Catching the DAMN Point

So, we all waited for “NATION” to drop and didn’t get it. As we prepare for the 2nd edition of our “Women in Hip hop” issue, we have to point out a hidden jewel about Kendricks album “DAMN”. While a lot of today’s most popular music is full of negative words about women, this album speaks nothing of the sort. Now before we speak on the hook in the leading single “Humble”, and how it loosely throws around the word “bitch”, we must first acknowledge how words progress in meaning as well as how they are used in our culture. “Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good” would be the appropriate bar to use as an example.

As the album first starts, we can’t help but to mention that we first meet his demise from a woman he is attempting to show compassion for and assist.

Although, in my opinion, the sound of “DAMN”, has traces of Section 80 (which is a good thing), we can still acknowledge that this album shows progress in him with dealing with women. An openness that we do not see often from artists in hip hop. On “Pride” he goes a little Drake-ish by opening up about his mistakes in relationships. Admitting that pride itself may have tainted his experiences. He made what can be considered a love song to some about loyalty itself. A touchy subject with everyone, that he turned into a groovy anthem like tune. K Dot even goes 80’s r&b on us by creating a ballad for love, and not just for sex with the track “Love”. Telling the world that he has thoughts about receiving the same amount of love if he didn’t have money. While in a culture that has risen from poverty.

On “Lust”, he speaks about the powers of sex and the hold it has on society. Though is normally a subject that becomes offensive in music, this track approaches it from a truthful point of view. Let’s be honest, we all know the infamous “let me put the head in” line. Does that even work? Lol

In the lead single “Humble”, he proclaims that he is “tired of the photo shop”. A complaint that we see all over the internet, yet everyday we still double tap our day away at the so-called “perfect” pictures that we lust over. Once we are past mistaken offensiveness in the line “bitch, be humble, sit down”, we can see that he’s talking to those Instagram models who love to use their looks to get by. We’ve all seen ’em in the club.

I think that the most open line of the album was “my girl told me don’t let these hoes get in your head”. The contradiction alone and the realness in a line like that is so revealing about the struggles of an artist or someone coming from poverty to money. There are so many ways a bar like that can be dissected.

Overall, I think Kendrick Lamar clearly has a message in each track on this album. It’s obvious in the bold choice in song titles and them being one word. I think the openness and unwillingness to bash women for no reason stands out about his craft, as well as this project. When we look past just the offensive words and underneath the surface, we can see that Kendrick Lamar has meaning as an artist and puts his heart and mind into the music he creates. That’s what makes a legendary artist.

Written by: Seayword