Dissect - S5E8 - FEEL. by Kendrick Lamar

Episode Date: November 12, 2019

Kung Fu Kenny’s pursuit of sex, money, and murder comes to a head in FEEL. In a violent storm of emotions, Kenny reveals the underlying isolation and suffering caused by his self-centered way of life. Say hi @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Purchase Dissect merch at https://shop.dissectpodcast.com/. Listen to original Dissect themes on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k8BsZM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short, digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushna. Today we continue our serialized analysis of Damn by Kendrick Lamar. On our last episode, we dissected Element, a song that documents our protagonist Kung Fu Kenny's willingness to kill or be killed in defense of his family and his positioning in the hip-hop hierarchy. Kenny's violent mentality manifested after making the choice to follow his intuition on the previous song Ya. Since the inherit properties of sex, money, and murder are encoded into his DNA, this choice to follow his intuition has now led him on a path of wickedness, with Element being the most

articulated expression of the vengeful and violent tendencies inside Kenny. But we also realized an element that beneath Kenny's hard and exterior lies a deep-rooted fear of going broke, and returning to a life of poverty and hardship in Compton. Near the end of our episode, we recalled the story of Jonah, the conflicted prophet who rejects God's call and subsequently faces a violent storm sent by God to stop Jonah from fleeing. If Kenny's story mirrors Jonah like we predicted, Kenny's own rejection of God's call on Yah and confirmed on Element would find him facing a storm of his own. But rather than a storm of wind and rain, Kenny is about to dive head first into a storm of emotions on the album's next track, the subject of our episode today, Feel.

feel like I'm losing my focus. I feel like I'm losing my patience. I feel like my thoughts in the basement. Feel like I feel like you miseducated. Feel like I don't want to be bothered. Feel is written and produced by Kendrick Lamar and Soundwave. The song has a somewhat interesting backstory. With Soundwave telling Fader magazine, quote,

Feel was the only record that wasn't made in the studio, and that's because I had a family emergency. I had to take off to Atlanta, and I literally made that song on the plane. I sent it to him and he sent it right back. This was towards the end of the recording process for the album, and I knew it was missing a song like that. That was about two months before we turned everything in, unquote. Fields production is based on a sample included in a Loopmaster's sample pack.

A sample pack is a collection or catalog of pre-recorded, pre-prepped audio samples producers can purchase for use in their original productions. Not very often do you find big-name producers pulling from generic sample packs in this way, But as we'll see, the sample's mood and tone fit damped sonic environment perfectly. Here's the main untreated sample Soundwave pulled from Loopmasters. Soundwave slows this sample down about 15 beats per minute, which sounds like this. Soundwave then adds a drumbeat beneath this, sample from the OC Smith song, Stormy. This is chopped into a four-measure loop, and to beef it up a bit, Soundwave overlays additional kick drum and hi-hats.

Now let's combine this with the Loopmaster sample. And thus we have the basic musical foundation for feel. But before this beat begins, we hear a brief introduction. Kenny repeats the phrase, Ain't nobody praying for me, something we first heard said by Kid Capri in the introduction of the previous song element. As we'll see, this phrase will become

one of the few recurring lyrical motifs heard throughout Dam. But having spent a good amount of time on Kendrick's back catalog in the beginning of the season, we also know that prayer has been a central theme in his previous work. It was most prominent on Good Kid Mad City, an album that actually opens with a prayer. I come to you a sinner and I humbly repair for my sins. I believe that Jesus is Lord. We hear this prayer again in the song, Sing About Me I'm Dying a Thirst. And as you know, this signifies the moment that Kendrick's life was transformed. On the more recent track,

Untitled 2, we hear an emotionally distressed Kendrick compare himself to the prophet Jonah and ask whoever is listening to pray for him. Hunded up with my normal greedy, stuck inside the belly of the beast, can you please pray for me? Get God on the phone. Kendrick reps, trapped inside the belly of the beast, can you please pray for me?

