Dissect - S5E5 - DNA. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: October 24, 2019

In Part 2 of our DNA. analysis, we dissect the song’s dramatic second half. Triggered by the disparaging comments by FOX News, Kendrick goes ballistic in a now icon extended verse. While we may have originally thought DNA. was about Kendrick Lamar, the song ends with the diagnosis that sex, money, and murder are traits shared in each and every human being. 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 Dan by Kendrick Lamar. On our last episode, we dissected the first half of the song DNA. In part of response to the criticism he received from Fox News, we heard Kendrick detailed the traits he inherited from his family, specifically his father Kenny, and the environment he grew up in, specifically the streets of Compton, U.S. say. We heard how these traits are both positive and negative, everything from royalty, loyalty,

joy, evil, pain, passion, and ambition. We also heard Kendrick take shots at his adversaries, comparing their DNA to spineless jellyfish and snitches. We should also note the number of biblical references throughout the verse. We recall that Kendrick claimed to be Yeshua's new weapon, which we interpreted as meaning his words are inspired by the Spirit of God, something he confirmed in an interview. But to Despite this, Kendrick is still filled with contradictions, and throughout DNA, Kendrick wavers between compassion and vengeance, displaying the internal battle he's fighting to live up to his role as God's messenger. We left our analysis at the midway point of DNA, where we heard

an abrupt shift from the driving 808 heavy beat with which the song began. Here we have another inclusion of a Fox News clip taken from the same critique of Kendrick's performance at the BET Awards. Geraldo Rivera accuses hip-hop of damaging the black community more than racism, and Kendrick responds by embracing his hip-hop heritage. Then, after a dramatic countdown, sampled from the Freedom 7 spaceflight, DNA explodes into a dramatic second half. Tell me something.

You motherfuckers can't tell me nothing. I'd rather die than to listen to you. My DNA not for imitation. Just like its first half, the second half of DNA is produced by Mike Will made it. This portion of the beat was actually made after Kendrick laid down his vocals. Mike Will told NPR, quote, with DNA, Kendrick went the whole way through, and then he just started rapping Acapella. He said, I just want to see if you can put some drums around this.

Just imagine him Acapella rapping the second half of DNA, and I had to build a beat around that. He said he wanted that shit to sound like chaos. so then I ended up making a beat around it right in front of him, unquote. For this new beat around Kendrick's a cappella vocals, Mike Will creates a similar drum pattern to DNA's first half. But this somewhat standard beat is transformed with the inclusion of a unique sample taken from a live performance of Rick James' 1978 song, Mary Jane.

From this passage, the phrase, Gimme Some Gonja is sampled, chopped, and triggered sporadically over the 808 beat. This relentless triggering of the Rick James sample creates the chaos and drama that the entire second half of DNA so effectively evokes. But aside from this frenzied aesthetic, the sample also has some interesting thematic connections to DNA and dam as a whole. Ganges is slaying for marijuana and came into the American vernacular from India by way of Jamaican Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism is a 20th century religious movement that combine elements of Christianity from Britain and black nationalism.

a claim that black people are genetic descendants of ancient Israelites, an idea that will be brought up a number of times on dam, including in its next song, Ya. Rastafarians are known to practice meditation rituals aided by smoking ganja, something introduced to them by migrant workers from colonial India. Even outside of Rastafarianism, marijuana plays a spiritual role for many hip-hop artists. It's commonplace to smoke in the recording studio while searching for inspiration. But despite its popularity, Kendrick himself doesn't smoke marijuana. He even so far as went to make a song called HOC, which details how he's the only person in the studio who refused to smoke. And so we can see the sample, Give Me Some Gondja, operating on at least

three thematically relevant levels. First, it shows how the desire for getting high is a part of the heritage Kendrick inherited from both his father and hip-hop. Second, it shows how certain vices within urban black culture actually originate from more established spiritual cultures from around the world, in this case, Rastafarianism. Finally, Kendrick's rejection of Ganja shows that regardless of what's in one's DNA, we still have some choice of whether to follow the patterns that we've inherited. But perhaps more than any of this, the sample just sounds really fucking cool. to listen to you. My DNA not for imitation.

