Dissect - S5E6 - YAH. by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: October 29, 2019

YAH. formally introduces DAMN’s protagonist: Kung Fu Kenny, a prophet who rejects God’s call. Kenny chooses instead to follow his intuition toward sex, money, and murder -- the very traits named on the album’s previous track DNA. 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. Over our last two episodes, we dissected the album's second track DNA. Triggered by Fox News' mockery of his music and message, Kendrick both defended and dissected the composite parts in his DNA, the biological inheritance he received from his parents, and the cultural inheritance he received from Compton and hip-hop.

We heard how this dual inheritance steers Kendrick's intuition toward the pursuit of sex, money, and violence. And while Kendrick's examination of these traits began as a personal exploration, we saw how that scope evolved over the course of the song, ultimately ending with the proclamation that sex, money and murder, i.e. lust, greed, and wrath, are inherited traits encoded in the DNA of all humans. In terms of the album's narrative, DNA, are in essence precursory scenes and the story about to

unfold over damn. Both tracks help establish the thematic framework the narrative will be constructed upon. As you know, blood presented our choice between wickedness and weakness and the life or death consequences of our decision. DNA established the position that were all born with an array of both positive and negative traits in our DNA, and that the development or underdevelopment of certain traits are determined by our upbringing, environment, and historical circumstances. Like we heard in DNA, Kendrick inherited an intuition that tilts towards wickedness, and he specifically points out that he lacks the ability to forgive, a critical component of choosing weakness. This was exemplified in Kendrick's assault on Fox News, something we saw as indicative of his inability to forgive his

enemies. The chaotic, turbulent nature of DNA and the aggressive manner in which Kendrick reacted to his critics made clear that a multitude of external influences were causing a number of internal debates, something that continues in the album's next track, the subject of our episode today, Ya. Ya is written and produced by Kendrick Lamar, DJ Dai, and Soundwave, with additional production by Beacon. Yaw's minimalistic production revolves around a sample of Billy Paul's 1976 song, How Good Is Your Game? The sample undergoes a dramatic transformation. First, it's reversed, that is, it's played backwards. Next, the pitch of the track is lowered,

about 10 semitones down from the original. This also slows the sample's tempo. From this, two small excerpts are extracted and then spliced together to create a loop. Excerp 1 sounds like this. The second excerpt sounds like this. Splice together, the two create this loop. This sample is then placed over a moderate temple drum loop. Finally, a subtle synthesizer is added to fill out the middle register. And thus, we get the main musical elements of the song, Yaw. Now, there's something I want to call to your attention in this track,

and that's the use of a reversed or backwards-playing sound source. As we'll come to see throughout our analysis of Dam, the use of reversed sounds will become a reoccurring sonic motif, something that will hear over and over again. This relates directly to both the theme of reversing the curses of your biological and circumstantial inheritance and the eventual realization that the album is intended to be played in reverse order. With this in mind, let's listen to the opening moments of the song Ya. The first voice we hear on Ya is that of legendary New York DJ, Kid Capri.

Kid Capri was 8 years old when he started DJing block parties in the Bronx, New York, during the early years of the hip-hop movement in the mid-1970s. By the mid-80s, Kid Capri was one of the hottest DJs in the New York City nightclub scene. Kid Capri became a legend soon after, when the mixtapes of his DJ sets started to reach a mass audience. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Kendrick explained that he decided to include Kid Capri on damn to capture the raw elements of hip hop from that era. Funny thing is, that was probably one of the first ideas I had for this record.

I wanted it to feel like just the raw elements of hip hop, you know, whether I'm using 808s or whether I'm using some boom-back drums, you know, the idea of having Kid Capri, you know, the initial thought was having them off like some real trappy 808 shit, you know, something I've never heard from him. and I got in the studio man, I had him doing like a thousand takes. You know what? He's the greatest. Kendrick's attempt to evoke the spirit of hip-hop from a bygone era ties directly into the themes we discussed in DNA.