Get God on the phone. It would seem that Kendrick has an established pattern of requesting others to pray for him whenever he's drowning in an ocean of concerns. Ultimately, Kendrick hopes that prayers offered on his behalf will cause God to respond to him. Ironically, when God did respond in the earlier track, Yah, Kenny followed the pattern of Jonah by refusing to answer God's call. Thus, the complaint that no one is praying for Kenny seems to be

somewhat contradictory. As we'll soon see, prayer, complaints, and contradictions are going to be three of the central themes explored and feel. Kenny wraps, I feel like a chip on my shoulders. I feel like I'm losing my focused. I feel like I'm losing my patience. I feel like my thoughts in the basement. These initial four lines establish the main lyrical form of the track. Almost every line in the verses begins with the word feel as one of the first few words.

Kenny uses this repetitive structure to provide us with a catalog of thoughts and feelings that are overwhelming and chaotic. In literary terms, this stylistic device is known as litany. Litany is actually a quintessential American poetic device employed by poets like Walt Whitman and Song of Myself or the Beatnik Alan Ginsberg in his seminal piece, Hal. Litany is incredibly deft and meditative or confessional poetry, works that are introspective and take on a multidimensional, nuanced examination of a particular subject. Of course, this examination could be deeply personal, especially when the poet is exploring

nuanced or contradictory feelings towards the subject. Alan Ginsberg's poem, America, is an example of litany hard at work. Listen to Ginsburg read the opening minds. America, I've given you all, and now I'm nothing. America, $2.27 since January 17, 1956. America, I can't stand my own mind. America, when will we end the human war? Ginsburg opens most lines with the word America,

and continues with a series of complaints. These early repetitions are meant to establish the poem as a litany about injustice in America. Later on in the poem, Ginsburg even makes a direct reference to the form he's using when he writes. My ambition is to be present despite the fact that I'm a capitalist.

America, how can I write a holy litany in your feeling mood? In this line, Ginsburg talks about writing a holy litany. His use of the word holy is likely a nod to the fact that litany's originated as a form of collective prayer within Christian worship. With a church service, a litany typically consists of one person saying a series of statements that begin with the same phrases. After each statement, worshippers respond in unison, asking the Lord to have mercy on them.

One famous example is the litany of the Sacred Heart, which is used in the Roman Catholic Church. Heart of Jesus burning furnace of charity. Have mercy on us. Heart of Jesus, vassal of justice and love. Have mercy on us. Heart of Jesus, full of goodness. It's of course ironic that feel uses a form closely associated with repetitive prayer, while also including a hook that repeats, ain't nobody praying for me.

Moreover, rather than being a prophet who speaks the truth, Kenny elected to focus on his ephemeral feelings, particularly his negative feelings. Thus, much like the poem America by Alan Ginsberg, Kenny seems to be using his litany to voice a catalog of complaints and explain why he doesn't feel well. Let's listen again to the first lines, this time focusing on the content of each line. With these initial lines, the narrative of Dam takes a sudden reversal as Kenny expresses how his mental state is quickly deteriorating. On the last track element, Kenny boasted about how he would retaliate against those who had threatened him and his family. But here, those past grudges have condensed into a heavy chip on his shoulder.

On the track, Ya, Kenny's mom was worried about Kenny working himself to death. But here, he has lost his ability to work or focus at all. On the last track element, Kenny said, you know careers take off just got to be patient. But here on feel, Kenny has lost his ability to be patient. Also on the track element, Kenny spoke of lifting up the black artist, but now his own thoughts have descended into the basement. I feel for you, I've been in the field for you, it's real for you right. Shit, I feel like, ain't nobody praying for me. Kenny continues saying, I feel like you're miseducated, feel like I don't want to be bothered,