Your DNA and abomination. This is where you in a matrix, dodger bullets. Kempark begins the second half of DNA rapping, Tell me something. You motherfuckers can't tell me nothing. I'd rather die than to listen to you.

My DNA, not for imitation. Your DNA and abomination. Coming off the heels of Geraldo's comments about hip-hop, we hear these opening lines as a direct response to Geraldo himself. Kendrick seems repulsed by the same. suggestion that hip-hop has done more to damage the black community than racism and expresses his disgust by stating he'd rather die than listen to any more comments like this. He then calls Geraldo, and likely the Fox News community at large, an abomination. The word abomination means something

that is detestable, hated, or repulsive. It's not a word we use very much today, though it's extremely common throughout certain translations of the Bible, most notably in Proverbs chapter 6. Quote, there are six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him. Proud eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift and running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brothers, unquote. Like many people in the black community, Kendrick would likely accuse Fox News of looking down on the marginalized, lying in their news reports, justifying bloodshed against innocent black

men and planting thoughts of animosity against black people. Hence, Kendrick seems to be using the word abomination to critique the injustice that Fox News propagates while perhaps even suggesting that even God himself hates listening to their broadcasts. Kendrick continues his verse, This is how it is when you in The Matrix, dodge and bullets, reap in what you sow. Here, Kendrick's referencing the 1999 science fiction movie The Matrix. In the film, most of humanity has been captured by robots and lulled to sleep. Meanwhile, their minds are forced into a virtual reality system called the Matrix, which is designed to keep humans oblivious to the fact that they're enslaved in a violent world. The few humans who have woken up attempt to free the rest of

humanity from their captivity. In one of the most famous scenes, Neo, the film's protagonist, uses his awareness to dodge bullets that are fired at him from close range. By saying he's in the Matrix dodging bullets, Kendrick seems to be aligning himself with Neo. someone who's woke and attempting to free the rest of humanity from enslavement. This falls directly in line with the role Kendrick outlined for himself on mortal man, a prophet who frees his people from mental slavery. The bullets he dodges seem to reference the shots taken at him by Fox News. But perhaps more importantly, the bullets also cite the literal bullets fired at past leaders,

which was also referenced on mortal man. Like Neo, Jesus, Martin Luther King, and others, leaders like Kendrick attempting to free the enslaved, are always at risk of assassination by the oppressive systems in control, something we heard expressed in the parable on the previous track blood. Following the matrix reference, Kendrick says, Reap in what you sow. This cites the biblical passage Galatian 6, quote,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit, will from the spirit reap eternal life." Here we're presented with an image of humans as seeds, who once placed in the ground, will reap what they've sowed or faced the consequences for their actions on earth. According to the passage we just read, those who murder others will reap a worse kind of death,

while those who sowed to God's spirit will receive a new life in eternity. Coming off the heels of the matrix reference, Kendrick seems to be using this Reap What You So idea to contrast the fates of people like himself, who free others and dodge bullets with those who enslave and fire the bullets. Of course, we also hear in this idea the echoes of the wickedness-weakness dichotomy and their respected paths to life and death. Kendrick continues his extended verse with a strange twist as he begins a series of lines outlining his material goods. This how at this where you in the matrix dodging bullets reaping what's just someone stacking up the

footage living on the going sleeping in the fill of slipping from a crammy walking in the building diamond in the ceiling marble on the floor. Speaches out the window peeking out the window peeking out the window baby in the pool godfather goes only lord knows i've been going hammeredadja paparazzi freaking through the cameras eat it for a daughter's brock wearing sandals yoga on the monday stretching till the flannel watching all the snakes kentrick says and stacking up the footage living on the go and sleeping in the villa sipping from a grammy walking in the building diamond in the ceiling marble on the floors beach inside the window peeking out the window baby in the pool godfather goals Here, Kendrick seems to be describing what his life looks like at the age of 29, harkening back to the doing cartwheels in my estate line from DNA's first half.

