a lot of people think they know Kendrick Lamar's good kid m city I honestly doubt it here we're not only going to be revisiting the album we're going to be dissecting every story meaning in how this is Kendrick's greatest album Kendrick Lamar's good kid Mad City is more than just a bunch of random songs no it tells the story on how Kendrick became the success he is today by battling his inner demons trauma and how in just one single day Kendrick would be faced with with the hardest choice of his life so what does it mean to be a good kid in a Mad City the album starts with a prayer I come to you as s and ibly repent for my S now this is no doubt the most important line of the entire album and somehow it's the first thing we hear a rather interesting way to start since it gives us a sense of remorse and repentance but who are these people and what are they praying for that's when you start getting the sense of something not being [Music] right an important sound that represents a key figure in this album a girl a girl that would change the whole trajectory of everything to come after Shin the song kicks off at this house party in Compton where a young 17-year-old Kendrick meets the this girl sh met this house party on Central she had the credentials of strippers in Atlanta hello my name is Kendrick she saidis in my disapp her dancing she's captivating it's beyond anything he's felt before but this girl shine becomes a huge Temptation for K the way that he describes her all rough and focusing on her physicality shows the youthful impulsiveness that drives so many of his decisions in this album this is where the concept of Choice starts to take place we learned in the song that Shireen is affiliated with gang in her family her fav cousin Demetrius isable gang he's able to acknowledge these red flags but still chooses to pursue her anyways driven by his lust so when the opportunity presents itself for Kendrick to go over he doesn't hesitate to take his mom's van and drive straight to her house Mom I'm going to use the van real quick be back 15 minutes and I'm thinking about that thinking about or maybe kissing on her neck or maybe what position next two blocks away 250t and six STS from where she St but as Kendrick in just closer and closer to shine up a smile on face and then I see hoodies I frze my phone rang the track here suddenly stops a very simple story Boy Meets Girl girl becomes a problem and consequences begin but after this point you're left wondering what just happened are these two hooded people involved with Shin with was this all a plot towards Kendrick even considering Kendrick's mom refers to sharan as a hood rat in the ending skit of the song Kendrick where you at damn I'm sitting here waiting on my van you told me you was going to be back in 15 minutes you on your way or what I hope you ain't out there messing with them damn hood rats out there especially that a crazy ass girl shine as the album progresses you're able to see that shine AKA Master Splinter's daughter is sort of a starting point for Kendrick to confront his own identity who is Kendrick who does Kendrick want to become it represents a cross roads where the wrong choice can lead to horrible outcomes so who is kendri going to choose to be after this just happened Vibe is the second and most favorable song off the album and introduces us to a new version of Kendrick no longer k do the young boy from Compton but Kendrick as he is from the release of this album in the song Kendrick talks to different people with each perspective being able to help us understand his message a little better first having a conversation with with God talking to him as a [Music] sinner taking the time to rant to God about how he doesn't like where rap is going telling him that his music is meant to send a message of love and courage but others just use it to get famous here seeking guidance from God as he navigates his new fame this can also be interpreted as Kendrick having a conversation with two sides of himself one side is super confident this side of him feels inspired and believes that he can reach Great Heights in his career but then there's the other side that feels unsure and weighted down by everything that comes with being famous two voices going back and forth throughout the song then there's Kendrick talking directly to you the listener he's trying to stay focused on what's important to him but people around him are just messing with this Vibe distracting him the song basically saying leave me alone let me do my thing without any of this bad energy all three of these are valid points and can be used to interpret the song better and even though this song has no significance to the actual Narrative of the album its solo story is able to capture where Kendrick's mind is at from writing this album but what is all of that have to do with this K get in the car come on we F to roll out I got a pack of back in a BCD get your freestyles ready Back Seat Freestyle is the third song off the album and you can immediately tell the disconnect from the last previous tracks while those two were focused more on explaining something to you through this sort of cmer beat Backseat Freestyle jumps right off the bat with this more aggressive tone and it's easy to know why since we know who's rapping here I'm never living life it's a failure even if I'm blind I can tell you who what when we how to sell your game right on time putting us back in the eyes of that younger Kendrick from the first track but the last we heard of him he was caught up with Shan and these two- hooded people so what happened remember this story isn't linear as a matter