feel like you may be the problem. Rather than taking responsibility for his condition, Kenny instead places all the blame on others. Ironically, by refusing to acknowledge he's contributed to the problems in his world, Kenny has become just like the Fox News hosts whom he criticized throughout the first three tracks of damn. Next, Kenny says, I feel like it ain't no tomorrow. Fuck the world. The world is ending. I'm done pretending. And fuck you if you get offended. Kenny's belief that the apocalypse is approaching gives way to a nihilistic, hostile attitude toward the world. On the previous song, Element, we found Kenny hostile toward his rivals in rap and in Compton. Now Kenny has expanded that hostility

exponentially. He essentially tells everyone to go to hell. Kenny's downward spiral continues in the next lines, I feel like friends been overrated. I feel like the family been faken. I feel like the feelings are changing. Feel like my daughter compromised and jaded. Feel like you want to scrutinize how I made it. Kenny expresses how those who are once loyal to him seem to have lost their feelings of devotion. On element, Kenny claimed he'd rather die than leave his element and have his family go broke. Those same people he cared for, like his own daughter, now seemed to be his greatest source of heartache. that he can no longer even count on his family as a source of comfort and stability. Next, Kenny says,

Feel like I ain't feeling you all. Feel like removing myself, no feelings involved. Kenny's doubts about his friends and family are causing him to become emotionally removed and distant. This increased isolation makes Kenny both sad and resentful. With the line, I feel for you, I've been in the field for you. Kenny reminds us that he's been working like a slave for the benefit of others.

Kenny then asks, it's real for you, right? Once again, Kenny wants to assert that he's real. On Yaw, Kenny said, I'm diagnosed with real N-word conditions. On element, Kenny boasted about himself saying N-words thought that K-dot was real life was the same life they see on TV, and also dismissed his rivals by saying, most of y'all ain't real. All these references helped to show how Kenny's constant focus on being real tends to drive Kenny towards conflict with others. Later, in our examination of the track Humble, we'll see how Kenny's association between conflict and being real illustrates the extent to which Kenny has reverted to the old patterns of thought

that he inherited while growing up in Compton. Kenny ends the verse and simultaneously transitions to the chorus by saying, shit, I feel like, ain't nobody praying for me. And after repeating the phrase ain't nobody praying for me, Kenny dives straight into verse two. Ain't nobody praying for me. Ain't nobody praying for me. I feel niggas been out of poverty. Kenny begins Tapping their pockets I feel like debating on who the greatest can stop it

I am legend I feel like all of y'all is pastings I feel like all of y'all is pastings I feel like N-word's been out of pocket I feel like N-words tap in their pockets The phrase out of pocket

can have at least three different meanings In the traditional British usage Being out of pocket refers to running out of money In traditional American usage Being out of pocket refers to remaining out of reach And in more recent American slang, being out of pocket refers to acting out of control. Thus, the line seems to suggest that those

around Kenny are broke, aloof, and uncontrollable. Meanwhile, the phrase tap in the pockets refers to gauging how much money a person has in their possession, most often with the intent of trying to steal it. Given that those around Kenny are out of pocket and have lost his trust, he feels that those who are once loyal to him will soon be tapping on his pockets. Next, Kenny says, I feel like debating on who the greatest can stop it, I Am Legend. As we discussed an element, Kenny considers himself to be the greatest rapper, as well as rapper 2 through 5. By saying, I Am Legend, Kenny seems to be claiming legendary status within hip-hop. However, I Am Legend is also the name of a 1954 zombie apocalypse novel, as well as a 2007 film

starring Will Smith. The novel I Am Legend follows a man named Robert Neville, who's been living in isolation after a disease turn all the humans around him into vampire zombies. Neville has to lock himself in his house and find ways to kill these vampire zombies. Eventually, Neville discovers that there's a community of people who are infected with the disease but who have not turned into vampire zombies. Because these infected humans are sympathetic to the zombie vampires, they end up capturing Neville and sentence him to die. As Neville awaits his execution, he realizes that the infected humans are now the new race of humanity, and that the old humanity he was a part of, will soon be nothing more than a legend. In a book review, critic Dan Schneider wrote, quote, despite having vampires in it, the novel is not a

novel on vampires, nor even a horror, nor sci-fi novel at all in the deepest sense. Instead, it is perhaps the greatest novel written on human loneliness, unquote. This exploration of loneliness seems to be the underlying reason why Kenny used the phrase I am legend. Superficially, the phrase is a boast about his legendary status as greatest rapper. But at its core, I Am Legend underscores how Kenny is isolated and faces constant hostility from his compromised former homies who are now trying to suck the life out of him. This idea extends directly into the verse's next lines. Mike Jordan, whenever holding a real mic, I ain't feeling your presence.