Specifically, Kendrick's hip-hop inheritance he defended when Fox News mocked hip-hop and claimed it responsible for black people's problems. Kendrick is paying homage to his cultural inheritance with the inclusion of Kid Capri. A recurring voice will hear throughout Dam. Here on Yaw, the first words Kid Capri says are Kung Fu Kenny. This signals a kind of formal beginning of the narrative of Dam and introduces the narrative's main character. As we discussed at the top of the episode, Blood and DNA act as preface, a setup, helping to establish the themes and motifs that will serve as the thematic structural

basis of the album. Here on Yaw, we're meeting the narrative's protagonist Kung Fu Kenney, a character who resembles Kendrick, or is perhaps an exaggerated version. version of aspects of his personality. Now, there's ample evidence to suggest that the narrative told on Dam that begins here on Yah is based on, inspired by, or as a modern retelling of a biblical story about a prophet named Jonah. As we've discussed at length this season, Kendrick views himself as a prophet, as Yeshua's new weapon, whose purpose is to share the word of God and free his people from mental slavery. We heard Kendrick declare himself as such in Mortal Man, the final song on Tipinpa Butterfly.

that leads directly into Dam. We also heard this idea reinforced in blood, which contains a prophetic declaration about wickedness and weakness, as well as a parable that seems to allude to the assassination of a prophet. Kendrick's prophetic role was also mentioned in DNA, most specifically with the lines that ended verse 1, salute the truth when the prophets say. Thus, the stage seems to be set for the narrative of Dam, a story about a prophet named Kung Fu Kenny, who is prepared for fight or flight, So too is Jonah, a conflicted prophet who rejects God's call and subsequently finds himself suffering a number of consequences. As we'll see throughout this season, the story of Kung Fu Kenny and the story of Jonah contain enough similarities for us to conclude that the narrative

of Dam was at least in part inspired by Jonah. As such, it behooves us to get familiar with this story so that we may use it as a point of reference over the course of the season. Like we'll eventually realize about Dam, the book Book of Jonah can be neatly divided into two distinct halves. Today we're going to focus solely on the first half of the story. Here we meet an Israelite prophet named Jonah, who lived in the 7th century BCE. At the time, the land of Israel was under the constant harassment and impending conquest by the Assyrian Empire, an empire which at the time was the greatest and most violent military

power that the world had ever known. The military received its orders from the King of Assyria, who ruled from the capital of Nineveh. To address the violence and injustice caused by Nineveh, God calls Jonah and tells him, quote, The wickedness of Nineveh has come to my attention. God then commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and condemn the violence and injustice that the people have committed. However, Jonah refuses to answer God's call because he would prefer God to destroy his enemies without warning. Thus, Jonah flees, avoiding God's call by getting on a boat sailing in the opposite direction from Nineveh. In order to stop Jonah's escape, God sends a storm that endangers the ship

Jonah is aboard. The ship's fearful sailors sense that this storm is not normal, so they encourage everyone on the ship to pray to their gods. They soon rightly determine that Jonah's God is the one who sent the storm. Jonah reveals to the crew members that he follows a god named Yahweh, but is nonetheless attempting to run away from him. Rather than turn around, Jonah suggests that the sailors throw him into the sea so that the storm will stop, which they reluctantly agree to do. Jonah's death seems imminent. As he sinks towards the bottom of the sea, a fish swallows him.

After three days in the belly of the beast, a phrase that you'll remember was used on DNA. Jonah is suddenly conscious and vows that he'll answer God's original call if God raises him out of his watery grave. The first half of Jonah's story ends with God causing the fish to vomit Jonah. Jonah up onto the dry land. While we'll outline the second half of Jonah's story later this season, what we should take away from the story's first half is threefold. First, Jonah is a prophet who rejects God's call to condemn the injustice of the Assyrian nation. Second, this initial refusal was influenced by Jonah's lack of forgiveness and causes him much danger and suffering. His ship is hit by God's storm, he's thrown overboard, and nearly dies after spending time in the belly of the beast.

