depression. This becomes painfully clear at the end of you. And if this marriage could talk, it'd say, you gotta go. And if I told your secrets, the world of no money can't stop a suicidal weakness. As he stares at his own reflection, Kendrick wraps, If those mirrors could talk, it'd say, you gotta go. And if I told your secrets, the world to know money can't stop a suicidal weakness. With this revelation of Kendrick's suicidal thoughts, to Pimp a Butterfly's first half reaches its emotional climax.

However, before Kendrick succumbs to the forces of darkness, he suddenly remembers the faith that he found at the end of Good Kid Mad City. Nazareth, I'm fucked up, homie, you fucked up, but if God got us, then we go be all right. Nigel, we going to be all right. Kendrick wraps, I'm fucked up, homie, you fucked up. But if God got us, then we going to be all right. With this statement, Kendrick effectively resolves the dramatic tension that existed throughout the first half of Tipin and Butterfly. Kendrick recognizes that whether he's successful or not, putting his trust in God's care and provision, will lead him to life and freedom, while putting his trust in the false security of material

wealth will lead to death and slavery. This recognition is specifically addressed in the opening lines of All right's first verse. Kendrick describes waking up from the nightmare that was the song You and announces his defeat of Uncle Sam. And so with the introduction in verse 1 of All Right, the first half of Tipinpa Butterfly reaches the kind of micro-conclusion. Kendrick recognizes the exploitative tendencies of Uncle Sam and renews his faith in God. But while Kendrick may have conquered Uncle Sam, verse 2 of All Right immediately presents a new adversary named Lucy. Interestingly, Lucy makes the exact same offer of material prosperity that Uncle Sam offered at the beginning of the album.

What you want, you a house, you a car, 40 acres in a mule, a piano, or guitar, anything, see my name is Lucy, I'm your dog. Motherfucker, you can live at the mom. Here, Lucy is short for Lucifer, a word that in some English versions of the Bible is thought to be the proper name of the devil. The fact that the devil makes the same word-for-word offer that Uncle Sam made strongly suggests that problems we perceive as social and political are at their core really spiritual problems. More specifically, Kendrick seems to suggest that the racism and exploitation of America itself is inspired by evil spirits seeking to trap unsuspecting humans. Fittingly, just like the devil tempted Jesus before the start of the prophetic ministry, Lucy tempts Kendrick by offering him wealth and security in exchange for Kendrick's trust and loyalty.

Lucy work hard or Lucy going to call you even with Lucy know you love your father. I'm Lucy. I loosely heard prayers on your first album truly. Lucy don't mind because at the end of the end of the day. Kendrick raps from Lucy's perspective and says, Lucy gonna call you, even when Lucy know you love your father. I'm Lucy. I loosely heard prayers on your first album, truly. Lucy don't mind, because at the end of the day, you'll pursue me. Here, Lucy acknowledges that she plans to seduce Kendrick, even though she knows Kendrick loves God, his heavenly father, and in spite of Kendrick's public

profession of the sinner's prayer on his previous album Good Kid Mad City. This constant temptation from the devil, eventually pushes Kendrick to escape from his life on tour and find mental clarity by traveling to South Africa. The trip to South Africa unexpectedly challenges Kendrick's faith in God as he finds black men in rival tribes engaged in violent conflict, just like rival gangs back in Compton. As displayed on the song Hood Politics, Kendrick's experience in South Africa begins to convince him that violent conflict is inevitable and that he must rely on his own strength and selfishness if he wants to live. Kendrick's decision to become selfish and hoard his money is soon challenged when a homeless

man in South Africa asked Kendrick for a dollar. This story is played out on Tipa Butterfly's pivotal track, how much a dollar cost. Kendrick heartlessly rejects a homeless man's plea for a dollar. But the homeless man doesn't give up on Kendrick. The man stares at Kendrick for a long time, making him angry enough to contemplate hitting the man with a baseball bat. As Kendrick's anger starts to come to the surface, the homeless man questions Kendrick's character. just had a down pack, staring at me for the longest until he finally asked. Have you ever opened up Exodus 14? A humble man is all that we ever need. Tell me how much a dollar