These lines give us some additional details about this estate, including the high-end fixtures and beachside view. Kendrick does in fact own a home in Manhattan Beach, California, which is just a 12-mile drive west of Compton down Rosecrans Avenue, the same street where Kendrick and his friends drove down looking for trouble on Good Kid Mad City. Kendrick's real-life home is thus a statement that regardless of how far Kendrick has come, he's not far from going back where he came from, for better or for worse. This idea is continued in the next line. Only Lord knows I've been going hammer. On the surface, it seems to imply he's smashing the competition like a hammer.

But we also recognize this as a reference to MC Hammer, one of the most commercially successful hip-hop artists of the early 1990s. Due to his lavish lifestyle and poor financial planning, MC Hammer went from having a net worth of $33 million to being $13 million in debt and subsequently filing for bankruptcy. Hence, Kendrick going hammer seems to be an ironic statement displaying how the lifestyle he just bragged about might eventually cause him to go back to broke. Kendrick continues rapping, dodging paparazzi, freaking through the cameras, eat at four daughters, Brock wearing sandals. Rather than dodging bullets, Kendrick now dodges strangers taking photos of him when he's eating at four daughters' kitchen, a run-of-the-mill brunch joint near Kendrick's home in Manhattan Beach.

Brock wearing sandals is a reference to Brock Corson, Kendrick's A&R, who also has a place in Manhattan Beach, and would often wear sandals to four daughters after a morning surf. Next, Kendrick says, yoga on a Monday, stretch into Nirvana. It appears Kendrick's new life also gives him access to new ways of managing the stresses of fame. Kendrick mentioned meditation in the first verse, and here he includes practicing yoga stretches in hopes of reaching Nirvana. Within Buddhism, Nirvana describes a state of being in which one is free of all suffering after eliminating all desires. At the same time, Nirvana could simultaneously be a reference to the 90s grunge band of the same name. The cover art of Nirvana's

album Nevermind features an iconic picture of a baby swimming in a pool toward a dollar bill. Kendrick may have been referencing this image with the line, Baby in the Pool, Godfather Goals. Ironically, Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain was never able to eliminate his desires to reach Nirvana. Specifically, his desire for drugs, combined with depression and the pressures of fame, eventually led him to commit suicide.

And so in the line about yoga and nirvana, we hear an extension of the MC Hammer idea. Kendrick is attempting to avoid a self-destructive fate like Cobain or a financial fumble like Hammer through various spiritual tracks like yoga and meditation. As DNA continues, we hear more about the pressures of this new lifestyle. We'll dissect this along with the dramatic conclusion of DNA, right after the break. Welcome back to dissect.

Before the break, we discussed Kendrick's attempts to find mental clarity amid his new lavish lifestyle. As the verse continues, Kendrick describes avoiding those who look to exploit him. Kendricking all the snakes, curving all the fakes, phone never on, I don't conversate, I don't compromise, I just penetrate, sex, money, murder, these are the brakes, these are the times. Kendrick wraps, watching all the snakes, phone never on, I don't conversate. An American slang, the word snake refers to a malicious and deceitful person,

who appears friendly but turns out to be a backstabber or a snitch. This usage of the word snake is likely another subtle reference to the Bible, wherein snakes are a motif used to symbolize the deceitful forces of evil, most notably in the story of Adam and Eve. There, a figure called false accuser, known in English as the devil, disguises himself as a snake and tricks Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree so that they will die, and the devil could rule the world in their place. Given that Kendrick is now in a position of power, he's on the lookout for those who disguise themselves as friends, but really want to take his life in royal status. Due to the treacherous environment that Kendrick finds himself in, Kendrick chooses to remain guarded and cuts off communication from the outside world. Hence his phone is never on.