Third, even when Jonah agreed to answer God's original call, he did so reluctantly, and only after his life was in danger. As we'll see in the first half of Dam's narrative, our prophet Kung Fu Kenny is going to receive a call from God. Like Jonah, Kenny's rejection of this call is caused by his refusal to forgive his enemies. Like Jonah, Kenny's rejection of God's commandments will cause him much turmoil, suffering, and confusion. Finally, like the conclusion of the first half of Jonah's story, we'll find Kenny at the conclusion of Dam's first half, acknowledging God and agreeing to his original call. So, with all this in mind, let's dive head first into the narrative of Dam, beginning with the opening lines of Yaw. I got so many theories and suspicions. I'm diagnosed with real nigger conditions. Today is the day I follow my intuition.

Kenny begins first one by saying, I got so many theories and suspicions. At the onset of the song, it's unclear what exactly is being referred to here. But as the song progresses, all signs will indicate Kenny here is talking about his suspicions about the ways of the world, specifically about how God governs the universe. It seems to imply a lack of faith, something we saw Kendrick address as far back as the song faith from the Kendrick Lamar EP. Next, Kenny says, I'm diagnosed with real N-word conditions. A diagnosis typically refers to the identification of an involuntary illness, so we suspect something more than doubt is plaguing Kenny. But what exactly are real N-word conditions? The answer seems

coded throughout the history of hip-hop culture. For decades, calling someone a real N-word has been one of the most common ways to distinguish certain men as being authentic and worthy of great honor. But what exactly makes someone a real N-word? Well, listen to enough hip-hop songs and you'll start to notice some common themes. On his 2013 song, Trouble, Jay Cole claimed that real N-words try to fuck. On his 2011 song, Real N-Words try to fuck. On his 2011 song, Real N-Worth, anthem, GZ claimed that real N-words get money. And on the 1996 song, Can't See Me, Tupac claimed that real N-Words placed their fingers on the triggers of nickel-plated 9mmeter guns. If you observe how the term real N-word is used within hip-hop lyrics, you'll see that a man is considered to be a real N-word if he is successful in his pursuits of sex, money, and murder.

The very same traits that Kenny outlined in DNA. Since Kenny grew up hearing these pursuits glorified in hip-hop and his community, it would seem that Kenny is now conditioned to accept the stereotypical definition of a real N-word, which is immediately put on display as Yaw's first verse continues. Kenny says, Today is the day I follow my intuition. Keep the family close, get money, fuck bitches. Kenny makes a conscious, intentional decision to follow his intuition,

that is, rely on his own understanding without reasoning through his choices. This leads him directly towards sex and money, two of the three pursuits and the unholy trinity of real N-word conditions. We can see how this ties into not only the previous line about real N-word conditions, but also has an extension of the song DNA. If sex, money, and murder are encoded and cultivated traits in his DNA, then his intuition will lead him to pursue those things if he doesn't make an engaged and continued effort to correct himself. Kenny also says he wants to keep his family close. On the surface, that seems to be a positive pursuit. However, it remains unclear just how Kenny plans to keep his family together. This will be explored more in the

album's next song element, where it will become very clear his methods include lethal violence. As Yaw continues, we learn more about the attributes of our protagonist, Kenny, and how his decision to follow his intuition has him acting selfishly. More on this, right after the break. Welcome back to Dissect. Before the break, we discussed the opening lines of Yaw's first verse. Kenny had just been diagnosed with real inward conditions and proclaimed his intent to follow his intuition towards sex, money, and murder, the very same traits listed in DNA. As Yaw's first verse continues, we see some of the results of Kenny's selfish pursuit. Kenny wraps a double parked the