of fact this song is one of the first events that happened throughout the day with Kendrick getting stopped a couple hours later the story in this song isn't anything crazy like some of the songs coming up but it's this sort of click that puts everything into motion right off the bat you can immediately tell that this song is just Kendrick freestyling in the back of the car and that's it but what is interesting about it is that it's able to help us understand how we're supposed to view this younger version of Kendrick because we learn one he's easily influenced when he's around his friends focused on power money and women all my life I want money and power is two extremely young talking about what he does [Music] I2 three is scared all the time let's take a pause here and try to learn who exactly is in this car because these are Kendrick's friends and while it's not important to identify who each person is it is important to know how big of of an impact they have on this kid so if Kendrick doesn't think about change in what's coming next these friends will be the reason that his life is about to take the biggest U-turn you've ever seen in your entire life the art of pure pressure is probably one of the most intuitive songs off the album and really starts pushing the needle forward compared to other songs prior so what's going on here the song is an immediate continuation of Back Seat Freestyle and and we now know that that song was literally just Kendrick rapping in the back of the car but as mentioned earlier these friends aren't people to mess around with and Kendrick despite how he's been acting so far is only doing it to gain some brownie points from these people because the truth is Kendrick doesn't like to get into any trouble he wants to stay as far away from gangs as possible he really is just a good kid but the second he decides to step into that car Russian quck the laugh I'm a paker but I'm with the hom right now so as Kendra continues to drive her on the city the more and more his friends want to do now keep in mind that he's been in this car all day and the amount of things that they've been doing is beyond explaining [Music] toy they meet some girls they get interrogated by rival gangs just trying to cause as much trouble as they can but at some point during this ride someone passes Kendrick a blun again Kendrick does not want to do this he has no idea what's in it who gave it to him but it doesn't matter right [Music] right well we'll get to that later after driving around for what seemed like hours they end up in front of a house and Kendrick already knows what's about to happen he is not about to break into that house think of the consequences think of your mom consequences look at us everyone's already going in if we don't go imagine how bad everyone's going to see us the risk isn't worth it look at him he's scared he's not like them one wrong move could ruin everything okay but one good move can make him a legend in the streets think about it you're making this a big deal when no one's even home no you know what there's no way in a million years we're going in there especially to break in and that's final I hit the back window and search of any Nintendo DVDs plasma screen TVs in the trunk but then as predicted the worst happens hey got somebody in this room wait what there's somebody in this room panicking they Sprint back to their car and speed [Music] off they have to escape these cops as fast as possible we made it right they made it right they made it right they made a left but they made a right they made a left they made a right then another right one lucky night with with the homies the song is really about this Persona Kendrick has been building for himself from each of these tracks and really is a battle between the angel who wants to make it Out of Compton and the devil's saying to fit in since this is how his life is supposed to turn out but his friends keep weighing him down whatever they do he feels pressured to do the same which then turns into this constant cycle of trouble which bleeds exactly into what happens right after how you P up yeah we finally got that on now I think he hit the wrong blunt though all right here's the plan love kick back as a aliar wait till the tle down roll out drop K dot off at his mama van cuz I know he trying to Shain tonight and we all going to meet back at the Block at about 10:30 matter of fact get in the [ __ ] car we F to get [Music] out money trees is the most Listen song on the album and for good reason if you The Listener are looking at this song for the first time what what do you think of do you think of a tall humongous tree filled with a bunch of money maybe a metaphor for a wealthy person or could it mean something completely different after Kendrick got dropped off at his mom's van he decides to drive back home but as he drives back he starts to think a bit think about where his life is going so as he's driving he's thinking about his past thinking about his future thinking about money so far every passing moment the house Breakin was about stealing valuable things get that house tell me is you waited you [ __ ] from 9 to I know it's vac you [ __ ] the rapping in the car was about how rich he wants to become get bit everything is revolved around getting a dollar as Kendrick is doing all of these horrible things he's thinking about this dream of living the rapper life with the money and the cars but then he remembers where he's from so he's willing to do anything to get that check he then starts to think about how he's going to be able to have the most beautiful wife when he makes it saying that everything in