Kendrick continues, I don't compromise, I just penetrate. Which seems to imply that rather than come to an understanding with his enemies, he'd rather penetrate or aggressively push his way through their obstruction. The word penetrate also seems to suggest that Kendrick is too busy having sex to listen to the people who are trying to talk to him. This leads into the next line, sex, money, murder, these are the breaks. This is one of the more poignant and important lines in the entire track, a line that will be repeated almost verbatim to punctuate the song's end.

Kendrick lists the three vices, sex, money, and murder, that define the predominant subject matter of braggadocio rap. It also harkens back to the line, this is my heritage, all I'm inheriting, money and power than making them marriages. Kendrick seems to be emphasizing the idea that sex, money, and murder, are the main three elements that comprise the heritage he received from his father and from hip-hop. Kendrick juxtaposes these three vices with the phrase, these are the breaks. This phrase goes all the way back to the early days of hip-hop in the 1970s.

The break was the term used to refer to the section of a song where the music was reduced to a drumbeat or break with minimal instrumentation. This part of the song would become the foundation for the birth of hip-hop music. The breaks is also a slang term, that developed around the same time, popularized by Curtis Blow's 1980 song titled The Breaks, one of hip-hop's earliest mainstream hits. In the verses of The Breaks, Curtis Blow lists several unfortunate situations one might find themselves in, from adultery to being a target of the mob. After detailing each situation, the crowd yells, that's the breaks, which in context

means something like bad luck, or that's the way shit goes, or you should resign your to accept such misfortune. Now properly contextualized, we recognize sex, money, murder, these are the breaks, as referencing not only the origins of hip-hop music, but also how sex, money, and murder, and the struggles for these vices have been in the DNA of hip-hop since its conception. But of course, the line also has a more universal ring to it, describing the universal vices that most often lead humans astray, something Kendrick has discussed at length throughout his entire discography. As DNA continues, Kendrick recites a series of cryptic numerical references. These are the breaks. These are the times. Level number nine. Look up in the sky.

Ten is on the way. Sin it's on the way. Kinderg wraps, these are the times. Level number nine, look up in the sky. Ten is on the way. Here we get yet another reference to the Bible, specifically the 10 plagues from the book of Exodus. As the story goes, God sent the prophet Moses, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from slavery. When the Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites, God sent a plague that turned all the water in Egypt into blood. Still, Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites, and God sent a new plague with an increased level of intensity. This pattern repeated itself nine times. For the ninth plague, which Kendrick references specifically, God casts a thick darkness on the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick that the Egyptians

could not see one another. For the 10th and final plague, God sent a plague of death that caused all the firstborn boys in Egypt to die immediately. When Pharaoh woke up and found his son dead along with boys from every family in Egypt, he finally conceded to free the Israelites from slavery. Because the Egyptians were so afraid of the Israelites by this point, the Israelites were able to plunder the Egyptians who voluntarily gave up their gold, silver, and clothing. After considering the story of Moses and the 10 Plagues, it seems that Kendrick is using this reference to comment about both the current state of America and its future. Much like Egypt, America's economy and infrastructure was built on the back of slaves. By saying, these are the times, level number nine,

Kendrick seems to imply that like the ninth plague of darkness, we are living today in dark times, times in which pursuits of sex, money, and murder have become so all-encompassing that it's obscuring our ability to see the humanity in each other. By saying, look up to the sky, Ten is on the way. Kendrick seems to be predicting that those in America who've benefited from the nation's injustice will soon face God's judgment. This idea of retributive justice leads to the next line wherein Kendrick says, sentence on the way, killings on the way. This again seems to allude to the plague of death described in the Bible. Finally, Kendrick wraps, motherfucker I got winners on the way. Keeping in line with his reference to the 10 plagues,

this line seems to refer to how the Israelites plundered their former Egyptian oppressors. In this way, Kendrick may be suggesting that one day the disenfranchised will turn America upside down and win back the money and possessions that were kept from them. This prediction echoes the one that Tupac made at the end of mortal man, wherein the poor would swallow up and eat the rich. As Kendrick continues this extended verse, so continues the attack on his opponents. Motherfucker, I got witness on the way. You ain't shit without a buddy on your belt. You ain't shit without a ticket on your plate.

