In 2017, Kendrick Lamar released his 4th studio album, DAMN. However nobody knew that what Kendrick had for us, was his darkest project to date.
Filled with strange religious concepts and mysterious structures hidden within the tracklist, DAMN tells the twisted journey of a man who’s cursed, without really knowing why. As he retrospects on his past, his rap career and his many sins, he realizes all of this ties back to one terrifying thought: being damned to hell.
This album is a damn puzzle (no pun intended), there’s no other way of putting it, and in this video you’re gonna learn all about it.
Wickedness or Weakness?
You decide...
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Chapters:
0:00 INTRO.
2:30 BLOOD.
6:26 DNA.
9:41 YAH.
13:38 ELEMENT.
15:41 FEEL.
18:46 LOYALTY.
20:38 PRIDE.
24:08 HUMBLE.
25:58 LUST.
28:59 LOVE.
31:08 XXX.
34:46 FEAR.
39:37 GOD.
41:43 DUCKWORTH.
50:36 THE TWIST.
Thank you sooo much for the kind words on the video and most importantly, 10K SUBS!!! ❤ It really means the world to me :) Btw, what artists would you like to see next on the channel? 🤔
I would REALLY LOVE it if you make a video about IGOR by Tyler, The Creator.
I’d love to see you make a video on twenty one pilots debut album
frank ocean maybe?
kanyeee
Quadeca - I Didn't Meant To Haunt You I Didn't Mean to Haunt You is a VERY omnious 54min experience, with immaculate production that sends chills down your spine. Lyrically, this album is quite dark. Talking about heavy subject matter from the viewpoint of a ghost in the afterlife that's still missing life & those close to him.
as a reminder: there are genuinely people out there that think Drake is better than this
The club ad emo rap fans😂😂 its the same fans who say mr morale is a bad album as they dont get the art yet
@@jeffreymarumorankeng3839you think emo rap fans are listening to fucking drake? that’s literally frat boy rap dude
this
Drakes good, but he'll never top Kendrick I'm sorry
If you replace “god” with Drake, recognize the fear of having the lust found out by Whitney(which I believe had happened by this time and this is the response via Drake going to Compton for the 100 vid and probably telling Whitney Kendrick was cheating on his tours) and recognize Mr. Morale is the Part 2 to this(1855 days, I’ve been going through something, be afraid) but ALSO THE PART 3 to TPAB(the attempted saving of Drake ) and realize that’s why Drake was so mad it beat him out for the 2016 Grammy then I think we all see what’s been going on this whole time
bro is definitely getting an A in english
💀
30:28 overcummed 🤣
Can we get a profile check on this mf
THIS WHAT GOD FEEL LIKE 🗣️🗣️🗣️
well he does have a Pulitzer so he technically got a S+
kendrick is the only dude where you need an 1 hour explanation for his album
I know this cool KZhead channel full of dudes needing 1 hour explanations for their albums.
@@Nathan7041 can you tell me plz
You've clearly never heard a Swans album.
@@beautiful_ground Yes I have Soundtracks for the blind and To be kind to be more precise. I don't know what are you trying to say tho
Don't think the album itself is one hour lol
we need mr morale and big steppers version
I second this
@@ezraels3157third
I third this.
I fourth this
I fifth this
DAMN. being your first rap album is setting a very high bar for your rap taste
Odeee bro I wonder if there’s an album he ranks above this
damn is great but personally it's not even kendricks best so it's not impossible to like other shit too
To Pimp a Butterfly has been my intro to conscious rap. And it moved me so much even though I can't actually relate to it very much but it just caused a swell of empathy and a paradigm shift of what "answer" is to making the world a better and more open place
Mad City is my favourite Kendrick Lamar album I like it more than Damn.
Brother it was my first rap album😭
I feel like the blind lady was a reference to weakness or wickedness, lemme explain. He helped the lady without knowing what would happend trusting and showing her weakness WHICH GOT HIM KILLED. But if he didnt helped her he would be wicked, or "a bad person" but not get killed. Showing how unfair the world it's, bad people have it all, they do whatever they want and it comes out however they want. While good people are usally punishes or suffer too much in their life.