his life could be going horribly wrong but if he just had some money all of the issues in the entire world would magically disappear because he would have complete and utter power over everything and everyone making his life Perfect all from a piece of paper but at the same time Kendrick knows that what he's doing is wrong and unethical so now he can pick the good or the bad the good obviously being don't steal and the bad doing risky things to get money quickly in his heart there's one side of him that wants to start doing the right thing which he calls Hallelujah and another part that just wants the lust of money and excitement what he calls Hal Berry each side trying to pull him into a different direction but then a realization how is money viewed sure money can get you the girl but Kendrick wants real love so now he's just looking at her as a distraction think of it like climbing the mountain of life people will take their backpacks full of necessities and their morals you know things they love but it's a lot of stuff so it's heavy so it's crazy what people are willing to do to get up the mountain faster dropping stuff from their backpacks more and more just to get to the top first so when you get up there you forget why you even climbed up here in the first place does Kendrick want that so far Kendrick has been kind of immature but this is showing an Awakening to what he can finally do to change so this is it after seeing shine leader his life is about to completely change he can actually make it Out of Compton all of these trials and tribulations for Kendrick to wake up and finally realize he can make it out oh wait poetic justice is seen as one of those songs on every album about love so this is a love story between Kendrick and shine right well not exactly first poetic justice is used as a literary device being this sort of special tool that writers use to make their stories more interesting and livelike so when you see a phrase like Poetic Justice think about someone who's always been too busy for love and just pushes away anyone who's ever cared about them but then one day they fall deeply in love with someone else but they end up being too busy for them that person finally gets what it's like and realizes they need a change Poetic Justice takes place right after the events of the first song where we saw Kendrick meet shirine and fall in love with her but what I didn't mention is that Kendrick meeting shirine to the drive to her house take place months apart from each other and there's a bunch of crucial information in those months that we need to break down so from that first song we can see that Kendrick likes shine but the thing is that he doesn't just like shirine he like likes shine I recognize your fragrance hold up you ain't never got to so every passing moment he's thinking about her wanting her but he starts saying that something is kind of off about her because she's always with the wrong crowd and she likes him one day and the other completely ignores him turns out shirea has been sneaking around with other dudes and the dude she messes around with in this song is you know not important your natural hair your soft skin and your big except Kendrick likes this he likes the chase how complicated their relationship is really has him thinking that she really wants him so he starts doing everything he can to start to understand her and get as close to her as possible becoming friends with her friends acting cool but nothing seems to work time passes and she eventually gives in and Kendrick and shine start talking more and more every day but it's extremely clear that she's only using him for one thing so here we are sitting on the curb with her looking as beautiful as ever and Kendrick starts telling her about this dream he has about true love he talks about how love should be more than just you know taking the skinboat to tuna town it should have a more deeper emotional connection and if they actually fell in love Kendrick would be able to protect her and save her from this situation that she's in shine looking at Kendrick confused she tells him she's not looking for anything that serious so she tells him no but they can still smash pisss whenever and you know what Kendrick says to this after everything he's done trying to find true love with this girl okay you know what's really good about this song is that it's placed right smack in the middle so at this point you're able to get familiar with everyone and how they would act we already know sharen is bad because she led Kendrick to these two guys a couple songs back so the whole time you're thinking well douh Kendrick doesn't want to be with this girl she's bad but Kendrick doesn't know that all he knows is that he met this girl at a party and he really likes her every song has been building up showing us every fumble Kendrick has taken so that he can learn because if we compare Kendrick a couple of months ago at the party only seeing shine as someone he can smash to now you can see how much he's changing so us as The Listener forced to see Kendrick do the wrong thing knowing that he would eventually change kind of [Music] good kid is interesting because a lot of people like to group it with its other half song Mad City now these two songs aren't here to capture how Kendrick feels or acts but it's really about what the city of Compton has done to him wait I'm sorry what the heck just happened Kendrick just got threatened by these two men and the song Just glosses over that this is possibly the worst situation Kendrick could ever be in right now this can ruin his future his relationships what can he do exactly what can