You ain't sick enough to put it on yourself. You ain't rich enough to hit the lot of skate. Tell me when this stretch is going to be my... Kendrick wraps, you ain't shit without a body on your belt. You ain't shit without a ticket on your plate. You ain't sick enough to pull it on yourself. You ain't rich enough to hit the lot and skate. Here, Kendrick uses four parallel lines to claim.

that those who oppose him are weak and incapable. In the first line, the term catch a body refers to putting someone in a body bag. Adding a notch to your belt refers to the tally of how many you've killed. We assume then to have a, quote, body on your belt means that you've murdered at least one person. The second line, you ain't shit without a ticket on your plate, is likely another way to say meal ticket, which seems here to be used for the slang term sugar daddy. Thus, this line suggests that Kendrick's privileged oppressors would be not. nothing without their inherited benefits. The third line, you ain't sick enough to pull it on yourself, likely refers to pulling a gun on yourself to commit suicide. In this context, being

sick could be interpreted negatively as referring to mental illness, but it seems more likely the word sick is meant to have a positive connotation in order to say his opponent isn't brave enough to pull a gun on himself when the cops come. In the fourth line, you ain't rich enough to hit the lot and skate. The lot likely refers to a new car. lot. The implication here is that his opponent, unlike Kendrick, doesn't have enough cash to buy a car and immediately drive it off the lot. Through this section, we can see that the first line about having a body on your belt and the third line about pulling it on yourself, both suggest that the ability to commit acts of violence is what makes someone worthy of respect. Likewise, the second line

about having a meal ticket and the fourth line about hitting the lot, both suggest that amassing wealth is also what makes someone worthy of respect. We now recognize this section as a thematic extension of the previous line, Sex Money Murder, These Are the Brakes. As DNA nears its dramatic conclusion, Kendrick recites a potent sequence of lines around our collective fate. Kendrick says, tell me when destruction is going to be my fate, going to be your fate. going to be our faith. These are certainly ominous questions. On the surface, it would seem that the sheer number of black men that have been killed by violence has convinced Kendrick that he's fated for the same destruction. Thus, in the first question, tell me when destruction going to be my fate,

he wonders when he too will be destroyed. When he asks, when destruction going to be your fate, it seems that he's again talking to his opponent. As we heard in his references to the ten plagues, Kendrick's prediction that retributive killings are on the way suggests that destruction is also the fate for those who have opposed him. For the third question, Kendrick asks when destruction is going to be our faith, slyly changing fate, F-A-T-E, to the near-Homophone faith, F-A-I-T-H. In doing so, Kendrick provides us with a bit of an enigma. Had Kendrick continued to use the word fate, it would seem to indicate that our collective future of destruction is something tragic, something to be feared and avoided by any means possible. But the word faith is typically used to describe a positive

outlook for the future. In fact, one of the more famous biblical passage about faith defines it as, quote, being confident about what you hope for. So why does Kendrick suggest that we should have hope or faith in our future destruction? There's evidence to suggest that Kendrick here is referring to one of the central claims in the Bible that our brief mortar life on earth is but a vessel through which we can receive a long, glorious life in the heavens, granted that we live a life modeled after Jesus. This idea was most concisely expressed by Paul, one of Jesus' messengers, who described our current physical bodies on earth as makeshift tents. When these temporary tents are destroyed, we will receive new celestial bodies that he compares to permanent

homes in the heavens. Quote, for we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, unquote. Paul, along with Kendrick, believes that for those who have faith, who have hope beyond their individual existence, destruction is not the end. Rather, destruction is the first step of being transformed into something new, so long as we live a life like the one Jesus lived, a life of self-sacrifice and weakness, a life that resists violence as a means of avoiding destruction. As DNA reaches its dramatic conclusion, Kendrick recites a series of lines that tie together many of the various themes presented throughout the track.