I feel like you can kind of apply that to every song on this album. I think every song shows something that kendrick has went through and hes unsure if his actions are weakness or wickedness. Have all the bad things kendrick or even the world done been made out of wickedness or weakness
IS IT WICKEDNESS , IS IT WEAKNESS¿
@@luisortegast R E ALLLLLL
@@Wositap333 damn, this album top 3 of kendrick
The lady was weakness and wickedness all-in-one.
now i understand why this album won a Pulitzer prize
yeah honestly the same too i would like to believe the critics had this same analysis, and combine that with the lyricism and metaphors throughout the whole album, it's pretty damn hard to dispute that
the amount of symbolism and theme, the quality of this album… its one of the greatest albums of all time
literally, Kendrick lamar is goated
Respect for Kendrick's father! He found a smart move that changed whole history
Ducky is a great father that more people should try to be like
Yeah, adding biscuits to a box gave us To Pimp a Butterfly
That chicken incident gave us gkMC and TPAB
it's a showcase of peaceful actions leading to peaceful resolutions
@@kingace6186especially drake 💀
One thing I'd like to add! In blood, you can see the old blind lady as Lady Justice. You can see the interaction as a court case or police brutality. With blood leading off, you can see Lady Justice as a corrupt cop, playing as judge, jurry, and executioner. The story of a young black man walking down the street and being shot by a cop for no reason. This could act as a metaphor for the things Kendrick may have heard growing up. To cope with this idea, he begins to believe that's the way of life for black people in America. This manifests in the next track DNA, with him ending "sex money murder in our DNA". This sets Kendrick up to believe murder is part of who he is, and there isn't anything he can do about it, and hell just die in a gun fight regardless. Queue Yah next and it plays along with idea 'i got so many theories and suspicions' On the flip side of things, ending with blood, you can see a corrupt, wealth, rapper Kendrick in a court battle of sorts. One that he ultimately loses and is sentenced to death. The gunshots even works as the gavel the judge would use to end it all. Then Kendrick becomes just another headline for Fox to use. We know Kendrick is deeply worried about he's legacy he will leave after his time on earth. We see this in the previous album, even ending on the thought of 'if shit hit the fan are you still a fan?' That was the last thing Kendrick said to us before this album. Blood works both ways in this context. Blood could refer to a story of a black man being killed in Compton being told to a young Kendrick. This is the solidified by what he sees on the news. It could also be the end of Kendricks life as a wicked rapper who never focused on what was important until it was too late, becoming just another headline. This also still fits with all the other ideas in the video! I'd re listen to the album both forwards and backwards with this context! It fits surprisingly well.
This was really good and thought out and I love both the different sides it could be and maybe it could even refer to both of these themes
i aint reading allat💀
same @@rasdos3889
same @@rasdos3889
Honestly, i can see the point leaning more towards the second part in which he tried to end his wickedness. “Mr. Morale” being released after “DAMN.” sort of ties in the idea of family life and just generally abandoning his “wicked past”, embracing love and weakness. Looking at family life, there is bound to be struggle, and as a kid growing up he knew this. But instead of repeating the same “wicked” behavior he thought he was bound to, he tries to teach new meaning to life and what it is to truly *love*.
He’s feeling cursed and then his newest album he mentions the generational curse being broken. Kendrick is an absolute genius and the best rapper alive
facts
In PRIDE, he says “I wasn’t taught to share, BUT care.” Maybe, he’s saying that he cares, but nobody else does. Maybe that other life is where people DO care.
Or it’s worse in that Kendrick does care about people but he CAN’T share, like maybe it’s just too important for himself that he can’t share his success or career or what he gains from it with others. In another life, he surely was there for everyone else. If you take that perspective, it’s possible that this song is kind of a balance between the Wickedness and Weakness theme since it’s also in the middle of the album (the 7th of the 14 songs). His pride is his wickedness, and so is why be won’t share it. But he also feels shame for this because he does care and wishes that in another life, he wasn’t so prideful and actually tried to help others and put the needs of others before his own. That in this “perfect world,” he’d put faith over riches, make schools out of prisons, etc. But he sort of “knows” that that can’t happen, that’s it’s never a perfect world because each perfect world would be a world of lies. Kendrick is too prideful about his own success to share while caring at the same time, hence his remorse because he could do better but his pride gets in the way. He can’t show Weakness because he has too much Wickedness
@@thenitpickchannel9993 Right on the nose, man. This album is so intricate, it’s insane how much you can pull from it.
