Works Consulted

Ahmed, Insanul. “The Making of Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d. city.” Complex Magazine. 23 Oct. 2012. Web

Bederman, Gail. Manliness & Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Connolly, Paul and Michaela Kennan. “Harassment in the White Hinterlands: Minority Ethnic Children and Parents’ Experiences of Schooling in Northern Ireland”. British Journal of Sociology of Education 23.3 (2002), P.341-355.

Conroy, John. Belfast Diary: War as a Way of Life. Boston: Beacon, 1987. Print.

Doherty, Paul and Michael A.  Poole. “Ethnic Residential Segregation in Belfast, Northern Ireland”. Geographical Review 87.4 (1997), pp. 520-536.

Ghansah, Rachel Kaadzi. “When the Lights Shut Off: Kendrick Lamar and the Decline of the Black Blues Narrative.”Accessed 11 Dec. 2014.  http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/when-the-lights-shut-off-kendrick-lamar-and-the-decline-of-the-black-blues-narrative

Gilmore, Glenda Elizabeth. Gender & Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Gormally, Brian, et al. “Criminal Justice in a Divided Society: Northern Ireland Prisons”. Crime and Justice 17.1 (1993), pp. 51-135.

“Jake Burns From Stiff Little Fingers Interview.” Interview by Dave Jennings. Http://louderthanwar.com. N.p., 03 Mar. 2013. Web.

Kaplan, Jonathan, and Andrew Valls. “Housing Discrimination As A Basis For Black Reparations.”In Public Affairs Quarterly 21, no. 3 (July 2007): 255-273.

Katz, Michael B., Mark J. Stern, and Jamie J. Fader. “The New African American Inequality.” In TheJournal of American History 92, no. 1 (June 2005): 75-108.

Kitwana, Bakari. The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African AmericanCulture. New York: BasicCivitas Books, 2002.

Link, Roland. Kicking Up a Racket: The Story of Stiff Little Fingers 1977-1983. Belfast: Apple Tree, 2009. Print.

MacLaverty, Bernard. Cal. New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc., 1983. Print.

McKittrick, David & McVea, David. Making Sense of the Troubles. London: Viking. 2012.

Moore, Ryan. “Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction.”In The Communication Review 7 (2004): 305-327.

Straus, Emily E. Death of a Suburban Dream: Race and Schools in Compton, California. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.

 

The Songs

This is the starter page for our project. Please select what Kendrick Lamar or Stiff Little Fingers song you would like to explore first. From there, you can use the hyperlinks to guide you through the remainder of the content.
Enjoy!

To examine what sources were used to inform our interpretations refer to our works consulted page.

Selections from Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City:”

“Backseat Freestyle”

“The Art of Peer Pressure”

“Money Trees”

“Good Kid”

“m.A.A.d City”

“Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst”

“Compton”

Selections from Stiff Little Fingers’ “Inflammable Material:”

“Here We Are Nowhere”

“Wasted Life”

“No More of That”

“White Noise”

“Law and Order”

“Alternative Ulster”

“Closed Groove”

 

“Money Trees”

 

‘Money Trees’ deals with issues Lamar finds living in an oppressed area of society, regarding how he identifies himself outside the paradigm of violence he lives within. There is also the issue of authenticity and how Lamar views his hip-hop heritage.

There is an interesting dichotomy in some of Lamar’s work that indicates a loyalty and pride in where he comes from, without condoning the inherent violence and crime. This is expressed in the first verse with seemingly contradictory lines. “Home invasion was persuasive, From nine to five I know it’s vacant, ya bish/Dreams of living life like rappers do, Back when condom wrappers wasn’t cool.” This line offers pieces of heritage that are negative, involving crime and misogynistic bad sex ed. This is followed at the end of the verse with, “You looking like an easy come up, ya bish/ A silver spoon I know you come from, ya bish, And that’s a lifestyle we never knew.” While this is aimed at people putting on an urban act, it reveals a sense of pride in coming from a difficult situation.

There is also a tension on Lamar from different sides in society. He is presented with two options for survival, working with the unfavorable oppressive government, “What else is a thug to do, When you eatin’ cheese from the government”, or falling in the violence and crime all around him, “Them serpents lurking, blood Bitches selling pussy, niggas selling drugs, but it’s all good.” The title, Money Trees, seems to be Lamar’s option out of such a dire situation. As Lamar states, “Money trees is the perfect place for shade,” and there is some acknowledgement that the only reprieve from the scorching violence of an oppressive situation is by means of capital. Ultimately this puts Lamar in a situation where obtaining wealth may compromise his heritage, but he rationalized this in the chorus, “Everybody gon’ respect the shooter, but the one in front of the gun lives forever.”

