Kendrick Lamar is a revered lyricist in hip-hop culture, and it is not for no reason. As hip-hop has seen a focus shift from lyricism to beats, Lamar has remained dedicated to blessing his listeners with both remarkable instrumentals and high-quality lyrics.
That said, akin to artists such as J Cole and Tyler, The Creator, he has managed to stay atop the rest of hip-hop due to the sheer excellence of his artistic output. Since his emergence in the early 2010s, Lamar has gone on to work with all the greats in the business and is now considered one of the best MCs of the new school.
In 2011, Lamar released his first official album, Section.80, which quickly made its way into the hands of music mogul Dr Dre, and since his major label debut, Good Kid m.A.A.d City, Lamar has ascended to stardom within the culture.
Since his sophomore album, Lamar has released three projects, one of which was DAMN. Released in 2017, the body of work, according to Lamar, strikes a balance concerning having both a profound message and hard-hitting instrumentals. The 14-track album was a phenomenon when it was released and received positive reviews across the board from both fans and critics.
The project’s opening track ‘Blood’ is not only the LP’s first track but also its shortest song. The track hears Kendrick rapping about helping an elderly woman but finds himself getting shot afterwards. The song sets the tone for the rest of the album, which focuses on people losing their way and becoming damned.
The narrative, however, is reversed on the album’s last track, ‘Duckworth’ where someone who is threatening to shoot his father decides not to, and both he and his dad live.
However, for the outro of ‘Blood,’ the track cuts to a clip of two Fox News presenters reciting a lyric from his 2015 project To Pimp A Butterfly hit ‘Alright’ after which one of the anchors states, “Ugh, I don’t like it.” The Compton native sends shots at the broadcaster on the following two tracks ‘DNA’ and ‘YAH.’
In an LA interview with Zane Lowe, when speaking about the Fox News clip, Lamar explained, “I thought it was a trip, that it was clickbait, because anybody that know me they know that you know I represent my people you know and the culture the right way so to try and attack my character you know and make it an actual stunt. I wasn’t for it.”
Speaking about ‘Blood,’ he continued, “What I can I say about that, without saying about that. It is one of the most interesting pieces on the record. I don’t even know if I can find the wit, the wit to tell you about it. The wit to tell you about the record without telling you about the record. There’s a new life, it’s a new life.”
You can listen to the track in the video below.