@@thenitpickchannel9993I 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
Duuuuuude, this is one of the best album breakdowns I’ve ever seen. Also the animations were on point. Definitively following you and hope you can do more of Kendrick in the future!
ete sech
5 minutes into this video and your interpretation of story-telling and editing is actually amazing dude! Never stop making vids :)
Then your gonna love how he did the wolf trilogy
I’m sorry this is well made and thought out but this guy is so close but so wrong, he’s got the right idea but is also so off
Literally said what I wanted to say! Insight on this album is amazing
Holy glaze
ッ
the story of DAMN sounds like a psychological horror movie.
I think the blind lady is justice and what she was finding was Kendrick’s fate on whether he chose weakness or wickedness
One thing that could be point out. In the regular album cover in DAMN, DAMN is above Kendrick as he’s wearing a blank white T-shirt, indicating his journey to salvation and being free from damnation. In the collector’s edition (reversed order) DAMN is on his shirt which could indicate his path into damnation and where he becomes cursed.
i didnt notice that. Thats pretty cool!
Omg I didnt notice Tysm this feels like a part of the video more than a comment
49:50
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
I’ve always interpreted XXX. As 666. Or hell. Showing that America is now a hellhole, and also referring to one of Kendrick’s main fears in the album
i literally had the same thought
Been thinking the same for years, even in TPAB he keeps referring to that
Perhaps both symbolizing the similarities between USA and 666
"I don't see Compton, I see something much worse, the land of the landmines, *the hell that's on Earth"* That line from the end of Complexion might fit perfectly with XXX.
3 characters in the alphabet can mean so much.
I hope my homies are ready because i'll definitely be presenting this video as my own ideas for the next 5 years
As an young teenager with a short attention span, this was not difficult to keep my attention on for an hour. This is amazing keep continuing to be great
same bro
Barely 20 minutes in and he's uncovered more than I would've ever imagined by myself. Insane bro, also the animations and works are amazing. Keep it up bro!
bro it was so good right?
@@philippoberhauser9866ONGGG, I adore his damn videos, I could’ve never cared less about the meaning of albums but he single-handedly made me so interested
This shits crazy I’ve listened to this album so many times but I guess I never really understood it😂
The quality of this is fucking wild, definitely looking forward to seeing more! Update: I just relistened to DAMN. Because of this video. It was always my least favorite Kendrick project and this let me give it a second chance with new context and it elevated it a whole lot. Thanks for this
I'm glad u gave it another chance
exact thing happened to me
I’m about to do the same after this vid I also didn’t like it like I have other projects but this vid gave me a whole different perception on it.
Exact same thing with me too
took the words out of my mouth. Amazing video
the theory that this is a loop is supported too by the premise in fiction going back to even Homer: blind people are the ones that aren’t actually blind. they physically can’t see but what they do see is the truth. the old lady being blind telling Kendrick he’s lost his life is (in the reverse track list) her telling him he’s lost his way without his father’s guidance, which damns him; the blind lady in the original track list is telling him the truth that he’s lost his life because he’s cursed/damned from the start. even though she’s blind she can see Kendrick for who he really is in that moment, but until you listen to the whole album and choose weakness or wickedness for you and him, you can’t see what she sees.
Kendrick at 7, 17, and 27… 777? Angel number
Well there is no such thing as angel numbers the Bible never speaks about such things
@JorgeHernandez-qw3wy the bible does speak of the number 7 hundreds of times. The number 7 is completion
@@LoveWinsItAllFair but no mention of angel numbers. Logan has a good point though about the repitition of the 7.
7 is repeated in other places too I think
7 deadly sins
Holy shit i never realized how insanely amazing this album is. The reverse twist is phenomenal, and its so impressive that kendrick and his team were able to make this story so cohesive in both directions
this video is PERFECT. the interpretation, the imagery, the color game, everything builds up to a MASTERPIECE. congratulations brother, you've made ART.
saw two words in all caps with a dot at the end and thought they were DAMN. tracks lmao
@@ADMmachine😂 kinda a funny coincidence. That's the amount of power this album holds, I can't ever unsee it now lmao
YOU. Made an art
7:48 Someone's probably mentioned this already, but "sex" being the 23rd thing in his DNA holds significance: it's the chromosome pair that determines your sex at birth. And... the second chromosome in the pair (the one that makes the difference) is provided by the father
missed the opportunity to name the collectors edition “god damn.”
