HE begins every verse on this song from the point of view of an African American angered by the destruction of black lives, it is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. The original phrase, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” was a positive affirmation of blackness. However, the final line of the chorus reverses this positivity by reworking the phrase as a justification for racial profiling. He lists typical physical characteristics associated with Africans in order to describe his ancestry, followed by lines such as “You hate me don’t you?” which questions peoples attitudes towards black people. On The Blacker the Berry, Kendrick explores what it means to be black in today’s society. The two most standout songs to me, on a track list of standouts are ‘The Blacker the Berry’ and ‘How much a Dollar cost’. This is also the case on the track ‘I’ which is very self-affirming and powerful in its own way and then that is completely contrasted in the song ‘u’. ‘King Kunta’ which was the first big single off the album, shows him confidently claiming his place at the top of the rap game, speaking of his success and influence and then this is brought back down to earth on the track ‘Institutionalized’ where there is a realization that his sketchy past still lives within him. It is a heavily political record right from the get go, ‘Wesley’s theory’ condemns the appeal of capitalism and he is constantly going from high to low throughout. The canvas that Kendrick spits over is no longer just Compton, but America at large and there is a different theme dissected in each track.
The excerpts of 2Pac’s conversation are taken from an interview in 1994, just in case you thought Tupac had come back from the dead…! In this seven minutes, the pair discuss black culture, racism, fame and how Kendrick is the next new voice in a long line of leaders. What starts off as a 4 or so minute poem about loyalty and how he wants fans to stick by him no matter what: “When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?” ends with a 7 minute long interview with the last king of the genre Tupac Shakur. Mandela is a huge influence on the album’s closer ‘Mortal Man’ where Kendrick sums up the record with a jaw dropping 12 minute track. Not only is the thematic direction of it so good, inspired from Lamar’s tour of historic sites during his visit to South Africa, such as Mandela’s jail cell on Robben Island, it also features a ton of guest appearances from well known artists, including Pharrell Williams, Thundercat, Snoop Dogg and production from the likes of Dr Dre. In many ways, that is what makes this record so special, it is devastating and unrivalled in its scope. He is breaking down in a hotel room in this song, which is mentioned in tiny little epilogues at the end of most tracks on the album, highlighting its importance. You can almost picture his face throughout, he is in excruciating pain and its haunting. He ends the track rapping about his friend who died in Compton in 2013. He is raging and breaking down speaking of his inner torment, complacency and self-loathing. On the incredible track ‘u’ his own depressed state is put on show.
Lyrically, the album features themes concerning racial inequality, African-American culture, discrimination and even his own depression. No one expected Kendrick to go down the route of making Jazz based political music but that’s what he did. The real question after Good Kid’s release, was where does he go from here? It was thought that by many he may go down a more commercial radio ready tunnel but Butterfly is far from that. It didn’t quite make him the household name like he is today but it is regarded as one of hip-hop’s finest works to this day. This record was a serious step up from his previous work and pin pointed him as an important figure in his genre. Good Kid was a classic in itself, a semi-autobiographical concept album about his life and upbringing, gang culture and Compton life. Kendrick’s follow up to Good Kid MAAD City was always going to be challenging one. They are in my eyes 10/10 masterpieces and the first one I am taking a look back on is Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly from 2015. I’ll be picking out 3 records that were and still remain special to me. As we approach Christmas time, it felt appropriate to dedicate the week to reviewing some all time classic albums to me.