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“Alternative Ulster”

 

Alternative Ulster” is the signature track off of Inflammable Material, carrying enough cultural influence to have a Belfast based music magazine name after it. Similar to other songs on Inflammable Material, “Alternative Ulster” deals with identity issues that arise from living in an oppressive and sectarian society, as well as authenticity issues that come from living in a violent and oppressive situation.

‘Alternative Ulster’ Single Cover

The last stanza addresses identity in the all-encompassing ideological stand off of Northern Ireland. “They say they’re a part of you, But that’s not true you know/They say they’ve got control of you, And that’s a lie you know/ They say you will never be free.” This is a call to resist any possible inherited obligation to engage with The Troubles in an extremist way. The chorus also supports individual choice, offering alternatives for Ulster as being within reach and also rejecting ubiquitous reactionary militarism: “An Alternative Ulster, Grab it change it it’s yours/Get an Alternative Ulster, Ignore the bores and their laws/ Get an alternative Ulster, Be an anti-security force.” Ignoring “the bores and their laws” is referential to sectarian legislature, but also a nihilistic punk genre motif as well.

“Alternative Ulster” also deals with issues of authenticity while living in Northern Ireland. The first stanza includes some lines concerned with a lack of authentic existence; due to not belonging either entirely to Ireland or England. “Nothin’ for us in Belfast, the Pound’s so old it’s a pity/OK, there’s the trident in Bangor, Then we walk back to the city.” Referring to the Pound as old indicates a lack of necessity for England for the people in Ulster. This brings to light interactions between England and Northern Ireland in the early 20th century, where England viewed Unionist Northern Ireland as “a particularly tiresome problem, apt to be a nuisance.”* Walking to Bangor is also mentioned, and this is referential to the wealthiest town in Northern Ireland, which even during The Troubles was an idealistic Irish tourist town. This ideal of Ireland is not however sustainable and the realities of sectarian Ulster must be returned to. By rejecting both ties to a “traditional Ireland” and England, Stiff Little Fingers vie for authenticity in a unique created space.

Despite the institutionalized violence and oppression present in Northern Ireland, it is not condoned in any manner: “Take a look where you’re livin’, You got the Army on your street, and the RUC dog of repression, Is barking at your feet.” Ulster is defended as being capable of authentic experience. The chorus also states, “Alter your native Ulster, Alter your native land.” While it may not seem important, the usage of “your native” calls for genuine pride in Ulster, and alludes to ideas on Lamar’s “Compton,” standing out on an album filled with mostly scathing mockery of a difficult situation.

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*McVea and McKittrick (28)

“Compton”

Kendrick Lamar’s song “Compton” is a shout out to west coast hip-hop heritage and suggests a sense authenticity that comes from creating an identity in an oppressive situation. Authenticity in Lamar’s music comes from establishing ties firmly with traditional hip-hop sound, which is not only heard on “Compton,” but also from identifying with grandfather figures from the 1980s such as N.W.A. and their massively influential first album titled, “Straight Outta Compton.” Dr. Dre is featured on the track and alternates verses with Lamar.

nwa
An image of the rap group that introduced Compton and its troubles to the American public.

Identity and authenticity are both derived from the city of Compton, despite the excessive violence and crime. Lamar makes his adoration of Compton clear with the song hook, which repeats throughout the song, “Compton, Compton, Ain’t no city quite like mine.” Although violence is neither condoned nor embraced it is assimilated into one’s identity by merely living in Compton. Lamar takes pride in being from, “the murder cap,” and invites the listener to know where he comes from: “So come and visit, the tires screeching, Ambulance, policeman/Won’t you spend a weekend on Rosecrans nigga?” This invitation is aware of the violent nature and reputation of Compton, but indicates something deeper.

Most interestingly in “Compton” is how the violent and oppressive conditions in Compton seem to foster an area for musical out put. Lamar is aware of the unique space his music creates and exists in, but also how it can be powerful – “It’s controversy and hate, Harsh realities we in, Made our music translate.” Lamar also mentions the power of a new record can have, “I’m sure it’s bigger than your religion, perfected by niggas that manifested music to live in.” It is clear that Lamar takes pride in his music, being an alternative voice for the disenfranchised.