The theory when it came out was that it’ll be called Nation. To complete the damnation arc
@@IamFirtyDuckerThank you bro you reminded me to do my homework 🙏
I think it’s really important to mention that Rhianna had been dealing with a similar situation. Somebody in her team took money from her / deceived her and Kendrick heard about it. They ended up collaborating on Loyalty cuz they were in very similar places dealing wit dishonesty & being backstabbed in the industry
and yet in one of the songs, kdot says “i read a case about rihanna’s accountant and wondered, how did the BAD girl feel when she looked at the numbers” wicked ken 😂😭
exactly. it wasn’t a slight at Riri. he was doubling down on the fact it happened to her and that it was fucked up.
@@48pulkitgupta65it’s just a reference to her nickname badgyal riri
I was eating cheese its while eating this.
Me too haha
Half of it in class, the other half asleep on the bus. Rewatched the whole thing while making a grilled cheese
I hope it was good
Cheese itz are nasty yall can call me weird idgaf
@@kingbred4793 you're nasty.
Man I’m really going to need you to do the rest of Kendrick’s discography after this one
I got a light on kendrick from the rap beef and now I know why he is the big him. holy I sat through all this I never realized how music can actually portray horror until now.
the duckworth ending is a representation of kendrick lamar getting shot "die in a gunfi-" and the rewind/reverse is how all your life flashes before your eyes.
No lmao
Bro Kendrick literally posted a reverse tracklist how does that make sense 😭
im not saying youre wrong for having that interpretation on it but comes off like a "this is what it means" grand statement. Art is never one thing
@@gooddood3857this video IS a grand statement
I wish i could like this a million times cuz thats how much this deserves. DAMN. Was my fav album but i could never put in to words why, and this video finally answered that for me 🔥🔥🔥
Same here for everything you said
How does someone else answer why you like an album?
@@jessepowell5750 by describing the reasons why i like it
in FEAR. one thing that always stuck out to me was the way Kendrick says "my new found life made all of me magnified". It almost sounds like he says "Ptolemy". Looking into Ptolemy he has a theory about Earth being the center of the universe which I interpret as either Kendrick being fearful because he believes he is the center of the attention further "magnifying" his fear brought from fame, or a connection to Earthly desires and ways furthering him away from god. Just a thought I had.
When I heard pride for the first time I cried especially when he said “a perfect world isn’t perfect just full of lies “chills
I never understood why people didn't like DAMN. as much as his other albums, personally i think DAMN. is a better album than TPAB even if TPAB is the objectively more culturally significant one. This video really made me realize why I loved this album so much...i never thought this deeply into it even though i spent a lot of time with this album and listening to what Kenny had to say. Thanks so much for your hard work on this ♥
I'm gonna be honest, I think the main reason why I didn't like it (or rather just not as much as the others) was because I didn't get shit about it. I've always been a big fan but I caught the DAMN train rather late for some reason, so I mostly first experienced the album through the commercial tracks without context and only took the time to listen to it after ; except I didn't necessarly bother to analyze the whole thing because I was bored with the most well known songs already. This video fucking blew my mind and definetely changed my whole percepective on the album. Even when I thought I couldn't underrestimate Kdot I realize I still did.
I feel like TPAB and GKMC have this reverance that has damaged both DAMN and MMATBS's perceptions almost as though the idea that Kendrick or anyone could ever hit that level is an insult to how good those albums are. To me both of the more recent albums especially MMATBS are on the same level as the earlier two but it will take a long time for that to be an accepted consensus and even then there will be naysayers still being influenced by the respect they have for the earlier two instead of letting the latter two be judged from an uncompromised position
I did always has the same feeling, I could'nt understand why people say this album is more "commercial". Only because has more mainstream songs that the previous albums didn't mean it isn't DEEP as fk... My favourite album for sure =)
It's because some people find this album too dark, nihilistic, and hopeless.