parked the Aston in the red. Aston here refers to Aston Martin, a brand of luxury sports cars that retail up to $300,000. Without any clear reason, Kenny has parked his expensive car in a way that blocks others from entering or exiting a parking space. As if that's not selfish enough, Kenny is also parking in the red, referring to the space reserved for emergency vehicles. This line shows the arrogance and self-serving behavior that Kenny seems to have developed since deciding to follow his intuition. We also note that in the red refers to a bank account that's in debt. This interpretation may signal that following

his intuition has pushed Kenny into a kind of debt. He's become morally bankrupt. Next, Kenny says, My mama told me that I'm a work myself to death. This line seems to indicate Kenny has become fully consumed by his work. His long hours are likely motivated by his intuition to get more money. Kenny may feel that making more money is the only sure way to keep his family together. Ironically though, his obsessive focus on work seems to be keeping him away from his family and exposing him to constant temptations. We actually see evidence of one of Kenny's main sources of temptation in the next line. My girl told me, don't let these hoes get in my head. Kenny's wealth, status as greatest rapper, and long trips on tour, afford him seemingly endless

opportunities to have sex with any number of women. Kendrick himself has historically shown a considerable amount of loyalty to his fiancée Whitney, who he's dated since high school and became engaged to in 2015. Kenny's girl seems to be aware of the temptations that Kenny faces on a daily basis and offers him a gentle warning not to let his lust interfere with his commitment to the people he values most. When coupled with the advice from his mother, we see how Kenny's loved ones are offering him solid advice. They clearly have his best interests in mind, yet he continues to be swayed by external temptations and its internal intuition. As the first verse transitions into the chorus, we learn how Kenny's environment contributes to the signal failure that prohibits his family's

messages to get fully through to him. In the final line of verse 1, Kenny says, My world been ecstatic. I checked the signal that read. On the surface, ecstatic seems to indicate that Kenny's world has provided him with a feeling of ecstasy, likely due to his pursuits of pleasures like money and women. But we also recognize the internal word state of static within the word astatic. Static refers to interference in telecommunication systems,

typically caused by two competing signal sources or being physically located somewhere that obstructs communication from a desired source. This play on the word static becomes central in the final line of verse 1, in which Kenny says, I checked the signal that read. He seems to be trying to engage in some form of telecommunication. This leads us directly into the song's hook. The refrain here makes heavy use of the song's hook. The refrain here makes heavy use of the song. word Yah, which of course is the song's title. As we discussed in our last episode, the word Yahweh refers to Yahweh, the personal name of the God of Israel. Yahweh was the name by which God revealed himself to Moses. Yahweh then called Moses to be a prophet and sent him on a mission

to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Unlike Jonah, Moses answered the initial call and became one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. Given the repetition of the word Yah, Yahweh or God is apparently the signal source that seems to be dropping in and out of Kenny's radar. This idea seems to be in line with the biblical themes of prophets like Moses and Jonah, being called by Yahweh to carry out some specific act on God's behalf. Hence, the buzzing or prophet Kenny feels refers to the vibrations of his phones during an incoming call from God. The line, Check the Signal that read, refers to Kenny checking his reception by looking at the signal bars at the top of his phone screen.

When Kenny looks at his phone, he sees the name of the incoming caller, Yaa. But the signal is weak, it's buzzing in and out, as Kenny is not in a place in his life to fully receive God's call. After the song's hook, Yaw continues with verse 2. Fox News, want to use my name for percentage. My latest news is my niece. She works living. See me on the TV and scream that's Uncle Kendrick. Kenny begins verse two rapping,

Interviews want to know my thoughts and opinions. Fox News want to use my name for percentage. Kendrick has a complicated relationship with interviews. He doesn't give many of them, and when he does, he's thoughtful but guarded, never divulging too many details about his private life or the meaning behind his music. Kenny contrasts interviews with dealing with Fox News,

As we've heard in both blood and DNA, the host of Fox 5 dismissed and even condemned Kendrick's music without attempting to interview him to get his perspective. Kenny believes that the only reason why Fox News brought up Kendrick's name was to increase their percentage or their TV ratings. I thought it was a trip. You know, I thought it was a click bait because anybody that know me, they know that I represent my people and the culture the right way. So to try to attack my character and make it an actual stunt, I wasn't for it. Kenny continues his verse saying, My latest muse is my niece, she's worth living. See me on the TV and scream, that's Uncle Kendrick.

