How Kendrick Lamar Used Cultural Hatred to Teach Self Love

you texted me at 2:00 in the morning I feel like I'm Fallen why do you feel that [Music] way and I love my I want you look me you know I was typing the title of this video into my phone and every time that I would put you down it would autocorrect to I and I don't know there's something poetic about that I have wanted to make a video about to pimp a butterfly for almost 2 years now I mean shouldn't every video essay Channel make a video about this album at some point and I've thought really hard about it written multiple scripts I've even recorded portions of what would be a video someday but I don't know I just feel So Unworthy I mean I don't know this is the most talked about concept album of all time can I really write a retrospective That's Unique in any capacity at this point I couldn't answer that question and so I refrained from writing about this for years but after a lot of thought and reflection and digging even deeper into this album than I could have ever imagined I think there's something that I feel like rarely gets addressed with this project and that's relationships to pipa butterfly is complex and layered and hard to wrap up in one sentence but it really does ultimately boil down to relationships between different parties of people and the factors that influence each individual's approach to them whether those reasons Are For Better or For Worse there's black people and their surroundings America and its subordinates artists and their fans but above all these interwoven connections is the number one relationship driving them all and that is the relation to ourselves the lifelong struggle of Duality I settled on starting what's going to end up being a video series on to pimpa Butterfly where I'll examine these relationships and the statement that this narrative makes about how we can see out a positive change or growth in our own lives in first and foremost what's most convicting to me about this project is that we have to settle our self-hatred and trust me I get it if that's you it's not easy loving you is complicated to really understand what fuels the emotional train wreck that happens in this project we have to take a look at the track list in its most specific context that being Kendrick's inwardly focused perception of his surroundings or in other words we're looking at the way Kendrick is reacting to in his own articulation being pimped and the album opens in what I think is a really unexpected fashion the first leg is kind of I don't know self-indulgent I mean this is Kendrick we're talking about he's universally considered one of the most poetic humble and articulate rappers of all time and the first intrinsically Focus track on this project is about his genitals and for the longest time I thought the purpose of this track was to provide a general illustration of how Kendrick's culture interacts with each other think of the implications of we cry together and that might be a peripheral intention of the song but the more I think about it the deeper this idea becomes the sequence from for free to these walls is an essential heart preparation for where you is going to eventually take us because these songs illustrate the idea the truth the promise that absolute power corrupts absolutely or at least in Kendrick's case the illusion of absolute power and that illusion is really just a self-made fallacy compensating for insignificance for free and King counta see Kendrick's ego trip following his massive success Fame and money portraying himself as an Untouchable rap Titan that has no time for the petty squabbles and escapades of the people in the hood they're the two most on the- noos songs on the entire album they pretty much illustrate Kendrick as someone who's too good for his surroundings and sees his roots as only something to belittle he's a hip-hop God that doesn't have time for anyone anymore because he's got better things to do but his time on Cloud9 is shortlived Once Upon a Time in this city So Divine called Westside Compton there stood a little niggaer he was 5 foot something God bless the kid took his on me to show this is what they said I suppos to do I'm looking at walk the C big money institutionalized is a sobering realization that Kendrick's upbringing his culture the place that he worked so hard to escape from is ingrained in him it's a brand and inoc escapable part of who he is a personality trait a compulsion it's an institution and it's one that he's a part of and these walls illustrates the destructiveness of what this institution forces you to chase I wish I could talk in depth about how deep these tracks are but all we really need to know for this video is that they're just so hopeless they just show that even if you make one of the greatest albums of all time make insane amounts of money be an A-list celebrity go as far away as you can from the place you wanted to ese from your entire life it still will never leave you and that distance that you can put between yourself and your roots will only ever be geographical this God complex it's not real it's just a coping mechanism for the fact that even though Kendrick feels like he's playing this game of life and winning he never had a chance in the first place and convincing himself that he was someone he's not just makes that reality hit that much worse [Music] you is my favorite song of all time the context under which the track is written doesn't apply to me but I think everyone including myself can relate to self-hatred I don't want to go into detail about the specifics of what Kendrick is facing here socially and politically because I have no credibility to relate to or understand those forms of Oppression I have no stake in that conversation however I can understand fully embody and try my best to communicate what it's like to go through