0:00 The video starts off by being black and white as well as showing sights of New Orlean. A bridge can be seen with a city in the background, and the houses that many live in.
0:14 Kendrick can be heard screaming in a tunnel that is completely dark except for the lights that are in the tunnel.
0:33 Kendrick starts off with a poem and in the background shows graffiti. A African American teen can be seen in the next cut lying on the floor.
0:46 We start to see police patrolling the area both on foot and in air.
0:53 Cars are on fire a white woman was crying African Americans breaking cars and stealing.
1:18 Kendrick Lamar and his friends are throwing money in the air, drinking, and are destroying cars.
1:28 A African American teen is running away from a group of people in all black.
1:31 A man is being detained by cops and tries to run away, but the cop pulls out his gun and shoots a bullet.
1:55 Kendrick Lamar is seen driving a car with his friends jamming along to his song.
2:33 The car is not actually driving, it is being lifted and moved by cops.
2:41 Kendrick sings:
“Alls my life I has to fight, n****
Alls my life I
Hards times like, yah…”
Being a African American born into poverty Kendrick Lamar did not have anything growing up as a little kid. He had to push through obstacles in order to get to where he is now.
2:43 A car is doing donuts as well as drifting around a cop car and they have been doing it for awhile as seen by the marks on the floor.
2:48 A person is seen levitating above the street.
2:57 The songs goes:
“But if god got us, then we gon be alright
N****, we gon be alright
N****, we gon be alright
What this can mean is that religion is important to him and if he keeps doing what is acceptable within his religious boundaries then everything will turn out alright at the end not just for him but for his community as well.
3:10 Kendrick Lamar is the man floating. I am not completely sure why but it may be the fact that he made it out of poverty and going back to a area where it is similar to what has occurred to him back in compton he is seen as this man who is able to overcome the obstacle and is able to help the community out in order to live a better life.
3:21 Kendrick is singing with a group of both African American and Latino American that live in poverty are facing racial discrimination.
3:40 In the music video there is a stack of speakers with people dancing in front of it. It thought this was mostly about his culture and their love for dancing and music.
3:53 Kendrick is still levitating going from street to street. Seems as if he is checking on the people of New Orlean. Being in that stance makes it seem like he is there protector.
4:12 Kenrick is seen upside down while the rest are rightside up. I believe this can symbolize the disorder that is going on within the city.
4:42 Kendrick sings:
“ Digging in my pocket, aint a profit big enough to feed you”
It seems as if something has caught Kendrick and made him waste a lot of his money and he seems to really regret it because of words like “digging” sounds aggressive within this context. Digging into someone’s pocket is seen as rude and making the thing dig into his pocket shows that it is evil and is something he does not like.
5:54 A cop shots Kendrick with his fingers shaped as a gun instead of using the gun he pulled out from his car. This can mean that guns are not the only thing cops can use to ruin a African Americans life when they also deal with the racism and the prejudice of America.
6:07 Kendrick ends with the same poem he began with while falling off a street lamp.
6:40 Even after the shot was fired Kendrick smiles
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Great song choice! Especially for times like these with the BLM movement in full swing, songs like this are extremely impactful.
I really like this song and your analysis of it. In the beginning, I was wondering if it was the right video because it seemed like a documentary. But your commentary kept me on track. It’s an amazing song with so much to unpack and you did a great job at that.
Hey Masbah
I really enjoyed your interpretation of this song. Kendrick talks about a very important issue here and I think you did a nice job analyzing it. With everything going on right now with the BLM movement, I think your choice of subject is very appropriate.
Hello Masbah, great choice of song. Kendrick is always trying to make politically aware songs, so that’s what makes him one of the more elite rappers today. I think it’s a good song choice especially considering the circumstances going on
Hi Masbah, thanks for sharing. I never this song before but I really like it. I find this music video reflects a lot of the racial discrimination issues going on today. It is undeniable that this problem is difficult to solve but as of today we still don’t see much change. For the core assignment, I think you relate the song with the BLM movement which is happening year.
This song proves that the problem in America has been an American problem for as long as time can tell NOTHING has changed for the better. THE TIME IS NOW, America, stand together and make a change for a the better. thanks for sharing
Hey Masbah!
I was so tempted to write about this song, but I knew that someone else would also do it.
At 3:10 I also think that when Kendrick is flying around it might be a reference to his new socioeconomic status. And the fact that people on the ground are staring at him, it might mean that he is their only hope. It feels like at some point they were worshipping him. Waiting on him to save them.
At 6:40, when Kendrick smiles after being shot, I feel like he’s telling us he can die for his people. He’s what the streets can call “a ride or die”.
I like how you’ve talked about the many biblical references portaying his faith in God.