cost. The homeless man asked Kendrick, have you ever opened up Exodus 14? A humble man is all that we ever need. Exodus 14 is a chapter from the Bible that recounts the pivotal moment when God used Moses to part the sea of reeds and lead the Israelites from slavery to freedom. Even after being emancipated, many of the Israelites continue to question the qualifications of Moses as a leader and God's decision to choose him. It's then that the scripture explains, quote, Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth, unquote. By explicitly referencing these stories about Moses, the homeless man suggests that in order for Kendrick to be a leader capable of freeing his people from mental slavery, Kendrick must become humble. In particular, he must learn to

focus on the needs of others rather than focusing on self-preservation. Nonetheless, Kendrick still refuses to give the homeless man a dollar. It's at this point that the homeless man reveals that there's more to him to meet the eye. I looked at him and said, Harry Nicolaus, mine's to keep. He looked at me and said, know the truth for to set you free. You're looking at the Messiah, the son of your hope, with a higher power, the choir that spoke the word, the Holy Spirit, the nerve of Nazareth, and I tell you just how much a dollar cost. The price of happiness, The homeless man says, you're looking at the Messiah, the son of Jehovah, the higher power. The choir that spoke the word, the Holy Spirit, the nerve of Nazareth.

And I'll tell you just how much a dollar cost, the price of having a spot in heaven, embrace your loss, I am God. Of course, these lines indicate that the homeless man's words have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, Jesus seems to be testing Kendrick by appearing in the form of a homeless man. Thus, when Kendrick rejected the poor, he was in reality rejecting Jesus and depriving himself of God's spirit. Upon realizing the test had revealed the ugly nature of his heart, Kendrick is finally humbled enough to omit his wrongdoing and turn from his selfish ways.

This notion is expressed in the album's pivotal moment heard at the end of how much a dollar cost. Yes, I'm not all what it's meant to be. Chase of gray will never change if I can don't. Turn this page, help me change to write my wrong. Ronald Isley sings, Guess I'm not all what is meant to be. Shades of gray will never change if I condone.

Turn this page, help me change to write my wrongs. This recommitment to God effectively resolves the central tension in Kendrick's choice between Lucy and Jesus, between the devil and the Heavenly Father, between evil spirits and the Holy Spirit, between amassing wealth and giving wealth away. between Kendrick enslaved and Kendrick liberated. This newfound freedom, signaled by the statement at the end of how much a dollar costs,

marks the beginning of Kendrick using his influence to write the wrongs of his past. Just like he did with the track All Right at the end of the album's first half, Kendrick uses the remaining tracks in the second half to deliver an inspirational message to his people. The central point of his message is that black people must love each other and love themselves, regardless of their inherited circumstances. We'll outline just how Kendrick expresses this message in the back half of Topimp a Butterfly right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we discussed the pivotal moment of To Pimp a Butterfly that occurred in the song How Much a Dollar Cost.

Kendrick will now turn his focus to delivering an inspirational message to his people on the back half of the album, beginning with the song Complection. Here, Kendrick asserts that black people of all shades are created by God and thus are worthy of love. attention so I'm gonna say something that's vital and critical for survival of mankind and feline color should never rival beauty is what you make it i used to be so mistaken by different shades and faces then wit told me your woman this woman love the creation it all came from god then you was my confirmation i came to where you reside and looked around and see more in the song the black or the berry kenture confesses that in spite of his new commitment to love other black people his efforts are undermined by his past participation and violence that led to the death of another black man in

Compton. Finally, Toppa Butterfly closes with Kendrick declaring that in spite of his lifelong struggle against the devil and depression, he knows God and thus is able to love himself. As a look around me, so many motherfuckers want to down me, but an amico never drown me in front of a dirty double mirror when they found me. And I love my soul. I want you looking at me.