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“Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst”

“Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” is the 10th track off of Lamar’s album. The track runs just over 12 minutes, and accordingly covers a lot of themes. Three different voices and characters  are offered during the narrative, each verse containing different perspectives of Compton and cover four distinct themes. The first deals with violence and the connection with identity, the second with a female voice and through that different views on masculinity, and the third offers a stream-of-conscious view of an isolated character, lost in his own thoughts. Ending the track is a skit, a throwback to classic hip-hop albums, a way for the artist to give a shout-out to the heritage of hip-hop.

The first character recounts the death of his little brother the previous night. The narrator gets his revenge – “A demon glued to my back whispering, ‘Get em’ / I got em, and I ain’t give a fuck.” The implied violent retaliation is more menacing than a lyric detailing the revenge killing. This depiction of violence seems a bit over the top at first but later the narrator admits “I’m proud and well devoted / This piru shit been in me forever / So forever I’mma push it.” Retaliatory violence is nothing new to this character; its a part of him, he takes pride in it and when his family became involved his reaction was one that he was comfortable with. Violence is how the character defines himself and his situation. Violence as a defining factor of life comes forward in Stiff Little Fingers’ “Law and Order“ as well, but where the Belfast group deals with the brutality of the law regularly, Lamar’s character adheres to a street law that seems to be even more brutal. Stiff Little Fingers just gets beaten by those that are supposed to protect them, while the first voice of “Sing About Me” ends up being presumably shot dead in retaliation for the revenge killing he participated in, creating a cycle of death. His identity was defined by violence, and now it has been snuffed out by violence as well.

This idea of a perpetuation of death is echoed in Stiff Little Fingers’ “No More of That” as well, with the final lines remaining poignant to Lamars’s story as well:

The man who pulls the trigger’s not to blame

He’s only playing their deadly game

And he knows he just can’t win

Or someone else will pull the trigger on him.

These lyrics could have easily followed the final line of Lamar’s first verse, operating as an epitaph.

The second voice is a female character, one whose interactions with the males in her life critique the views on traditional masculinity. She explicitly talks about the men her life paying her for sex, cheating on their wives with her in their cars, passing her around to friends and family members. Her narrative certainly does not paint her in a positive light, but whereas her actions stem from desperation and necessity, the men are all driven by lust. With this verse comes Lamar’s critique on masculinity, showcasing exploitation. Here men are not supporters or stand-up guys but users and abusers. Further critique comes in the form of “her’”reference to the 2-Pac track “Brenda’s Got a Baby” in which a young preteen girl has a child. Her father “was a junkie” who was not there for her and the father of this child is not around. Lamar uses this 90s title drop to show that there is a history of this exploitation, that this form of immoral male behavior has been present in previous generations too, a heritage of warped masculinity that continues.

The third voice is a character talking/thinking to himself, introspecting. He is alone with his thoughts, and the monologue is at times worrying – “I suffer a lot / And every day the glass mirror get tougher to watch / I tie my stomach in knots / And I’m sure not why I’m infatuated with death / My imagination is surely an aggravation of threats.” These thoughts of uncertainty portray an aloneness and isolation reminiscent of lines from Stiff Little Fingers’ “Here We Are Nowhere” – “Here we are nowhere maybe that’s where we belong.” Identity is rooted in isolation here, a single figure contemplating his worth and his meaning. This uncertainty and unhappiness portrayed here are really a reflection of all adolescence, whether it be Cal in Bernard MacLaverty’s novel  or Lamar in his decision to portray his heritage as “my angry adolescence divided.”

The line on an “infatuation with death” echoed loudly when we read it, immediately brings us to Stiff Little Fingers’ “Barbed Wire Love.” While the most prevalent theme of this track is the relationship between love and pain, this particular line from Lamar’s song brings a nihilistic worry that the themes of isolation do not quite reach. The characters in “Here We Are Nowhere” and Cal are certainly alienated but Lamar’s character in this final verse seems to be a step further in the wrong direction.

For all characters, identity is struggle: a struggle to find a balance of violence, a struggle against misguided sense of masculinity, a struggle to end a perpetuation of heritage, or a struggle to use alone time to think proactively and not get caught up in everything and lose faith. The ending skit shuns the perpetuation of the past; most hip-hop skits are based in comedy but here Lamar uses a skit to further his concept of the struggle for identity, tying together the themes explored in the previous verses to close a bleak take on identity across all types o f individuals.

