Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered. (Stream + Discussion Thread)
- Thread starter Blake Piffin
- Start date
We need more cornrow Kenny
Track 6 is beautiful 
I am yours/I am yours/I am yooooouuuursss
I am yours/I am yours/I am yooooouuuursss
yooooooooourrrrrssssss 
Piff Perkins
Veteran
One thing that I've been thinking about a lot is a specific line on Blue Faces:
We all came on the boat looking for hope
All you can say is you came looking for dope
For some reason Kendrick gets a lot of hate from people who label him a fake militant c00n. They pointed to this line after the Fallon show and said it meant Kendrick was claiming slaves came on slave ships to America looking for hope.
I trust Kendrick as a serious lyricist, like Nas or Common. So when a controversial line comes out I give him the benefit of the doubt and want to delve into the meaning. So I started thinking about this. And it's clear to me he is NOT saying black people came to America looking for hope. Consider the verse:
I wrote this song looking at a broke home baby
You know the poverty stricken the little broke boy and babies
Somebody yell "Kendrick American, they sho’ is crazy"
And I said “why?”
Then he looked me in the eye, and said "nikka you fukked up"
You’re banking on good luck, you wishing for miracles
You never been through shyt, you’re crying hysterical
You settle for everything, complain about everything
You say you sold crack, my world amphetamine
Your projects ain’t shyt, I live in a hut bytch
I'm living to keep warm, you living to pay rent
I paid my way through by waiting on Allah
You played your way through, by living in sci-fi
Bullshytting yourself, you talking to strangers
Same thing goes for the ones you came with
We all came on the boat looking for hope
And all you can say is that you’re looking for dope
These days ain’t no compromise
And your pain ain’t mines half the time
A brand new excuse ain’t shyt to me
bytch I made my moves, with shackled feet
Cape Town
(that's from Rap Genius which I'm not a fan of so some might be inaccurate)
In many ways the song mirrors themes on Momma and How Much A Dollar Cost from TPAB. Kendrick visited South Africa while recording his album and it had a major impact on him. Throughout TPAB he relates views or conversations mined from that experience. In this case Kendrick is relating a situation in which he witnessed African poverty ("I wrote this song looking at a broke home baby").
As he views African poverty an African man begins talking with him. The African basically says "they're crazy, huh?" Kendrick, believing the man is talking about the poor children, asks why. And then the man reveals he's not talking about the poor African child, he's making a critique of the black American. He sizes Kendrick up and is not impressed. He notes Kendrick's flaws, and many coincide with flaws that Africans see in many black Americans: complacent, emotional, and victims of an oppressor's religion (which he labels "sci fi" compared to Islam).
Then we get to the boat line. "We all came on the boat looking for hope." I believe this is a reference to Robben Island. Kendrick went to South Africa and visited Robben Island to see Mandela's prison cell. You have to take a boat to Robben Island, obviously, and I believe that's the boat he's talking about. "We" - ie Kendrick's crew and the Africans who accompanied them - all went to the island looking for hope and inspiration.
The next line is "all you can say is that you're looking for dope." Remember there are various drug references throughout TPAB which suggest Kendrick was struggling with addiction. "Pain killers only put me in a twilight," from Alright. The constant Lucy references; Lucy is not only a reference to the devil and temptation, it's a 1960s reference to LSD (see: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles). In short this line is about Kendrick being shamed for his drug use, and looking for drugs in Africa when he's supposed to be looking for inspiration.
As with How Much A Dollar Cost, I believe this song reveals one of the major revelations Kendrick had. It's been said he came back from Africa a changed man. I believe that he came back not only inspired to make TPAB, but also to quit drugs and find a new purpose in life.
We all came on the boat looking for hope
All you can say is you came looking for dope
For some reason Kendrick gets a lot of hate from people who label him a fake militant c00n. They pointed to this line after the Fallon show and said it meant Kendrick was claiming slaves came on slave ships to America looking for hope.