Here, Kenny is referring to the daughter of Kendrick's younger sister. We last heard about Kendrick's sister on the song You from Tipinpa Butterfly. There, Kendrick revealed the turmoil he felt about not being around to prevent his sister from getting pregnant as a teenager. Despite the less than ideal circumstances regarding this pregnancy, Kenny makes it clear that he cherishes his niece and that her life has intrinsic worth. Coming directly after the Fox News line, Kenny seems to imply that Fox News is the TV program his niece sees him on. As he stated in the interview we just heard, Kendrick works hard to represent his community in the culture the right way,

and slander from outlets like Fox skew the message he's crafted for young ones like his niece. As Yaw continues, Kenny addressed. directly the comments made by Geraldo Rivera we heard sampled on the bridge of DNA. Yeah, that's a business. Somebody tell Geraldo this nigger got some ambition. I'm not a politician. I'm not about a religion. I'm an Israelite.

Don't call me black no more. That word is only a color. It ain't facts no more. My cousin Carl. Kenny wraps. Somebody tell Geraldo this N-word got some ambition. I'm not a politician. I'm not about a religion.

I'm an Israelite. Don't call me black no more. That word is only a color. It ain't facts. more. Kenny again confronts Fox news host Haraldo Rivera for not recognizing the heartfelt concerns for family and community that motivate Kenny's art. While Kenny's concerns often lead him to make numerous comments on politics and religion, he clarifies that the essence of his identity is not found in being a politician or a religious figure, nor is it as simple as the color of his skin. Rather,

Kenny identifies most closely with being an Israelite. We've previously mentioned a number of Israelite figures so far this season. However, given that Kenny is now defining himself as an Israelite, something that will come up again in the album's end, it seems crucial to understand how this name and identity came to be. The English word Israelite is a translation of a Hebrew word that means the children of Israel, referring to all the people who are descendants from a man named Israel. Israel was originally called Jacob and was introduced in the first book of the Bible. Israel's desire for his father's blessing, led him to steal the blessing from his brother. After Israel's brother planned to murder him in retaliation, Israel was forced into exile. Later in life, Israel ran into a

divine being. Israel wrestled with this divine being in order to force a divine being to bless him. It was at this point that his name was changed from Jacob, which means one who trips others, to Israel, which means one who wrestles with God. Israel was eventually blessed with a large family who grew into an entire ethnic group. However, the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, took advantage of this blessing and enslaved the descendants of Israel for manual labor. In response, Yahweh God called Moses to be a prophet who would lead the Israelites out of slavery and into the promised land. Kenny's declaration that he's an Israelite is a bit surprising since Kenny does not seem to have any hereditary ties to this ancient group. However, similar to the way that Kenny saw parallels between himself

and the prophet Moses, Kenny likely sees similarities between African Americans and Israelites, specifically that both ethnic groups had defined themselves as people who were freed from slavery. We also suspect that Kenny's claim to be an Israelite goes all the way back to the original meaning of the name Israel, one who wrestles with God. As we heard in the opening of Yah, Kenny has his own theories and suspicions, and will continue to wrestle with his choice between answering God's call or following his own intuition. In this way, it seems likely that one of the main functions of Yaa within the narrative of Dam is to establish Kung Fu Kenney as a character who will engage in hand-to-hand combat, just like Israel engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the mysterious

divine being. As Yaw continues, so do the blatant references to biblical stories. And Deuteronomy say that we all be cursed. Kenny wraps, My cousin called, My cousin Carl Duckworth said know my worth, and Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed. Here, Kenny gives a passing introduction to another family member, his cousin, Carl Duckworth.

