DAMN by Kendrick Lamar (Review)
[Originally Published on April 24, 2020]
The human heart has four chambers. Each chamber plays a role in the process of translating oxygen-poor blood from the body into oxygen-rich blood and then releasing it back into the body. On 2013’s confrontational “Control” verse, Kendrick breathed new life into the rap game by reinvigorating the competitive fire that marked its golden age. Four years later, on the soulful “The Heart Part 4”—presumably the last song in this series—he is equally combative and bloodthirsty. But this time his message is different: he is the rap game’s oxygen. The loose track serves as both a reminder and a prelude; he reminds us that he owns his generation’s hip hop throne even when he chooses not to sit upon it; he preludes an album that once again proves it.
On LA-based radio show Big Boy’s Neighborhood, Kendrick shared that his goal on DAMN. was to combine the best elements of his three previous albums. He adds the trauma of Section.80, cinematic storytelling of Good Kid Maad City, and the intensity and emotional depth of To Pimp a Butterfly. The subject matter is familiar as well. Lamar ventures into religion, politics, social justice, race, and many more pertinent realms. What sets DAMN apart is how the Compton emcee has managed to make extremely dense thoughts and themes more palatable for listeners. The song titles—all single words—can be read as the elements that make up Kendrick or the factors that make us human.
DAMN’s soundscape is also inviting to even casual listeners of hip hop, covering new ground for K Dot. While most of his past work was more jazz or West Coast influenced, he leans into mainstream sounds more than ever. Lamar teams with trap staple MIKE WILL MADE IT to produce “HUMBLE” and “DNA”, the album’s biggest commercial hits. The former is accompanied by a must-see music video and even takes a few jabs at Detroit rapper Big Sean; the latter incorporates a beat change that tightens Lamar’s grip on your ears for the remainder of the album. And he has a lot to say.
If there is one song that matches the album’s cover art, it’s “FEEL”. With its rapid, layered rhyme schemes, it sounds exactly like anxiety. Lamar paints a scene where the world, run amuck with violence and our obsession with being seen, is living on borrowed time: “I feel like this gotta be the feeling where Pac was/ the feeling of an apocalypse happening but nothin’ is awkward.” To jampack dozens of snapshots from his mind into one song, he utilizes a method we became familiar with as toddlers during nursery rhymes: repetition. He begins almost every thought with “I feel.” He employs the same technique on “FEAR.” A cornerstone of the project, the song describes what Kendrick fears at age nine (his mom), 17 (victimhood and police brutality), and 27 (judgment and expectations).
The album ends with “DUCKWORTH”, which is Kendrick’s last name. During the aforementioned Big Boy’s Neighborhood interview, the rapper revealed that he’d held off on telling this song’s story until he could expertly execute it. Patience is a virtue. We learn that years ago his label exec Top Dawg had almost murdered Lamar’s father during a robbery at the chicken spot he worked at. The only reason he didn’t was because Mr. Duckworth gifted Top with free chicken and extra biscuits whenever he rolled through. Kendrick imagines how pivotal a different decision would have been: “If Anthony killed Ducky Top Dawg would be servin’ life/ While I grew up without a father and die in a gun fight.” We hear a time warp before snippets of the album play in reverse, indicating that the album can also be played in reverse.
Like Section.80, DAMN has a laser focus on human sin and our self-defeating behaviors. Kendrick shows us his duality and enigmatic nature (“I’m a savage, I’m an asshole, I’m a king) throughout. Nowhere is this more evident than on the chaotic “XXX”, which follows the 21 Questions-esque “LOVE.” In XXX, he describes seeking murderous retaliation for his loved ones, only to appear at a gun control convention afterwards. On the track, Lamar delves into how free will and personal choice is undermined by structural forces that push us toward certain actions. We hear the question about human nature “Is it wickedness or weakness?” posed repeatedly throughout DAMN. The answer we are left with is true but less than satisfying: it’s both.