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“Backseat Freestyle”

Kendrick Lamar presents several versions of himself on “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City.” The album’s songs can be understood as vignettes that characterize several aspects of Lamar’s identity. Tracks either frame Lamar as a follower or as an individual who has been alienated by police and gang violence. Stiff Little Fingers manipulates language to expose its absurdity while Lamar utilizes it to display his macho bravado. “Backseat Freestyle,” alludes to nights spent with friends driving around Compton, expressing their confidence by freestyle rapping.

There are issues in Lamar’s content however. There are several phallic images and misogynistic statements that Lamar makes. For example, in the song’s hook, Lamar states, “All my life I want money and power / respect my mind or die from lead shower / I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower / So I can fuck the world for seventy-two hours.” This hook plays on multiple masculine tropes–intellect, violence, and virility. The song goes on to describe several ways in which Lamar exceeds in comparison to his peers, using masculine ideals as the basis for his supremacy. Lamar continues his macho assertion in the song’s bridge: “Goddamn I got bitches, damn I got bitches / Damn I got bitches, wifey, girlfriend and mistress.”   Yet, the imagery Lamar is invoking is not revolutionary in hip-hop. Hip-hop is known for intense misogyny, phallic language, and objectification of women in music videos. Lamar, in his own video, pays homage to this trope, promoting it as an authentic component to his music.

While hip-hop’s misogyny is problematic it reflects a deeper aspect of African-American living. In the beginning of the 20th century, when it was necessary for whites to re-imagine how America’s racial hierarchy functioned, Southern white men used gender to delegitimize African-Americans. These attacks were directly targeted at African-American men. In the south, for example, white men developed the notion of the “New White Man,” claiming it was a white man’s duty to protect white women from the hypersexuality of black men.

lynching
A pamphlet produced by the NAACP challenging individuals to think about the consequences of lynching and the South’s “black male rapist” narrative.

The fear of “black male rapists” emerged from this narrative, resulting in the lynching and castration of several black men in the South wrongfully accused of raping white women. Thus, hip-hop and its misogynistic language crudely reclaims the masculinity that was deprived by the country’s white male supremacy. Indeed, according to historian Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, black men facing the “New White Man” had to “constantly…prove their manhood in order to maintain civil rights, even if they could never prove it to whites’ satisfaction.” Lamar’s misogyny illustrates Gilmore’s claim and perpetuates the African-American male necessity to constantly prove their manhood. Lamar’s lyrics and hip-hop’s content, therefore, illustrate the emasculating qualities of oppression.

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“The Art of Peer Pressure”

“The Art of Peer Pressure” is the track that proceeds “Backseat Freestyle.” In our discussion of “Backseat Freestyle,” it was stated that Lamar used macho and phallic language to assert his bravado. The selfishness of “Backseat Freestyle” is juxtaposed with the selflessness of “The Art of Peer Pressure.” This track is the first on “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City” where Lamar gives a story about his experiences in Compton. “The Art of Peer Pressure,” according to Lamar, was meant “to take people on that ride, on that journey. It’s about being a teenager from L.A. and being influenced by your peers and who you’re hanging out with.” Lamar tries to assert his individuality with “Backseat Freestyle” but is contrasted with “The Art of Peer Pressure” which describes Lamar’s tendency to act violently or out of character because of his peers.

rosecrans
An image of Rosecrans Ave in Compton, California. The street is referenced throughout “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City” and is personified by Lamar as a crucial character in his stories.

In Compton, there is a tension for individuals to assert their individuality while maintaining a certain group identity. Individuals are swayed between this tension and challenged to act with their peers while also defining themselves from their peers. Lamar finds it difficult to remain true to himself because of peer pressure, recognizing that their actions have altered his personality: “…I’ve never been violent, until I’m with the homies.” Thus explains Lamar participating in a home robbery conducted by his peers. Lamar is aware of his personal qualities and morals but because of his group affiliation acts uncharacteristically, knowing that his actions are wrong. The juxtaposition between “Backseat Freestyle” and “The Art of Peer Pressure” reveals this tension and illustrates Lamar as consciously aware of his moral depravity at the result of his peers.