Without giving us much context, Kenny simply relays two statements of admonishment from his cousin. The first statement exhorts Kenny to know his worth. Assuming that Carl is aware of how hard his cousin has been working to get money, it would seem that Carl wanted to remind Kenny that his self-worth is not defined by his bank account. The other statement Carl makes is that Deuteronomy say we all been cursed. As we touched on in our analysis of the song Faith back in episode 1, the biblical narrative is essentially a lengthy epic that explores why life on earth is cursed

and how God plans to reverse those curses into blessings. Carl makes specific reference to Deuteronomy, a book in the Bible that records Moses' farewell speech he gives. gave to the Israelites. Remember, Moses was called upon by God to free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and lead them into the Promised Land. In his speech, Moses summarizes all of God's commandments he had given the Israelites during their 40-year journey from Egypt through the wilderness. Moses encouraged the Israelites to follow these commandments from God if they wanted to experience blessings. These blessings were primarily centered around assurances of abundant crops,

livestock and children. But Moses also warned that if the Israelites refused to follow the commandments, they would experience curses. These curses involve the death of crops, livestock, and children. And if the Israelites continue to follow their own rebellious ways, Moses warned that it would lead to the curses of military conquest, exile, slavery, and mental insanity. And Deuteronomy 3019, Moses ends his speech saying, quote, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing, and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by remaining loyal to him, unquote. As we detailed at length in our analysis of blood,

the choice between life and death that Moses presents to the Israelites seems to be one of the main inspirations behind the opening lines of the album, is it wickedness, is it weakness? You decide, are we going to live or die? And so it's here in Yaw that many of the thematic seeds planted in dam's opening two tracks, blood, and DNA, are starting to bear fruit. Kendrick naming himself an Israelite, combined with the direct reference to Deuteronomy, confirms our claim that the wickedness, weakness dichotomy and the respective past to life and death, was inspired by Moses and the speech he gave to the Israelites we just referenced. Furthermore, because Kendrick clearly distinguishes himself as an Israelite, it implies that he's faced today with the same choices that Israelites were faced in the

Bible, this choice between a blessed life of weakness by following God's commandments, or a cursed life of wickedness by turning one's back on those commandments. The song DNA established that sex, money, and murder, the unholy trinity of wickedness, is found in all of our DNA, implying that existence is easily cursed by our intuitive pursuits of these vices. We also recognize that Kenny just admitted on Yaw, he's been diagnosed with real N-word conditions, a variation of the sex money murder motif, and that he's decided to follow his intuition to get more money and bitches. This implies that our protagonist Kenny is living a cursed existence. This idea of a cursed existence through the pursuit of vices and disobeying God's commandments is starting to provide clarity to the album's title,

damn. When used as a verb, the word damn means in essence to curse. As Yaw continues, we hear more direct references to biblical passages. Kenny says, I know he walks the earth. Here, the money they get bitches they hit. Yeah, zero's the flip. Temptation is, yeah, first of my list, I can't resist. Kenny says, I know he walks the earth. Here, the pronoun he refers to the main subject of the song, Yahweh. While the biblical authors tend to speak of God sitting in throne in the heavens, there's also several key moments in which God walks the earth. The first instance occurs in the Bible's opening story about Adam, a word that in Hebrew means humanity. God gave humanity one commandment. Don't eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so that you will not die.