I felt this way before, damn being my favourite from Kendrick. But I feel like though this album is stellar, he does everything he does here so much better on the Mr Morale, tpab and gkmc. It's obviously subjective, but I feel like once you really understand all these albums, damn kind of falls behind.
This entire video is beautifully made.
Whats crazy about this is whats currently going on with him and Drake. Listening to him explain Damn album makes me feel he is serving his purpose here
The fact he he gave drake the choice in battle wickedness or weakness and drake choice wickedness- are you gonna live or die deep
might be the best video i’ve seen
This is easily the best breakdown of DAMN I’ve ever heard. Everything from the commentary to the editing and storytelling is one point. I’ve always wondered why I’ve like the dichotomy tracks of LOVE and LUST or PRIDE and HUMBLE.
Dude, I've been a fan of Kendrick's poetry since GKMC, so i gladly listened to that and TPAB over and over again to get it(and watched a few explanation videos)...but DAMN was a brain teaser. I couldn't understand it for the life of me. And yet, finally, someone did their homework to fully explain (in the best way possible) the entire album (in both ways!!). Thanks a lot for your hard work. 🙏
this man has perfected his craft and we got weirdos mad about him not consistently dropping.. true art takes time
Who else is here after the w
Me
genuinely my favorite video I've watched in years, I love your editing, commentary, story telling, everythings so unique and feels so fresh, cant wait to see what you do next brother
i agree 100%
this just made me realize damn. is one of the greatest works of art in music history. unbelievable. great breakdown
To keep it real nobody albums gets broken down more than Kendrick Lamar...even after all these years to me he is the greatest you really cant compare him to Drake or J.Cole...
this album literally changed my life, i was in a deep depression and listening to kendrick dealing with most of the same issues as a young 19 year old kid lost with no plans he really helped me understand that there is good and evil
First of all, i want to say that this was an amazing video. Script, editing, everything. That said, i have a different take on what the story on BLOOD. is, and by extension the nature of the 2 versions of Kendrick. I believe that the 2 Kendricks are connected, and pretty much the same person. You see, in blood, we see a kendrick that is loving, he sees a grandma and goes to help her. That is in character with the weak Kendrick. The grandma, we see a character that is lost and blind. That is in line with wicked kendrick, who has been blinded by sin and lost his path to salvation. That said, their physical characteristics don't match this traits. The physically weak one(grandma) has the spirtual characteristics of the wicked one. To me this tells me that they are the same person. Both people are half of what each of the kendricks represent. That said, i do think that they have one connection to each version respectfully. The grandma has lived a long life, so if in kendrick terms, she survived. She is the kendrick who loved. Kendrick, in BLOOD. is the wicked kendrick, dying at a young age in some sort of gang conflict. Here we see too lives. One, where a person lives a long life, who turned to love and god. A person with some sort of legacy. The other is one of a person who was misguided, lost in a forest of sin and only getting deeper into the woods. Dying in a gang affiliation, too young to have his legacy, only to be forgotten. The first chose love. The first one simply got killed in the crossfire. The second chose pride. And it was the death of him.
I think there's something to be said about the blind grandma being lady justice, as she fits the description. At this point in the story of Damn both normal and reverse Kendrick has lost God and is worthy of damnation, and blood is just a track showing that Kendrick is Worthy of damnation at that point of the album.
@@hughjass-zj1pw oh my god I've been leaving my lengthy opinions on old video essays for like years and this is like the first time anyone has responded!!!! Also, yes, that's a really good way too look at it
That actually really makes sense. In addition, their physical manifestations could reflect their personalities. So the grandma, being the more wicked one, is more physically weak since wickedness (in the context of the album) leads to worse results. Kendrick, being the weaker one, is stronger physically since weakness is associated with salvation and better results (in the context of the album).
holy shit. I started watching this at 3 A.M. thinking "this video has 1 hour, I'm going to watch it to maybe sleep in the middle of it" BUT WHAT???? this video was fucking incredible, man. when I heard this album for the first time, I didn't have any idea that it was *_that_* deep. this video was so amazingly written and edited that it made my comprehend the album so much better. never stop making videos, man. you got a new _loyal_ sub. *damn.*
I swear, K-Dot's work is like a movie series. He's such a great storyteller. Specifically in this album, he sets up the entire tone with the lines: "Is it WICKEDNESS? Is it WEAKNESS? YOU decide. Are we gonna LIVE? Or DIE?" And it's so well done. I have yet to listen to his other work but yeah, this one's my favourite so far. Thank you for doing this deep dive!