With his declaration of loving himself on the song, I, the narrative of Tapimpa butterfly comes to a close. We can thus see how the two narratives in the first and second half of the album mirror each other, illustrating Kendrick's life as a cyclical struggle through a cyclone of opposing spiritual forces. In both halves, Kendrick is tempted by a deceptive figure, Uncle Sam and the former, and Lucy in the latter. In both halves, the deceptive figure tries to trap Kendrick by getting him to pursue vices, namely money and power. In both halves, Kendrick becomes increasingly agitated and emotionally unstable as he discovers that his selfishness and pride is preventing him from becoming the leader he needs to be. In both halves, Kendrick's personal transformation

finally enables him to deliver an inspired message to his people. Finally, Kendrick's message is ultimately about love. In the first half, a declaration of God's love for the oppressed, and in the second, a declaration of love for his community along with himself. These intertwining and ultimately unified narratives come to a head at the very end of the song I. After a fight breaks out in the crowd Kendrick is performing in front of, Kendrick stops the music and demands an end to the fight. Kendrick ending a fight between who we assume are two black men is a larger metaphor for his call to end Black on Black violence in communities like Compton.

Kendrick then proceeds to recite a spoken word poem that educates his audience on the origins of the N-word, pointing out that the word originally meant royalty. N-E-G-U-S definition, royalty, king royalty, wait, listen, N-E-G-U-S, description, black emperor, King ruler, now let me finish, the history books overlook the word and hide it, America tried to make it to a house. By educating his audience to their roots in royalty, Kendrick hopes to inspire his community to transcend their inherited status in contemporary society and respect themselves and each other. This skit that concludes the narrative of Topimp a butterfly is a micro-narrative that exemplifies

Kendrick's transformation into leader and messenger. In contrast with his original return to Compton to selfishly gloat on King Kunta, Kendrick has now returned in order to be in service of others. And so, while the song I very neatly concluded, the overarching narrative on to Pippa Butterfly, the album ultimately ends with an epilogue entitled Mortal Man. It's here that we find Kendrick declaring himself a prophet, while simultaneously questioning this new role. You tell me my song it's more than a song is surely your blessing, but a prophet ain't a prophet till they ask you this question.

In the Bible and other religious traditions, the word prophet refers to someone who speaks on the behalf of God. In most cases, a prophet comes under the influence of God's spirit when God calls the prophet to deliver a message to a group of humans at a pivotal moment in their history. In some cases, the prophetic message will predict events that will happen in the future. However, at its core, biblical prophecy is always about the choices that humans must make in the present, as the main function of a prophet is to instruct God's people on how they're meant to live while on this earth. Those who heed the words of the prophet are thus able to be freed

from a cursed existence and experience God's blessing for humanity. While there's numerous prophets whose words led to the writing of the Bible, the prophet who best exemplified the role of all prophets after him was Moses. As we noted earlier, Moses was the first Israelite prophet who was used by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery. After freeing the Israelites, Moses provided them with hundreds of commandments that instructed them in how to obtain God's blessing. With all this in mind, we can look back at the narrative of Topimp a butterfly and realize it's essentially a story about Kendrick stepping into his role as prophet. This thesis would explain why both the first and second half of the narrative build toward Kendrick encountering God and subsequently delivering an

inspired message to his people. It also explains why Jesus told Kendrick to read Exodus 14 and learn from the humility Moses showed while leading the Israelites out of slavery. Ultimately, Finally, mortal man ties all these motifs together. Kendrick declares that he's a prophet who freed his people from mental slavery. He also asserts that his songs contain inspired words that will enable his people to experience God's blessing. Still, Kendrick acknowledges that being a prophetic leader also means that he asks to be prepared to be rejected by the very people he was sent to help. Kedrick, you assassins it's a Jackie, is it Jesse? Oh, I know it's Michael Jackson.