Feel like I'm gonna learn you a lesson. Feel like only me and the music, though. I feel like you feeling ain't mutual. I feel like the enemy you should know. Kenny raps, I feel like all y'all peasants. I feel like all y'all desperate. I feel like all it take is a second to feel like Mike Jordan whenever holding a real mic.

I ain't feeling your presence. Feel like I'm going to learn you a lesson. Here Kenny continues his boasts, claiming that those around him are desperate peasants, which by contrast implies that. that Kenny is an exalted, self-satisfied king. Kenny also compares himself to Michael Jordan, who is almost universally considered the greatest basketball player ever. This reference also plays off the homophone of Mike as in Michael, and Mike as in microphone, the one that Kenny holds when

proving he's the greatest rapper. Much like how Jordan embarrassed many of the individuals who tried to guard him, Kenny also threatens to learn you a lesson and humiliate them. Next, Kenny says, feel like only me and the music though. I feel like your feeling ain't mutual. I feel like the enemy you should know. Here, Kenny claims that he only connects to the music and remains untouchable by humans. This is another case in which Kenny's apparent boast barely veils a confession of his loneliness. The phrase the enemy you should know is likely also a reference to Swin Zah, who said, quote, If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle, unquote. Swin-Zhe was a Chinese military strategist who wrote the seminal treatise entitled The Art of War, one of the most widely read literary works on strategy and leadership. The work has inspired numerous military leaders throughout history, from Napoleon to Mao to the KGB to the U.S. Army. The art of war is also referenced throughout the history of hip-hop, from Dead Prez to Tupac Shakur. Interestingly, after referencing Swinza directly, Tupac states that his number one rule of war is to know your enemy so that you can observe and exploit his weakness. And a song about his growing isolation and hostility towards those around him, it would seem that Kenny's reference to the art of war is evidence that Kenny expects conflict in his future and is thus preparing for war. It's also another reminder that Kung Fu Kenny has inherited soldiers' DNA.

As Fuel's second verse continues, the reference to the art of war morphs into a reference about the war on drugs. We'll examine just how Kenny makes this clever transition right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we examine the first half of Feel, discovering the mental storm of emotions Kenny is dealing with after choosing to turn away from God and follow his intuition. We left off with a reference to the art of war, which Kenny will now transform into a reference to the war on drugs. with barley, streets is talking, filling the blanks with coffins, fill up the banks with dollars,

fill up the grades with fathers, fill up the babies with bullshit, internet blogs and porpoet, filling with gossip, I feel like there's got to be the... Kenny raps, feel like the feeling of no hope, the feeling of bad dope, a quarter ounce manipulated from soap, the feeling of false freedom, I'll force feed him the poison that'll fill him up in the prison. In a masterful display of word economy, Kenny summarizes the cause and effects of the war on drugs and just a few sparse lines. The War on Drugs was an initiative that began in 1971 under President Richard Nixon. One of the top goals of the initiative was to bring a halt to the civil rights movement

by heavily criminalizing the drugs that were prevalent in black communities. But the 1980s, after many black leaders were in prison, many younger black individuals felt like they had no hope, which Kenny implies in the lines the feeling of no hope. As a result, they began selling dope, a slang term that normally referred to crack cocaine. Crack cocaine was prepared by taking pure cocaine measured by the ounce and manipulating it with other white substances such as laundry soap, hence the line, the feeling of bad dope, a quarter ounce manipulated from soap. The next line, the feeling of false freedom, likely refers to the drug dealer selling this drug.