So Damn back then was the reason of why we have M.Moral & TheBigSteppers😮😮
I've been trying to understand the conceptual side of damn for so long. This truly is the best breakdown I've seen on this project. I truly am amazed by the work you've put in and ofc kendrick's hehe. Thank you! Love!
Kendrick is one of my top listened to artists on Spotify and this album has been one I constantly go back to since it came out and the reverse order track list BLEW MY MIND
dont see drake making albums like this
“Ain’t nobody praying for me”
I was so confused by this album, because I knew there was something more to it. That video solved it all. Such an amazing perspective of this album. Thank you :)
This is like my first time commenting in a long time, perhaps since 5 years ago. I gotta say, while watching this at 3 in the morning, this has to be the BEST breakdown of an album I have EVER seen. Without even mentioning the quality of the editing or tone of the video, it’s fucking amazing. Keep it going man, this was an incredible watch.
ngl this album and its message reminds me of dante’s inferno, the exploration of sin, politics and human nature
It also shows that Kendrick was worried that there was no alternate timeline where he was good, instead however he was that timeline, as the other timeline , which is the album played in reverse, was what happened when he chose wickedness
yo usually i dont even comment on vids and shit but allow me to tell you this video is amazing. The visuals, the way you explain it, the overall attention to detail is what makes this video so entertaning and complete. really hope u keep going dude, u killed it.
when the vid so good you just stand there like,DAMN.
He won the fucking Pulitzer prize for this album… the first rapper to ever do so and to my knowledge, the first music artist
I’m going to be honest at first I was like "I doubt some guy who discovers rap music in 2017 will have any thing interesting to say about this amazing album" but then you blowed my mind on how well this video was written and edited. You even thought me about the two different path of the album I always thought it was just about how Kendrick picked the wickness path and that’s it wow I can only tell you how impressed I am
Thank you for making this… I’m 30 and went through my 20s with the emergence of Kendrick Lamar… this made me appreciate this body of work infinitely more.
I think the interpretation for BLOOD. in the reverse order is that she says he's lost his life and a replay of the gunfire that killed his father rings in his head as he recognizes that he's lost his true self, his life, in the path that he's chosen.
after watching this masterpiece im reminiscing on my whole life
Bro, this is one of the greatest video essays I've ever seen. Though I knew the twist about the reverse story, you still made me watch the whole video with so much satisfaction. You gave me goosebumps with the structure, the montage, the storytelling. Great job, bro!! Thanks a lot!!
Damn you should do this for every Kendrick album😭
I think the blind lady is actually wisdom because in proverbs 1:20-23 it’s saying that wisdom cries out on the streets for those who want to listen. While in the original order Kendrick goes to seek wisdom and his old self dies showing that he is starting his journey with Christ while in the reverse it’s showing that because of all his wickedness, that Kendrick dies because in Deuteronomy 30:19 it is saying that God has given you a choice to choose from blessings or curses and he has called all on earth and heaven to witness your decisions. But the most important part in that is him saying that if you choose God or “life” as it states, then you and your descendants will live. It also states in the Bible that wisdom is a woman in some way so it would make more sense 1:00:11
i love this!!
DAMN. and IGOR were my intros to rap, and those 2 will forever be my favorite albums of all time, but DAMN takes number one after I watched this video. Makes me appreciate DAMN. so much more.
Mini Theory: During this album, there are many songs in reference to Compton gangs especially the "Pirus". In m.A.A.d City, Kendrick alludes to himself once being close to them in lines such as "At the same burger stand where Cr**s hang out", showing the opposition to the Crips & "When you hop out the trolley, make sure your colours correct" bringing light to the heavy gang influence of Compton, USA. To build off the idea of moving closer (or further) to "GOD., this album also shows Kendrick Lamar moving further (or closer) to "BLOOD.", a.k.a. the gang life of Compton & the presence of the "Bloods/Pirus".