he do good kid sees him stuck everyone's left him alone and he's left with no other option but to think having his whole life play out in his mind and every time he repls it and replays it all he can think to himself is how in every situation he's tried his best and be good sure he's had his stumbles but he was truly ready to change now so what's happening what is he missing maybe he's gone too far with his friends maybe it was shine heck it could have been himself looking around knowing that no 17-year-old should ever be in this situation ever since he was young he's felt trapped in the walls of his own mind as if the walls are slowly closing in and there's nothing that he can do to stop it that's why he's so scared and anxious all the time Kendrick again has a flashback on walking home from Bible study one day all seems good and calm for once and then some dude spot him and assume that he's part of a rival gang they don't ask questions they immediately see him as a threat he knows that even though he's not involved in stuff like this he can be attacked for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time the chorus also acts as a reflection of the chaos in the city calling it a mass hallucination and Ill education meaning that people are caught in this shared illusion and broken way of thinking where violence fear and hate just seem normal if we look at the album cover it perfectly sums up what I'm talking about we see a baby Kendrick surrounded by guns and alcohol violence this is all Kendrick's ever known again coming back to reality Kendrick now helpless and Powerless just sits there for hours the room's so quiet all you can hear is his own heartbeat seeing nothing that can help he sits there and he prays prays that if he's able to get out of this situation he knows that it will be meant to be everything he's been going through is there to make him stronger if he can escape this house he can show the world that staying a good kid can actually pay off then the song stops no explanation no skit [Music] nothing I take you on a trip down memory lane this is not a okay okay other half of good kid we just saved Kendrick oh oh my gosh mad city is the most intensifying song as it blew everyone away the first time they listened to it but the way that it comes in with this verocity is not just for show it's probably one of the most important parts of this entire album which is super crucial to know later we'll get to it so what is happening I know a lot of information just hit your brain so let's do a little recap Kendrick goes to see shine shine purposely set him up to get interrogated by these two guys they locked them and Kendrick's friends just came to save his life that means that Kendrick's prayer to God is now in full effect so did God send my friends did Shine really set me up so many thoughts start rushing into his head with his thoughts getting crazier and crazier thinking about why he needs to get out of this city comparing it to a war zone in Pakistan where people keep dying and how somehow it's normal for you to keep a gun on you at all times Kendrick being only 9 years old and watching someone get shot for the first time that moment switching his mindset forever the more and more Kendrick thinks the worse his thoughts get if you listen closely you can hear Kendrick's Voice break down at the brink of Tears the further we get into the [Music] songra head up on the it's almost like he can't take it anymore why is this happening to him there's a specific phrase in this song that explains it better than I ever could down where you from know where you from your grand it almost sounds like what those guys said to Kendrick earlier I'm going tell you where I'm from okay you going to tell me where you from okay or or or where your grandma stay but why is it here and why is it so distorted and low well the answer to that is actually extremely simple Ain if we go back all the way to the art of peer pressure I told you guys that Kendrick took a blunt with a bit of some of that powdered sugar remember so the true effects of that blunt haven't started hitting him until he started running for his life in the beginning probably why he was able to outrun those guys huh so this entire first section of the song with Kendrick talking insane and going crazy was him hallucinating in the car as him and his friends were driving away he can't get over how crazy his life is did you not see what just happened to him it it was insane he gets serious and tells us that no matter how bad he makes his story seem about Compton no one will ever understand what it was like to be a kid going through this because it was bad worse than I can never explain it and that's the message between these two songs no matter how many times Kendrick is influence to go out with his friends or be with Shain the city as a whole can destroy him as a person so Kendrick tweaking in the back eventually makes his friends park the car there's a pretty good distance away from the house so I think it's a good time for just lay back and drink that swimming pools is the ninth song on this album and it's funny how a lot of people view this as a club song telling people to drink and party but that couldn't be farther from the truth first what exactly is swimming pools well a swimming pool being a place of fun and jumping in the water but here imagine the swimming pool being made entirely of liquor and addicted people are jumping in this song steps away from everything and focuses on how Kendrick just promised himself he wouldn't get involved in stuff like this if he can escape this house he can show the world that staying a good