Oh, when shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? Kendrick asks how many leaders you said you needed, then left him for dead. He then goes on to recount a list of historical figures who are abandoned by the very people they served. While most of the individuals on the list are social or political leaders, the list begins with Kendrick's spiritual predecessor, Moses. The inclusion of Moses is likely a reference to Exodus 32. In that chapter, the Israelites assumed that Moses is dead after he spent 40 days on a mountain

while receiving the first set of commandments from God. The people's suspicions about his death eventually led them to make idols of other gods. This story, along with Kendrick's statement about leaders being left for dead, seems to reveal just how hard it is for impatient humans to remain loyal in the face of adversity. And so, with the musical section of Mortal Man, we hear a solidification of Kendrick's role as prophet, a prophet who, whose divinely inspired words are meant to lead his people out of mental slavery and into a way of life that is blessed by God. At the same time, Mortal Man suggests that humans all too often reject good leadership and instead choose to follow their own intuition. The end of the song Mortal Man

then transitions into an extended skit that will ultimately bring to pimp a butterfly to a close. After reciting in full the narrative poem that's heard throughout the album, Kendrick begins to ask questions to an anonymous figure. It turns out that figure is none other than Tupac Shakur, Kendrick's rap predecessor who's been dead for nearly two decades. To our surprise, Tupac actually responds. Other than that, now that I finally got a chance to highlight you, I always want to ask you about a certain situation, about a metaphor actually. You spoke on the ground. What you mean by that? What the ground represent? The ground is going to open up and swallow the evil. Right.

That's how I see it. My world is born. I see, and the ground is the symbol for the poor people. The poor people is going to open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people. Because the rich people are going to be so fat. Tupac offers several predictions about what's going to eventually happen due to the rampant injustice in the world. First, Tupac predicts that the poor around the world are going to rise up and eat the rich.

Later, Tupac foresees the violent way in which the poor and dispossessed will soon respond to the injustice in America. I think that niggas is tired of grabbing shit out the stores, and next time it's a riot, it's going to be like a blood shit, for real. I don't think America know that. I think America think we was just playing. It's going to be some more playing, but it ain't going to be no plan. It's going to be murder.

You know what I'm saying? It's going to be like Nat Turner, 1831 up in this motherfucker. You know what I'm saying? It's going to happen. Tupac here is referring to the infamous 1831 slave rebellion that was led by Nat Turner. Turner was born into slavery in Virginia. but nonetheless showed an astounding intellectual capacity from a young age. His intelligence even impressed his master's family, who then taught Nat how to read and write.

Nat's ability to read enabled him to study the Bible and come to his own conclusions about what the book taught. He then began to preach sermons to other slaves and even some white men. His intelligence and charisma led his fellow slaves to refer to him as the prophet. At the same time, Nat began to have a series of mystical experiences that he believed were messages from God. He felt that God's spirit was telling him that if he sought the kingdom of heaven, all things would be given to him. Eventually, one of these messages implored Nat to fight against the forces of evil. In response, Nat gathered a group of more than 70 black men armed with hatchets. The men made their way through town, freeing slaves and killing any white people in sight.

This armed rebellion managed to kill over 60 white men, women, and children before a state militia crushed the rebellion. Nat Turner was put on trial and executed. along with dozens of his men. In many ways, Nat Turner's rebellion proved to be a watershed moment in American history. As a result, the Virginia legislature at the time had been seriously considering a plan to gradually emancipate slaves. In response to the fear and outrage caused by the rebellion, the legislature shelved all plans of emancipation. Instead, Virginia and other states in the South added laws to make it illegal to teach any black person to read or write. And so while Nat Turner hoped to free black people from the tyranny of slavery, his failed rebellion meant that

hostilities would only escalate until the inevitable outbreak of a bloody civil war. Nat Turner's story offers numerous parallels to the portrait of Kendrick that we've seen throughout his work. Like Turner, Kendrick showed remarkable intelligence at a young age, especially given the underprivileged environment he was born into. Like Turner, Kendrick seems to have studied the Bible extensively and had mystical experiences with spiritual forces. Like Like Turner, Kendrick is considered to be a prophet. And like Turner, Kendrick feels that his purpose is to free his people from slavery. And while these parallels are clear, what remains unclear is whether Kendrick agrees with Tupac and Nat Turner's use of violence. The story of Tipipa Butterfly

assured the black community of God's love for them and challenged black people to love themselves. And so while Kendrick makes clear how to resolve conflicts within the black community, He gave no clear instructions on what black people should do about their oppressors. Could Tupac be right in saying that racial violence is inevitable, perhaps even desirable? For now, the only response Kendrick can give to Tupac's Nat Turner prediction is to recount his own mystical experiences with music. Sometimes I can get behind a mic and I don't know what type of energy I'm going to push out or where it comes from. Trip me out sometimes. Because it's spirit.