these emotional hula hoops that he's facing here there's one insecurity that lies at the heart of this song and by Consequence the entire album and it's one that we all struggle with at some point in one way or another it's the realization that what Kendrick has been chasing his entire life is what ended up making him betray the very Foundation of who he's supposed to be it's the first moments of realizing that his hard work his achievements his Fame is only a trade-off for failing the people closest to him it's knowing that his success really just fuels his worthlessness again there are implications here that I could never possibly relate to but I want to challenge you guys with this we've all been in this place mentally or emotionally or spiritually where we can look at something and say if I had that I would be happy or I would be satisfied or or I would be worth something because if we're honest with ourselves we all struggle with feeling like we're not enough every day and for Kendrick that's exactly what he wanted the social status that has now given him the chance to be a sexual trophy to be the king of Hip Hop or to be someone that people look at and are jealous of it's something we've all chased and betrayed in one way or another but that self-indulgence is really just a Fool's errand because Cloud doesn't really mean anything it's just something to pump our ego and make us feel important but what does that mean for the people who already think that we [Music] are are you the reason why Mom and them leaving no you ain't [ __ ] you say you love them I know you don't mean it I know you her responsible selfish and deny you can't help in your trials and tribulations a burden everyone felt this verse pulls the most emotion for me of any song I've ever heard it's exactly how I felt so many times in my life Kendrick rhymes about all the people he's failed his family his friends back home including someone who was shot while Kendrick was on tour and then and then gu himself and say you [ __ ] failed you ain't try [Music] I remember you were conflicted misusing your influence sometimes I did the same abusing my power full of resentment that turned into a deep depression I found myself screaming in a hotel room this is the portion of the coincided sister poem to the album that's read right before you and it reflects this character Arc that Kendrick is on here influence is seductive it's a drug it makes you feel like you're the most important person in the world which will only make the moments where reality hits you be that much more sobering I heard a sermon this summer where the person giving it brought up names of these really record-breaking basketball players or entertainers or politicians and he asked people in the room to raise their hands if they knew who they were for example he put up Carl Malone's name who is the third all-time leading NBA scorer and I think two out of 30 people knew who he was and one of them was me he then put up Ed asner's name who has won the most Emmys only one person knew him and then he told a story about his Grandpa about how his grandpa was modest he worked a 9in to-5 job that was boring he didn't do anything super crazy like playing the NBA but he told him when he was a kid that the only way to have a good day is to help one of person and he now lives by that and it was that comment that made him the most important person in his entire life and it's weird to think about some of the most decorated people in the most popular Industries in the world being irrelevant to most of us and yet someone who is completely unimportant to you might mean more than the entire world to me and I personally would rather reach one person deeply and truly than reach a lot of people insignificantly and I tell that story because I think I got lucky hearing this as a young adult where Kendrick learned the hard way that well Legacy it's pretty overrated so often we extract value from others where we need as many people as possible to say that we are good at what we do or wise or funny or valuable in some kind of way to feel like we matter and that's why Fame and success is so enticing but chasing these things with our entire being will do nothing except make us fail those who are actually important and for Kendrick Lamar it took everything falling apart for him to realize this what is like is he supposed to be I've made such an impact on all these people and yet I failed the one's closest how can I possibly still have [Music] value oh [ __ ] the most dense leg of the project surrounds mama and how much a dollar costs which are ultimately humbling moments for Kendrick that force him to look at Value from a different angle he's depressed and suicidal and he hates himself and he needs to learn why how can you be so wise and knowledgeable yet can't figure out self-love for sale offers the most appealing of solutions which is 4 minutes of Kendrick being tempted by the devil but then mama is a turning point it's an epiphany Kendrick returns home he enters with the same attitude that he held at the start of the project albeit a bit more edgy and reserved he believes that he has the answers and needs to give his hood the solutions to the problems they're facing that he has overcome in fact one of my favorite verses in the entire album is just Kendrick making a bunch of statements that with I know everything which sets up the powerful moment that ends the track he has this moment or a vision where he has a conversation with his younger self and he's disappointed in him for betraying who he is for switching up for not finding what he really wanted which is the ability to truly love oh I really wish I could talk more in depth about this song but it's a turning point in the project because Kendrick's new character goal is to figure out where along the line he lost his ability to love and that is