God even provided the tree of life as an alternative. However, humanity disobeyed God's one commandment. rather than obeying God, they decided to experience good and evil for themselves, so that they can follow their own intuition. However, once humanity gained experience with good and evil, the ecstasy of experiencing God was replaced with fear. It's at this moment that the biblical narrator describes God walking the earth. Quote, then the man and his wife heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. After the man and woman admitted they'd eaten from the forbidden tree,

God told man, quote, cursed is the ground because of you, and hardship and toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life, unquote. Thus, Kenny's reference to Yahweh walking the earth is also a reference to humanity's inclination to follow their own intuition, rather than following God's commandments. In other words, our inclination is to choose wickedness and death, rather than weakness in life. Ultimately, humanity then is cursed to an existence of endless struggle and

suffering in order to sustain themselves. Fittingly, Kenny's acknowledgement of Yahweh walking the earth is followed by the lines, but it's money to get, bitches to hit, Yah. Zero's to flip, temptation is, yeah. First on my list, I can't resist, yeah. Here, Kenny displays the contrast between his faith and God and his faithlessness in life. Kenny's choice to follow his intuition has now made sex and money the first pursuits on his to-do list. Meanwhile, the name Yah punctuates each of these three lines, which seems to further reinforce the two competing signals in his head. One is his intuition to get money and bitches. The other is the voice of God and his commandments. By the end of these lines, Kenny remains incapable of resisting temptation. It would seem that

the path Kenny has chosen will invariably lead him to being cursed. The question that remains is whether there is any way for the curse to be reversed into blessing. As the second verse transitions back into the chorus, Kenny provides us with one last conviction to hold on to. He says, Everyone together now, know that we forever buzz in. In a similar move to the end of DNA, Kenny makes clear here at the end of verse two, that his own conflict between his intuition and God, as an internal battle we all face. The implication is that we all have these various signals chirping in our head, competing for our priority and intention.

It's no mistake that these lines then directly lead into the final chorus, reminding us that radars are still buzzing, and thus Yahweh is trying to reach not only his rebellious prophet Kung Fu Keni, but that Yahweh is still trying to reach each one of us. Conclusions. Yah formerly introduces Kung Fu Kenny, the protagonist of the story that will be told over the course of Dam. Kenny is a conflicted prophet, who, like Jonah, is struggling to answer Yahweh or God's call.

As we speculated in previous episodes, this seems to be a direct connection to the conclusion of Tipa Butterfly, wherein Kendrick acknowledged himself as a prophet, who works to free his people from mental slavery. We now find our prophet choosing to follow his own. own intuition to pursue sex and money. On the song's hook, Yahweh's signal is cutting in and out, something we recognize as representing Kenny's battle between his desires for vices, and upholding his position as profit. Similar to DNA, Yaw contains a number of key references to the Bible that clue us into his journey. Specifically, he claimed himself to be an Israelite, and references

directly Deuteronomy, the book that documents Moses' speech to the Israelites. In that speech, Moses lays before the Israelites a choice between life and death, between the blessing and the curse. As we discussed, the direct reference to this idea confirmed our suspicion that the wickedness-weakness dichotomy that leads to life or death established on blood was a variation of the idea Moses articulated to the Israelites in Deuteronomy. Thus, Kenny's choice to follow his intuition and turn away from God's call on Yah seems to imply that he's about to enter the mental landscape of the wicked, of the cursed. If the story of Jonah proves to be a model for Kung Fu Kenney's,

we should expect this decision to come with it some grave consequences. Ultimately, like DNA, the end of Yaw contains a subtle nod to the universality of these ideas. It's a gentle reminder that while the story about to unfold on Dam is a specific story about Kung Fu Kenney, it's meant to reflect the universal story of all humans. and the choice Kendrick feels we all face when considering how to conduct ourselves in this life. Do we choose wickedness or weakness? It seems clear that for now, Kung Fu Kenny's decision to follow his intuition has him flirting with the wicked. And by the sounds of the album's next track, it appears as if he's about to go all in.

I'm willing to die for this shit. I don't cry for this shit. Might take a lie for this shit. Put the Bible down and go out for a knife for this shit. Of course, this brutal no-holds-barred assault is element. A song will examine note by note, line by line. 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 of the original dissect 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 Dyskmerchandise at Dysectpodcast.com. Okay, thanks for listening, everyone. I'll talk to you next episode.