Dreams of freedom through upper mobility and economic prosperity from drug dealing ended up pulverizing the communities dealers sold to, and in turn, destroyed their own lives as well. During the Ronald Reagan era in the 1980s, the U.S. justice system increased the length of prison sentences for those convicted of selling crack cocaine. Ironically, many investigative writers have alleged that the CIA actually assisted rebel groups in trafficking cocaine. As a result, America forced-fed poison to black neighborhoods and then arrested black drug sellers in order to fill up America's privatized. prisons. This inspired the final line in this virtuosic section. I'll force feed him the poison that fill him up in the prison. Kenny continues this verse rapping, I feel like it's just me,

look, I feel like I can't breathe, look, I feel like I can't sleep, look. Again, we hear Kenny confess his crushing isolation, as he's surrounded by hostile forces that keep him up at night and threaten to choke him. The phrase, I can't breathe, may also be a reference to the death of Eric Gardner, a black man who helped to break up a fight in Staten Island on July 17, 2014. When a group of police officers arrived on the scene, they tried to arrest Garner on a suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes. As the police forced them to the ground, one officer used an illegal chokehold to restrain Garner, which prohibited Garner from breathing. In a video recording of the incident, Garner could be heard repeatedly telling the police, I can't breathe.

The police officers ignored Garner's pleas and as a result, Garner lost consciousness and died at a hospital an hour later. Even though the use of chokeholds is banned by the New York Police Department, a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer on any charges of police brutality. The decision not to indict was a pivotal moment in the Black Lives Matter movement and triggered protests throughout America in which Garner's last words became a rallying cry for justice. By using the phrase I Can't Breathe, Kenny seems to be connecting his own personal struggle with the larger struggle of the black community against the American justice system. It also connects back to the narrative section of the track blood,

in which Kenny was killed by a blind woman who seemed to be a representation of Lady Justice. This never-ending struggle for justice seems to have hardened and traumatized Kenny, leading him to say, I feel heartless, often off this, feeling of fallen apart with darkest hours lost it. It seems like the legacy of struggle against people and systems of repression have drained Kenny and left him feeling heartless. Being devoid of compassion leads directly into the lines, fill in the void being employed with balin. Streets is talking, fill in the blanks with coffins, fill up the banks with dollars, fill up the graves with fathers. fill up the babies with bullshit, internet blogs and pulpit, fill them with gossip.

In these lines, Kenny modifies the litany by using the slant rhyme, Phil, F-I-L-L, at the beginning of each line. The content of these lines also share a pattern in that they each discuss how voids in urban life tend to be filled by things that only cause more problems. The void of being gainfully employed is filled by purchasing expensive clothes, jewelry, and cars. Empty talk in the streets is fulfilled by putting enemies in coffins. Thus, empty graves are filled with fathers who were killed while trying to fill empty bank accounts with money. These fatherless babies then grew up with only internet blogs and church services to fill them with lies and gossips about why their fathers died.

It should also be noted that the phrase Streets is Talking is likely a reference to a JZ song of the same name. In Streets is gossiping, bitches all in your shit, what's the cause of it? I need to know. In Streets is Talking, Jay-Z discusses the anxiety he lives under, as his former associates have now become jealous. Jay-Z's environment becomes so hostile that he feels all the hustlers in the streets are now talking amongst themselves and plotting his downfall. Within the context of feel, Streets is talking is yet another example of a man who is embattled and isolated after the people around him became compromised and jaded. As Feel continues, Kenny makes reference to another hip-hop icon. "'Internet, Plock, I feel like there's gotta be the feeling where Pac was. The feeling nothing apoculus happening, but nothing is awkward.