FEEL & FEAR honestly hit on a personal level. i had the fortune and misfortune of listening to it backwards, so off rip i had to face all of the demons. At the Age 7 Verse of FEAR it felt like a revisiting of my less then idle childhood. thinking about why it happened and how life could've been. Age 17 felt like Kendrick Airing the same feelings i still feel almost 2 years later. Age 27 felt almost like a father or uncle giving me a new perspective on life.
the best part about xxx for me is the gun control part. heavily hints at the idea that damn. as a whole is a reaction to a tragic truth, something he confirmed in an interview about damn. he was asked something about the album and TPAB and he said that if TPAB is him trying to change the world, damn. is him realizing he cant
What an amazing breakdown. You must have sat and dwelled on this albums for hours man 😭 we appreciate your work.
this is my all-time favorite album. i've been listening to it off and on for the past few years, and loved every bit of it. awesome video, my man. love to find new perspectives
I thought it was cool through the track list you found the phrase "Fear God" on the original album. It also made me realize that on the collectors edition you can see "Love Lust".
Another thing I noticed is that the album is 55 minutes long and 55 in numerology means change, growth and spiritual growth.
you should deep dive into tpab edit: The old lady being god is the second time where kendrick talks about god posing as someone else. In a song on TPAB, “How much a dollar costs?”, the homeless man in the song who asks kendrick for a dollar, reveals himself to be god. Kendrick realizes he failed god in not being generous when he could’ve. Interesting.
whenever you do a video about an album you make it so clear to understand and enjoy. you should do to pimp a butterfly i still dont get it
What a fucking trip. I felt that I picked up some of what he was going for but I appreciate you for going so deep into it. It was like putting contacts that not only help me see it clearer, it also gave xray vision on top or that. You did a great job on the video.
There's a wickedness. There's a weakness. You decide. Are we gonna live, or die.
he explains the premise in the first line
Kendrick is one of the best rappers alive bro.
Dude, I never thought that Tyler video could be topped, yet this is absolutely magnificent. Great video!
Dude, never stop making videos. They just keep getting more incredible. Your editing is also so amazing
Something I just want to mention, I don’t know what significance this has or if it’s just an Apple music thing, but from XXX to (except God for some reason) Duckworth it’s listed at the bottom of the song lyrics as being written by Kendrick Duckworth instead of Kendrick Lamar.
So clear why he was given a Pulitzer for this album
This album hits different when you enter your 30s. I always come back to this album when I’m stressed out about things. He went more deep in Mr. Moral and the big steppers. hard subjects to talk about let alone make a song about them.
this is probably the best and most well made analysis of music ive ever seen on youtube, especially with all the graphics. would love to see you cover more works!
DAMN is the perfect name, cause this mind-blowing just makes you sit back realise, damn, kendrick is truely one of a kind
note how the age of 27 is also referring to the 27 club. kendrick is afraid that he could potentially join that club because if how unusually talented he is.
in FEAR.
because of*
this video is so well done! as a huge kendrick fan, i wanna thank you for making this. i feel like this needs more recognition
This has absolutely made this album an even more amazing listen, thank you for the work you put into the deep dive. Keep up the good work
Kendrick gotta be one of the smartest people when it comes to storytelling in our lifetime
Putting this into context it all makes sense, in the deluxe version where the album is listed backwards Duckworth replaces the word "life" for "God". From "Life is one funny mf a true comedian" in the original. This confirms that playing it backwards, kendrick loses his father, kendrick is mocking God for losing his father in such a strange way over chicken". Blood is the track that puts kendricks life back on track, when he is shot, its like he wakes up from this dream where his dad was dead and Duckworth turns it around. A perfect loop of an album
Damn. I didn't know this about this album. Kendrick Lamar is the GOAT.
I've been watching lots of yt videos for over a decade now. This is easily the best music video that I have watched. Not only because I'm a fan of Kenny's work (specially DAMN), but because this video registered my thoughts on this masterpiece. Great respect for your vid work, production, dedication and appreciation for the album. You did a fantastic job.
I agree with people that say TPAB is the best rap album of all time, but I genuinely think this is right there with TPAB as the greatest rap album of all time.
Bro should do Mr Morale and the Big Steppers ❤️