I trust Kendrick as a serious lyricist, like Nas or Common. So when a controversial line comes out I give him the benefit of the doubt and want to delve into the meaning. So I started thinking about this. And it's clear to me he is NOT saying black people came to America looking for hope. Consider the verse:
I wrote this song looking at a broke home baby
You know the poverty stricken the little broke boy and babies
Somebody yell "Kendrick American, they sho’ is crazy"
And I said “why?”
Then he looked me in the eye, and said "nikka you fukked up"
You’re banking on good luck, you wishing for miracles
You never been through shyt, you’re crying hysterical
You settle for everything, complain about everything
You say you sold crack, my world amphetamine
Your projects ain’t shyt, I live in a hut bytch
I'm living to keep warm, you living to pay rent
I paid my way through by waiting on Allah
You played your way through, by living in sci-fi
Bullshytting yourself, you talking to strangers
Same thing goes for the ones you came with
We all came on the boat looking for hope
And all you can say is that you’re looking for dope
These days ain’t no compromise
And your pain ain’t mines half the time
A brand new excuse ain’t shyt to me
bytch I made my moves, with shackled feet
Cape Town
(that's from Rap Genius which I'm not a fan of so some might be inaccurate)
In many ways the song mirrors themes on Momma and How Much A Dollar Cost from TPAB. Kendrick visited South Africa while recording his album and it had a major impact on him. Throughout TPAB he relates views or conversations mined from that experience. In this case Kendrick is relating a situation in which he witnessed African poverty ("I wrote this song looking at a broke home baby").
As he views African poverty an African man begins talking with him. The African basically says "they're crazy, huh?" Kendrick, believing the man is talking about the poor children, asks why. And then the man reveals he's not talking about the poor African child, he's making a critique of the black American. He sizes Kendrick up and is not impressed. He notes Kendrick's flaws, and many coincide with flaws that Africans see in many black Americans: complacent, emotional, and victims of an oppressor's religion (which he labels "sci fi" compared to Islam).
Then we get to the boat line. "We all came on the boat looking for hope." I believe this is a reference to Robben Island. Kendrick went to South Africa and visited Robben Island to see Mandela's prison cell. You have to take a boat to Robben Island, obviously, and I believe that's the boat he's talking about. "We" - ie Kendrick's crew and the Africans who accompanied them - all went to the island looking for hope and inspiration.
The next line is "all you can say is that you're looking for dope." Remember there are various drug references throughout TPAB which suggest Kendrick was struggling with addiction. "Pain killers only put me in a twilight," from Alright. The constant Lucy references; Lucy is not only a reference to the devil and temptation, it's a 1960s reference to LSD (see: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles). In short this line is about Kendrick being shamed for his drug use, and looking for drugs in Africa when he's supposed to be looking for inspiration.
As with How Much A Dollar Cost, I believe this song reveals one of the major revelations Kendrick had. It's been said he came back from Africa a changed man. I believe that he came back not only inspired to make TPAB, but also to quit drugs and find a new purpose in life.
Jimmy ValenTime
A really good Lawyer
LinusCaldwell
From The Eastside with Love
Jimmy ValenTime
A really good Lawyer
the first track
when Kendrick rapping i took it as the Apocalypse has happen and the second part of the verse when he said i made pimp a butterfly to you
is him talking to god about his life and what he did ... like shun the clubs etc
when Kendrick rapping i took it as the Apocalypse has happen and the second part of the verse when he said i made pimp a butterfly to you
is him talking to god about his life and what he did ... like shun the clubs etc
Now in stores
I had almost the exact same sentiment in my review . Good call out
Shadowmayne
World Warrior
Now in stores
I saw the autographed copies were like a one day thing too
I grazed by
Copped the vinyl/download package myselfI saw the autographed copies were like a one day thing too
I grazed by
About to hit up best buy for the CD