20th century American racism transpired into multiple institutions. For example, in the 1930s and 1940s the Home Owner Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), which was developed to protect and check homeownership, a significant part of the nation’s wealth, discriminated against minorities. The HOLC and FHA were the institutions responsible for approving and distributing loans. In the 1930s and 1940s, several communities that were made up of minorities were “redlined” and were labeled “unsafe” to live in. As a result, this made it very difficult for minorities to receive loans for their homes and dissuaded outside individuals to move and economically develop that region. Moreover, most of these locations were in urban regions. Thus, these practices caused a demographic shift in the middle of the 20th century, leaving several minorities in urban locales and caused whites to move into suburbia.

redlining
A crude illustration depicting how redlining redefined urban space.

These geographic and demographic shifts comparmentalized minorities into urban regions. As a result these locations which were typically economically deprived developed an “us vs. them” mentality among its residents. Lamar’s ideas on “The Art of Peer Pressure” contradict Stiff Little Fingers’ “Here we Are Nowhere” which champions a group mentality surrounded around punk music. The hopelessness associated with these new spaces caused several in America to join together and act with a group mentality to challenge and become more mobile within these confining spaces. Hence, came the gang culture that developed in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Lamar’s home of Compton. The gang, group mentality resorted to violence and crimes to address the wrongs that were deprived of them because of their geography. Lamar’s “The Art of Peer Pressure” unconsciously reveals this history and displays an individual who, consequently, is alienated by this gang mentality.

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“Good Kid”

“Good Kid” is the first track on “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City” to discuss gang and police violence as well as Compton’s drug culture. The track is sequenced with the song “m.A.A.d City” which builds off and develops the ideas on “Good Kid.” Lamar’s tone on “Good Kid” is much more manic compared to other tracks on the album. The hook describes Lamar’s outlook on Compton’s violence and drug culture as a “mass hallucination,” where the Compton experience is one of murkiness and ambiguity. Lamar is conscience of these absurd structures, understanding that they repress his ability to think clearly: “Look inside these walls and you see I’m having withdraws / Of a prisoner on his way trapped inside your desire / To fire bullets that stray…” Violence and drugs have distorted Lamar’s reality and constructed psychological boundaries that limit him to live autonomously.

Violence in Compton is perpetuated by gangs and police corruption. Thus, there are two spheres of violence Lamar faces that complicate his reality. Lamar on “Good Kid’ details his harassment by members of the Crips and Bloods, violent rival gangs in South Central Los Angeles whose blue and red colors resemble the blue and red of police sirens. While Lamar uses two separate verses to describe his experiences with gang and police violence the blue and red motif allows him to conflate these two spheres of violence as one holistic experience. The end of the first verse refers to Compton’s gang culture and states, “But what am I supposed to do when the topic is red or blue / And you understand that I ain’t, but know I’m accustomed to,” while the end of the second verse references police corruption and claims, “But what am I supposed to do with the blinking of red and blue / Flash from the top of your roof and your dog has to say woof.” The verse that deals with police violence, however, assumes Lamar must have some sort of gang affiliation to be a citizen of Compton: “And you ask, ‘Lift up your shirt’ cause you wonder if a tattoo of affiliation can make it a pleasure to put me through / Gang files, but that don’t matter because the matter is racial profile.” This line reveals a severe challenge Lamar experiences in Compton. While he disapproves Crips and Bloods’ violence, their actions have to come represent a larger narrative among policemen that associate gang violence with black male identity. Therefore, because of Lamar’s blackness he is immediately assumed to be a suspicious and potentially violent figure.

Rodney King2(1)
A still of the Rodney King beating in March 1991–one of the most notorious incidents of police brutality in contemporary America.

Lamar’s psychological boundaries are further complicated by Compton’s drug culture. Drugs act as a coping mechanism to the violence Lamar experiences. Lamar, at the end of “Good Kid,” states “When violence is the rhythm, inspired me to obtain / The silence in this room with 20’s, Xannies and ‘shrooms.” The substances that reorder Lamar’s psychological boundaries are superficial and illustrate an individual who is unable to use their own agency to remove these structures. Lamar, however, is aware of this deficiency when he claims “The streets sure to release the worst side of my best,” knowing that these structures eliminate his ability to identify himself and have the autonomy to do so. Substance abuse does not reinforce these psychosomatic borders but, rather, illustrate Lamar’s inability to correctly address internal structures that are altered by social forces. This idea contradicts Stiff Little Fingers “Here We are Nowhere,” which states that individuals take the agency to effect their space and bodies utilizing the punk ethos. Lamar, unfortunately, is a jaded, internally inept individual who is self-consciously aware of the identity Compton proscribes to him. Lamar’s experiences with violence and drugs, opposed to Stiff Littler Fingers contempt for boredom, have left him in a much heavier and more complicated state of oppression.