kid can actually pay off telling his friends about last time they told him to drink picture this Kendrick is at a party everyone is drinking The Vibes are exciting and then boom you can see that people are drinking to escape their sadness others just doing it to be accepted by their friends so Kendrick at this party is of course not a drinker but he stands there watching observing seeing what everyone is doing when all of a sudden his friends end up right next to him all extremely drunk pushing him to drink with them but after some persistent nose he ends up giving in because someone called him a [ __ ] see now that's where you cross the line so he starts drinking with them and shot after shot the room gets darker and louder drinking more and more to keep up with his friends then comes a crucial Point Kendrick hears a voice the voice of his conscience warning him about the dangers of drinking too much [Music] she okay now open your mind up and listen me Kendrick if you do not hear me you will be I'm gy right now and I'm hoping to you to for that one second you realizes what he's been doing since he knows that drowning too much in this poison can lead to a crazy addiction and ruin his life but Kendrick's already gone too far he starts mentioning having a new appetite for failure meaning that he's starting to expect the worst first in his life and This Feeling Just grows stronger over time saying EXC bom we go back to Kendrick explaining this to his friends but they aren't listening they still think that he's shooken up after what happened to him earlier and so fueled by rage the only thing on their minds from all of this is Revenge how can we get back at those people who did this to him they can't let this slide they have to end those guys' life without not a second thought they jump back in their car and they go back Kendrick not wanting to go tries to become the voice of reason but they just keep going faster and faster even though these two have nothing to do with it they feel it's necessary to protect him here and we know that Kendrick is changing but even him being on this car going back is the single most important part of this I thought I had enough they stop the hum me out over a [ __ ] we going to do the same old [ __ ] I'm going pop a few shots they going run they run opposite way right and I hope that that set him up out there we going to pop that [ __ ] too wait hold up hey I see something ah got the K out you good you good yeah but I'm good you good D say something D these [ __ ] kill my brother sing about me I'm dying of thirst is the most important song throughout this album there's been this overarching story taking place about love and violence and sing about me I'm dying of thirst serves as that climax that a lot of stories have that is meant to completely motivate the character just for a chance of making a difference so why why is this song specifically so important well this song is cut up into two parts first sing about me and I'm dying of thirst which we'll find out the meaning of later throughout the album we've been following Kendra and his group of friends and unfortunately we just saw one of Kendrick's closest friends pass away after trying to get revenge for him earlier now this song isn't revolved around that friend who we later learned his name Dave but is focused on Dave's brother who I'm calling DB and how he reacts to finding out what happened DB just saw his brother die right in front of him but time goes on and we see him thinking kendri thanking him for always always showing so much love to Dave even in Dave's dying moment moments Kendrick held him making him feel safe even though in this moment he's completely helpless just the being there meant so much to DB we go back to a specific day where it's just Kendrick and DB alone sitting thinking about life and For The First Time in Forever they have a genuine talk putting Kendrick in this High pedestal since he has this huge passion to make it Out of Compton because for him it was all lost when he was just a kid telling him about how much he loves his raps and prays that one day one day when he makes it big he'll tell their story shedding light to all those other kids going through the same situation making sure that his memory is never forgotten so fueled by rage he can't get over his brother's death it's the same nightmare every night so he goes for vengeance but one slip up ended his life but Kendrick here fulfilling his wish to Sing About Me ending his verse with the final words am I worth it right now they just killed the hom brother just all right all right just call me back me back so what we going to do man what we going to do BR bro we can go back right now my we can go back right now I'm tired of this I'm tired of fing running I'm tired of this my brother homie I am tired of running song after song it's been is issue after issue problem after problem they're tired of running they're tired of hunting they're tired of living this life of crime chasing these empty goals they just watch their friend die and just want to find a way to stop all this madness Kendrick and his friend start to reflect saying many I lost they've sinned too much and the reaper is calling death is always close by and feel like there's no Escape so how are they all going to change it's a psycho violence greed Temptation repentance that keeps pulling them in but Breaking Free from that cycle is a uphill battle but then the most unexpected but beautiful thing happens tired of this I'm of to me my brother homie is that what I think that is I know that's not what I think that is why are you so angry see you young men are dying