The feeling won't prosper, the feeling is toxic. I feel like I'm boxing, demons, monsters, fos profits, industry promises, niggas, biches, hunkies, crack as Compton, church religion, token blacks and bondage, lawsuit visits, so being a certain concert." Kenny continues, I feel like this gotta be the feeling what Pac was. feeling of an apocalypse happening, but nothing is awkward. The feeling won't prosper. The feeling is toxic. Here, Kenny seems to be reiterating his belief that the world as we know it will soon collapse in an apocalypse. Coming off the heels of Kenny's reference to the war on drugs,

it's interesting to note that the term apocalypse originally meant revelation, and referred to a genre of symbolic Jewish literature that revealed how God would bring an end to the violence and injustice perpetrated by oppressive nations. Now the word Apocalypse is mostly used to refer to a set of destructive events that will lead to the end of the world. In this passage, Kenny also references Tupac, likely a nod to his first album, Tupaclips Now. Tupac also spoke of the Tupacalypse on the track Something Wicked. Tupac Raps, Tupac is back in Sacks of Raps and Those That Max, Relax and let the blacks get jacked are getting taxed. I'm ready to go. I'm ripping his show, kicking the door. Tupac raps, Tupacalypse is back and strapped, attacking the packs, I'm kicking the facts on staxo raps.

Thus, within the context of Tupac's music, Tupac apparently sees himself as the manifestation of the apocalypse, both in his use of violence against his enemies, and also in the truth he reveals through his rap. This provides context to why Kenny says, this got to be the feeling what Pock was, as Kenny seems to have inherited this role of revealing the embarrassing truths about American society. However, by saying nothing is awkward, Kenny may be implying that America is so blatant and shameless in its injustice that nothing Kenny reveals feels awkward. Nothing is awkward could also mean that when we're confronted with these dark truths, or even the apocalypse itself, we simply carry on with our lives like nothing is awkward or wrong. Next, Kenny says, I feel like I'm boxing demons, monsters, false profits, scheming, sponsors, industry promises, N-words, bitches, honking, crackers, Compton, church, religion, token blacks and bondage, lawsuit visits, subpoena served in concert. Here, Kenny envisions himself and a fistfight against demons, men, women, black people, white people, the rap industry, the hood, the justice system, false prophets, and true religion.

Essentially, Kenny is fighting against everyone and everything. This feeling of endless conflict leads to the most vocally intense section of the entire track. in a certain concert. Fuck your feelings. I mean this for impostors. I can feel it the Phoenix sure to watch us. I can feel it the dream is more than process. I can put a regime that forms a likeness.

I can feel it to scream that haunts our logic. I feel like say so. Kenny screams, fuck your feelings. I mean this for impostors. I can feel it. The Phoenix sure to watch us. I can feel it. The dream is more than process.

I can put a regime that forms a lockness. I can feel it. The scream that haunts our logic. It's interesting that. note that with these lines Kenny manipulates his voice. Kendrick often uses vocal modulations to better match and express the emotional content in his lyrics. In this case, it seems like the aggression and intensity of this verse almost pushes his natural voice from the realm of the real to the unreal. This shift in vocal production comes hand in hand with lines that are all focused on things

that are not real. This includes dreams and haunted houses, imposters who act like friends, and mythological creatures like the phoenix and the Loch Ness monster. However, while most of us would use logic to convince ourselves that such things are not real, Kenny's feelings seem to affirm the reality of the things he mentioned. This is emphasized repeatedly when Kenny says, I can feel it the phoenix, I can feel it the dream, and I can feel it the scream. This discrepancy between what Kenny feels and what he knows to be true

seems to be one of the most central motifs on the track. Thus, as we come to the end, we were reminded that we cannot rely on anything that Kenny has said on this track because Kenny's feelings have diverged from reality. Kenny says, I feel like say something. I feel like take something. I feel like skating off. I feel like waiting for me. Maybe it's too late for them. I feel like the whole world want me to pray for him. But who the fuck praying for me? Can't nobody praying for me. Kenny says, I feel like say something. I feel like take something. I feel like skating off. I feel like waiting for me. for him. Maybe it's too late for him. Kenny expresses his conflicted feelings about how he should respond to the family, friends, and community members who have been compromised. He debates whether he should restore these relationships by speaking the truth and waiting patiently, or just give up on them, extract what he can from them, and walk away. Ultimately, Kenny wonders if trying to help others is futile, since it may be too late for them to change before the world ends. Yet again, we see that