We ain't even really rapping. We're just letting our dead homies tell stories for us. After Kendrick wonders aloud about the mysterious energy that he sometimes feels when he rapes, Tupac explains, quote, Because it's spirits, we ain't even really rapping, or just letting our dead homies tell stories for us. Kendrick then responds by saying, damn. This exchange is yet another assertion that the inspired words Kendrick wraps does not come

solely from him, but are heavily influenced by various spirits, be a dead homies or the spirit of the living God. This motif about various spirits attempting to influence Kendrick will continue throughout Dam, the album being set up here at the end of Tipinpa Butterfly. As Kendrick's exchange with Tupac draws to a close, Kendrick reads to him a poem. This poem serves as an extended metaphor for Kendrick, as well as an artistic summary of the Tipinpa Butterfly narrative. The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it. Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it in order to protect itself from this mad city.

The poem Kendrick reads as about a troubled caterpillar who tries to survive his harsh environment. Because the caterpillar considers butterflies to be weak, it plans to pimp the butterfly. In other words, he intends to capitalize on the benefits of being a butterfly without embracing the transformation between caterpillar and butterfly fully. Specifically, he'll reject the fragility and butterfly. weakness of the butterfly and instead maintain his violent street mentality. During this challenging metamorphosis, the caterpillar becomes enlightened and ultimately ends up taking on the mindset of a butterfly. With this new mindset, the butterfly is able to end what Kendrick calls the eternal struggle.

As the poem and the album itself reaches the dramatic conclusion, Kendrick asked Tupac for his perspective on the poem. What's your perspective on that? Pop. In a strange twist, Tupac goes radio silent. No reason for the silence is given. Mortal Man, and with it to pimp a butterfly, concludes with his cliffhanger.

While it's, of course, open to interpretation, to me, the most compelling reason why Tupac doesn't respond to Kendrick is because Tupac was not fully able to transform into a butterfly before he is murdered at age 25. For all of Tupac's predictions about the poor eating the rich and black people murdering their oppressors, Tupac rejected the weakness of the butterfly, and as a result, he rejected the enlightened perspective the butterfly provided. Like Kendrick throughout much of Tepinpa butterfly, Tupac was conflicted, caught somewhere between the mentality of the caterpillar and the butterfly.

We may ask ourselves if Tupac would have fully made the transformation had he lived longer, but according to Tupac's own understanding of the musical afterlife of dead homies, he does live on through the creative life of Kendrick Lamar. Hence, as Topimp a butterfly comes to its dramatic end, we're more aware than ever that Kendrick's spiritual journey is no longer just for his own personal salvation. The success of his journey will determine whether Tupac's tragic story can be redeemed. And more than that, Kendrick's journey on his next album, Damn, will determine whether redemption is possible for Kendrick's people, his homies in Compton, the black community in America, and everyone who believes that his songs are more than just songs. The question is now, as implied by

the end of Tapimpa butterfly, will Kendrick's songs lead us to blessings or curses? Will Kendrick become a prophet like Moses or a prophet like Nat Turner? Will he remain humble and continue to be inspired by the weak butterfly? Or will he make a call to arms, returning to the mindset of a Caterpillar. Like the Israelites' journey through the wilderness, Kendrick's journey on dam is the test that will reveal which way he's chosen to be the foundation of his life, and by proxy, which way he feels all of us humans are meant to walk, should we desire enlightenment, justice, and mercy. Is it wickedness, or is it weakness? 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 Dicekpodcast.com.

Okay, thanks for listening, everyone. I'll talk to you next episode. I don't know.