Listening to "good kid, m.A.A.d city" by Kendrick Lamar for the first time as a white person Sherane: Not much my taste in terms of lyrics and the topic, but I get it. The voice mail at the end had me sit back in my seat and set my drawing pen down and listen to it. I don't know why it hit me so much but it definitely made me pause until the next song started playing. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe: "I am a sinner, whose probably gonna sin again." stuck with me despite the chorus. It sticks out since the beat and vibe give a frat-like atmosphere. And then it just mentions the "sins" of something like a frat party with how everyone commonly drink, smoke, have sex, etc. Backseat Freestyle: Well given the title it's assumed that it's supposed to imitate freestyling in the backseat of a car. Another one of those songs where the lyrics aren't really for me but again I can see where they might come from given we already learnt women and sex were the main things on Kendrick's mind when he was a teen. The Art of Peer Pressure: I like the groove at the beginning, I will admit that. The switch up definitely is a contrasting change that breaks it down. The lyrics that talk about Kendrick hitting a blunt despite him usually being drug-free, get the message of the title of the song across. It was all peer pressure, because he was with his homies. Money Trees: I'll probably have to listen this a few times, probably look up the lyrics as well. But it sounds really good and a vibe. The voice mail coming back around with Kendrick's mom sounding more impatient and just telling Kendrick to come back really paints the picture that the family only have the one car that belongs to the mom. Poetic Justice: Aight the first minute is good, I like it. It's got a certain vibe of it that feels like I would have a nice drink to. Drake in it tho :/ look I know this was in 2012, but listening to this in the big 2026. Even back then he sounds lowkey mid. Actually, the whole song is nice like that. But it really is that one Drake segment that takes a mark off. good kid: Immediately I fuck with the beat and opening. I think the lyrics are really good as well. I like the rhythm and rhyme. It's an overall vibe that I can see myself digging into. M.A.A.D. City: Okay when I heard the opening I did not realize that's where that old sound came from. Well, that's something new I learnt. But the contrast between "good kid" & "M.A.A.D. City" is really well done, especially with how they got back to back. The lyrics are another one that goes hard and fire despite how dark they are. I'm starting to see why people praise Kendrick so highly and how he kept on winning awards. The song switching half way is another thing I dig, not even mentioning the breakdown it goes into. Again, the lyrics are dark as all hell and kind of sobering. I never had to deal with gang violence because, like stated in the very beginning of this, I'm white. Not even in the US, I'm across the Atlantic Blue off in Europe. Yeah you hear quite a bit about drugs, and even on the very rare occasion gun violence. But it's definitely a lot more tamer than the US. I never once had to deal with gang or gun violence, but even my heart felt a bit heavy hearing Kendrick talk about that one part about shooting someone when he was 16. Swimming Pools: I can see how this might tie back to "The Art of Peer Pressure" with how it's the peer pressure to drink about "swimming pool full of liquor, and they dive in it". Constantly mentioning drinking, like you'd expect from a party like that. The final extended part of the song also really sobers about failure, the bottom of the bottle, and the gunshots that follow in the dialogue that someone's brother got shot and died. Sing About Me / I'm Dying of Thirst: Despite the beat and Hip Pop/ Rap, the lyrics really are sobering all over again. It's obvious it's about losing someone early. And the part about women and how they end up ruined due to the system they get put in, even if a bit crude and vulgar, it is a really ugly reality that sobers. That sometimes you gotta take off the rose tinted glasses and look yourself in the mirror. I think that's just how I would describe the entire album as: Sobering. I think the longer I sit here listening to this album, the more clearer my vision feels as I feel more sobered up despite me never even putting my mouth to the edge of an alcohol bottle in my life. And then Dying of Thirst kicks in and now it feels even more depressing and grounding almost. Makes me realize how much safer I actually am, that I never had to deal with losing someone in such a tragic way. How much I've taken a lot of things for granted. How lucky I actually am despite how unfortunate I might think of myself to be at times. Real: How do we go from sobering to god damn ecstasy. From Loss and Death, to Love and how it can hurt despite trying to be your real, true self. To open up and put your heart out there only for it just get cut and bruised. With the pace and how the lyrics go, it feels like thoughts that run through your mind in that moment of consciousness and clearness you have before it's gone just as quick and sudden as it appeared. Compton: Honestly after the entire album and the emotional ride it took me for, I was just slowly nodding and bobbing my head to the beat. And I think after going from the last few tracks, I like this ending. It's like embracing home and coming back to it, even if I've never in my life been to Compton, nor the US in general. The final lyrics of the track being: "Mom, I finna use the van real quick! Be back, 15 minutes!, looping back around to the beginning track of the album, it's a neat touch I really appreciate. Final Thought: I can see why this album is so well loved, I think I finally get why so many people adore Kendrick for his music, and it just might be a crime it took me so long to listen to this album. Or maybe it's not, maybe I just needed to wait for this album to come to me instead, to find me at the time when I might've been ready enough to listen to it, and actually understand it, even to what might've been my understanding of it (aka, something that probably wasn't quite right, but it got the spirit).
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