why how much a dollar cost is truly hard to swallow in this moment Kendrick has an encounter with a homeless man and he can't seem to muster up the grace to give him but $1 and the story is convicting I mean how many times have we walked by homeless people without a Second Glance hoping that they're not going to follow us begging for whatever we have in our wallet well the Homeless Man reveals himself to be God and threatens Kendrick's spot in heaven because of his selfishness and greed and that's what's holding him back it's not necessarily the money it's the self-indulgence the need to be important the secular desires and motivations keeping Kendrick from valuing others higher than himself he doesn't really care about the money he just cares about the status that comes with it and what his money says about him to everyone else just like how the homeless man's situation said a thousand words to Kendrick that he just made up off of stereotypes deeming him Unworthy of getting a dollar and so that's what we need to do if we can find a way to Value others more than ourselves ironically we can learn self [Music] Lov a clown guess I'm not all what it's meant to be shades of gr will never change if I can turn his face help me change to my WR [Music] and I might sound confident but I think it's more so Kendrick trying to speak it into existence the line everybody lacks confidence is said with a lot of conviction and is Central to the point that the track makes the song is uncharacteristically jubilant it's actually fun and Kendrick is doing a stick here that he never has and likely never will go for again and it sounds phony and this is clearly the point it's anthemic but simple confident yet shallow he says over and over and over How He Loves loves himself but he doesn't go into any detail until he has to Kendrick as he performs the song of positivity and love in the face of hate finds that his sentiment is falling on death [Music] ears the album version of this song sees Kendrick breaking up a fight in the middle of a performance to encourage his listeners to stop fighting over Petty things which is a remarkable expression of growth considering the first leg of the project showcasing Kendrick doing exactly that and he comes through with a spoken word bit at the end that wraps up his understanding of selflove in a conceptual fashion as he comments on the use of the n-word he points out Society has created stigmas and connotations that come with the n-word that make its usage paradoxical it's become a slang phrase which is meant to inspire camaraderie among black people but it can't help but result back in its original intention which was to destroy relationships it's the same institutionalization that led to Kendrick's need to embody the rich and famous rapper he's becoming it's the oppressive power in the world that created the self-hatred Kendrick took the entire project to figure out it's symbolic of the entire problem we've been facing today and yet it's the solution yeah self-hatred is taught and these problems are generational and inescapable to an extent but that doesn't mean we can't overcome it it might take pain and sorrow it might be uncomfortable you might need to be rich and famous and be threatened with losing your soul in order to do it but if we can realize that we are victim to our surroundings and then transcend our influences we can learn self Lov I've said it a few times already but I'll reiterate again that I can't relate to what this song is about but what I can relate to is being humbled realizing that the narratives the ideals the lifestyle that I am propagating isn't all it's cracked up to be having to deal with the fact that whoever I'm with will always be more important than those who would comment on my YouTube YouTube videos or my blog posts or whatever public face I have trying to inspire them because I've misused my influence I've held that resentment to pimpa Butterfly speak so intricately of and to be honest I hate myself for it my regret eats at me it takes away any credibility I might claim it undermines my confidence but I will not let that be the end of the story maybe that's where you are right now in some ways I think I still am but I'm working on it I hope that one day I'll get to a place where I can truly just come to those I care about with my influences and share the best parts instead of the worst because we can let our reference points control us or we can grab a hold of them gently nurture the good side of it with love and let it grow to take every single part of it good and bad and make it something better I mean after all that's what life is that's how you win you get pimped over and over and over again into a cocoon retreating into your darkest place the most insignificant of forms until eventually if you're one of the lucky ones you emerge better prettier a butterfly and so all that's left now is to preach the sermon n s said with me or say no more black stars can come and get me take it from opal Winfrey tell her she Right on Time Kendrick Lamar by far real Nas a I don't think I have enough time for that one so I guess you'll just have to join me in my next to pimpa Butterfly video thanks for watching guys I felt that pressure in Compton looking at the responsibility I have over these kids the world started turning into a place where where so many were getting no justice you got to step up to the plate mortal man is not me saying I can be your hero mortal man is me questioning do you really believe in me to do this this

Channel: Jackson's Music Palate

Views: 32,134

Keywords: kendrick lamar, kendrick lamar u, kendrick lamar i, kendrick lamar to pimp a butterfly, to pimp a butterfly reaction, to pimp a butterfly review, kendrick lamar god is gangsta

Id: 23gzzIyla1w

Length: 19min 0sec (1140 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 12 2023