Kendrick ends DNA saying, Peace to the world, let it rotate. Kendrick ends DNA saying, peace to the world, let it rotate. This line works on at least three levels simultaneously. Most obvious, peace to the world evokes the common prayer for world peace, and then to war and human conflict. This interpretation ties into the previous line about destruction being our faith, so long as we live a peaceful life of self-sacrifice. At the same time, peace, P-E-A-C-E, can also be heard peace, P-I-E-C-E. This, of course, is a slang term for a gun, and we might imagine, let it rotate, refers to a gun's rotating clip. This interpretation ties into the violence and destruction Kendrick has spoken about throughout the track. It will also relate to the

upcoming line about murder being an intrinsic characteristic of the world's DNA. Finally, we recognize that peace is also slang for goodbye, but we should also note that in Hebrew, the original language of the Bible, the word shalom most literally means peace, but is also used to say both hello and goodbye. Hence, by saying peace to the world, Kendrick can simultaneously be saying goodbye to this world, while also saying hello to a different world. This interpretation also ties back into the previous line about the afterlife, when destruction going to be our faith. Kendrick then concludes DNA with one last line, sex, money, murder, our DNA. This echoes a key line from earlier in verse 2, sex, money, murder,

these are the breaks. At the time, we interpreted that line to be primarily about hip-hop culture. But now we see that the line is expanded in scope, specifically with the use of our DNA, implying a universality. Coming right after the line, let it rotate, sex money, murder, our DNA seems to be suggesting that sex, money, and murder are what make the world go round, the three basic forces that rule over humanity and inspire us to act in selfish and unjust ways. Thus, the tracked DNA comes to an end with what seems to be Kendrick's thesis of the human condition. Conclusions. As we now look back on our journey through the two extended verses of the

song DNA, we see that what began as an individual statement ended as a universal declaration. DNA started as a braggadocio rap track about the traits that Kendrick inherited from his father, something we suspect was triggered by Fox News' mockery of Kendrick's music. By the bridge of DNA, the track had become a defense of the traits of the DNA of hip-hop, which also seemed triggered by Geraldo Rivera's claim that hip-hop has damaged the black community more than racism. However, by the end of DNA, we see that the track is ultimately a diagnosis of the traits that are shared in the DNA of all humanity. Along with this evolving and expanding scope, we recognize that DNA is also about continuity, the continuity between Kendrick and his father, between Kendrick

at 7 years old and 27 years old, between Compton and Manhattan Beach, between dodging bullets and dodging paparazzi, between hip-hop circa 1977 and 2017, between ancient Israelites and 20th century Jamaicans, between the DNA of disenfranchised black men, and the DNA of all of us in America and everywhere around the world. By demonstrating this continuity, Kendrick implies the universality of experience among all human beings, human beings who share 99.9% of the same DNA. The implication is that we're all faced with the same universal questions in this life, be you Kendrick Lamar or Geraldo Rivera, an Israelite or American, Caucasian or African, Democrat or Republican, rich or poor, man or woman, you or me. How do we best live in harmony here on earth? How do we govern the conflicting forces

in our DNA? How do we avoid the temptation of vices? How do we transcend the environment in which we were raised? How do we respond to the injustice perpetrated by our governmental systems? How do we mend the generational hostility between large groups of people? How do we react when we feel threatened? How do we respond to the malevolence and wickedness and the DNA of others? And perhaps most importantly, how do you respond to the malevolence and wickedness inside of you?