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“m.A.A.d City”

This track is the 8th off of Lamar’s album. In an interview with Complex magazine, Kendrick explains how the acronymed title has two meanings – My Angel on Angel Dust and My Angry Adolescence Divided. Seeing as how this is both the track title and one half of the album name, it is apparent that these intermingled ideas on personal and environmental struggles, honoring where you came from while figuring out who you are. The violence of Compton comes through in the lyrics, but the featuring of Compton born old school hip-hop artist MC eiht proves that Kendrick doesn’t want to throw away his heritage as he struggles to find his own identity.

Violence pops right out at the listener as soon as they turn on the song – “If Pirus and Crips all got along / They’d probably gun me down by the end of this song” opens the track. The first thing Lamar does is establish the normalcy of violence in his ‘mad city’ of Compton. While the most pervasive idea of the rest of the song is the danger of drugs, the mindless violence associated with that is a close second. This Kendrick goes on to relate stories and rumors – “The driver seat the first one to get killed / Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out” and “Joey packed the nine… We adapt to crime, pack a van with four guns at a time” and “A wall of bullets comin from AK’s, AR’s, “Aye y’all. Duck.” to reference a few. This rapid fire offering of violent scenes is also seen in Stiff Little Fingers’ “Wasted Life”, with constant reminders of fatal gun use and violent situations. These continue throughout the song, offering the picture of a past that makes the listener wonder how Lamar got out alive. He likens the kids he grew up with to the Children of the Corn, an unflattering comparison to pure fanatical violence and evil. Despite all of these brutal renderings of his city, Lamar refuses to be removed from Compton; he refers to himself as “Compton’s human sacrifice”, offering his life to the violence of the city he loves.

Lamar’s unbreakable connection to his heritage seems to be the key to why he accepts this violence. He takes it as an immutable part of his past, something that cannot be changed so it might as well be embraced. It is interesting to note that while Lamar accepts the violence of his past, Stiff little fingers “Wasted Life” and “Closed Groove” do just the opposite. While both albums depict violence, Stiff Little Fingers seem to push back against the idea of remembering their heritage, trying to distance themselves from their origins. With the very first verse Lamar invites the listener to “take a trip down memory lane” with him, to follow him as he remembers where he grew up. He names friends and enemies, experiences and conversations, family and drug culture all flowing together. This entire song is about the violence of his heritage, his origins and his roots in this action. The song is honest – Lamar does not lie about the situation of his upbringing but offers a bluntly real view of where he came from with all of the ups and downs that he recalls, for better or worse.

While talking about the past offers a clear link to heritage, the inclusion of MC eiht strengthens the idea of accepting heritage. MC eiht was a member of Compton’s Most Wanted, considered a pioneer in the West Coast rap scene as the genre was blowing up across the nation. To bring MC eiht back onto the scene gives proof to Lamar’s lyrics. Now he is not just talking about honoring his heritage, but he is acting on it, honoring Compton’s past through the use of old-school rappers. Lamar grew up as Compton’s Most Wanted released CD after CD, side by side in Compton. As Lamar went through these experiences and trials, it is easy to imagine tracks like “All Around the Hood”  blasting through the car speakers.

Against this wish to embrace origins was a drive for Kendrick to create his own identity, remembering his origins while still becoming his own man. In Stiff Little Fingers’ “Closed Groove,” identity is formed from a shunning of heritage, leading to empowerment of the artist as an individual; in “m.A.A.d City” it seems that identity stems mainly from ideas of heritage while the artist simultaneously struggles against this. Lamar includes a repeated hook that showcase the importance of identity – “Where you from, nigga? Fuck who you know, where you from, my nigga? Where your grandma stay, huh, my nigga?” His “trip down memory lane” is his answer to these inquires explanations of who he is through his memories – his identity is not removable from his heritage.

Despite this, Lamar tries to remove the two from each other. He references himself in the third person a few times, trying to juggle respect for his origins and being true to himself. The line “you know the reasons but still won’t ever know my life / Kendrick AKA Compton’s human sacrifice” portrays this struggle perfectly. The listener can receive all of this information on the artist’s past but still not know the person. At the same time, the artist is a part of the city until death. Identity is irremovable form heritage, and violence is irremovable from heritage; all three are bound together, but an understanding, acceptance and balance makes it all okay.

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