Kenny's feelings of hopelessness is a central reason that he continues to reject his prophetic calling. Remember that on the previous track element, Kenny rapped, damned if I do, if I don't. God damn us all if you won't. With no hope and the ability of people to change or God to turn curses into blessings, Kenny remains an isolated, angry and rebellious prophet. He wonders why he should pray for the well-being of others when nobody is praying for his own well-being. This mentality stands in stark contrast to the way of weakness, of self-sacrifice and forgiveness of others. As the second verse comes to an end, the once agitated Kenny punctuates his primary complaint with a voice that sounds very much defeated.

Conclusions If we look ahead to the names of the next seven tracks on Dam, loyalty, pride, humble, lust, love, XXX, and fear, we should notice that each of them except XXX is named after a feeling. And as we'll see later, even XXX is fundamentally a song about rage. This upcoming emphasis on feeling suggests that Kendrick designed the narrative of Dam to be a self-reflective journey into the emotional center of the human heart. In his interview with Zane Lowe, Kendrick discussed how the focus on internal conflict throughout Dam, contrasts with the focus on external conflict throughout Tipa The best way for me to put it, to paper butterfly would be the thought of changing the world,

you know, and how we work and how we approach things. Dan would be the idea of I can't change the world until I change myself, you know. So when you listen to records like pride, humble, lust, love, these are just human emotions. And me looking in the mirror and coming to grips with them. you know, and thinking of the idea of the world itself and combine them in two records, I will hope the listener can take heed and grab something from both of them to ideas and carry out their day to the best potential of themselves they see. According to the interview, one of the central themes of Dam is that we cannot change the world

until we change ourselves. Moreover, we cannot change ourselves until we change ourselves until we change we deal with our conflicting emotions. Hence, while Tipipa Butterfly called us to look out the window at the chaos going on outside, Dam calls each of us to look in the mirror at the chaos going on inside of us. The track Feel thus serves as an introductory meditation for the self-reflective journey we're about to embark on. As we look back on the songs we dissected thus far, blood, DNA, ya, and element, we can see how these tracks helped to establish our protagonist Kung Fu Kenny, as the prophet who rejected God's call and has followed his intuition towards sex, money, and murder. Now it seems we'll focus on the various emotional states one undergoes when making such a decision.

Feel, the introduction to this emotional meditation, uses a repetitive lyrical structure inspired by litany's used to request prayer and church services. But as we heard, the litany structure was also utilized by American poets like Walt Whitman and Alan Ginsberg to praise or protest aspects of American life. As we'll see later in the album, these two motifs of prayer and protests will be combined, as Kenny's secuited's path eventually leads him to prophecy against America. However, at this point in Dam,

Kenny continues to run away from his calling, just like the prophet Jonah ran away from his calling and boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction. God sent a powerful storm that halted the ship's progress. The storm threatened to destroy the ship, causing all the sailors to pray to their own gods. Meanwhile, Jonah slept in the hold of the ship and remained completely unaware that everyone around him was praying.

Finally, one of the soldiers found Jonah and demanded to know what God Jonah owed his loyalty to. Much like Jonah's journey, Kenny's emotional state has suddenly become stormy. Like Jonah, the distress we see in Kenny's life is a direct result of Kenny choosing to live in opposition to God's commandments. Like Jonah, Kenny remains unaware that there are plenty of people praying for him. If Kenny's narrative continues to mirror Jonah's, we should expect that Kenny will soon have to state whether he's ultimately loyal to himself or to God. We'll see how Kenny responds to this question when we examine the track Loyalty Note by Note, line by line.

Next time on Dyset. 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.

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