of thirst do you know what that means that means you need water holy water you need to be baptized with the spirit of the Lord do you want to receive God as your personal savior okay repeat after me Lord God I come to you a sinner Lord God I come to you a sin the phrase dying of thirst isn't about needing water it's about feeling spiritually empty desperate for something greater this lady helping these young men with the sinner's prayer turning their life into Jesus no longer running no longer living a life of crime and revenge but living for him releasing themselves of this horrible mentality and ready to live this life as a newly found person and while people like DB were victim of not following through with this newly found mentality people who did were able to find something greater all right now remember this day the star of a new life your real life I mean at this point we could have just ended the album right here right we just went from Kendrick being this easily influenced little immature kid to him having this beautiful Redemption at the end so why continue well I like to think of this song as a bowl of cereal because you have two ingredients you have the cereal and you have the milk both in their own regards are perfectly fine separate but when combined together Magic so this side of the story is done right it it's over well kind of I like to think that there's one final puzzle piece to make this album whole this song begins right after with Kendrick expressing pride in who he finally is I this is really important because it sets the stage for the main message of the song being real but what does that actually mean after Kendrick took that leap to being true to himself he realized what's going on with so many other people he points out how everyone loves material things fancy clothes fast cars money and they believe that these things will make them happy but what to do it when you don't yourself no matter how much you love these material things or other people if you don't love and accept yourself none of it really matters so real isn't about what you have or what other people think of you it's about knowing yourself and your own worth well true but there's so so much more to it than just that throughout the album we've been getting voicemails from Kendrick's parents and at first these voicemails are very sporadic where my mother Domino's at this the second time I actually bring my Domino D phone I want your body of that big old F see hell he Ain even tripping off them Domino no more just bring the car back somebody say domino don't hang up damn let me call back but one thing is extremely clear Kendrick's parents are flustered his mom constantly asking for the vanb back his dad high as hell the whole time so they must not be important actually these two characters might be the most important people at some point after this whole ordeal Kendrick's parents call him for a third time not calling asking about the car or dominoes but actually talking to him his dad starts by apologizing for what happened to Dave yeah I ain't triing up from Domino's just call sorry to hear what happened to your home Oney he tells him that what those people did to him that's not being real for him being real is responsibility it's taking care of your family real is God his mom takes the phone and tells Kendrick that Top Dog the music label called asking if they could hear more from him saying that they loved what they've been listening to so far and if he actually put all of his energy into it who knows where it can take him ending the conversation with something that would push him forward to pursuing this rapping thing if I don't hear from you your city and I love you Kendrick talk to you later bye now everybody serenate the new Fai of Kendrick Lamar Compton is the final chapter of Kendrick Lamar's good kid matad city and it brings everything we've seen in this album to this powerful conclusion and when you listen to it it sounds happy kind of like a celebration and in all honesty that's exactly what it is this album has been crazy I hope you see why so many people are in love with it and can stop obset ing over this man but there's one final chapter to this story to finally close this book shut so taking place way in the future Kendrick pursued rap he signed that deal with Top Dog we're finally seeing Kendrick at a moment of Triumph he made it he's at the top dropping song after song win after win the fame and the money keeps stacking up life couldn't be going any better and with Fame he can throw that whole past life behind him who cares about everyone else he's the one who's up not a single thought has to go to Compton or that horrible life ever again I'm going to pause you right there even though Kendrick is at the top he's never going to forget where he came from Kendrick loves this city and the people that are in it he Embraces it not looking down on it but holding it to a pedestal for making it who he is today giving back to the people of Compton just as he promised his mom showing homage to the city its people and its culture the city is United as one if the album is a story of Kendrick trying to find a way in the midst of chaos Compton is that resolution where everything comes full circle if you've been following this far then you know that the story of good kid Mad City is deeply rooted on the idea of change Kendrick says that all kids in Compton are good kids they just live in the Mad City it changes people it becomes their Norm so by him telling this story of his introduction to this world to then his everyday life to his eventual Victory it shows people that they can change too we saw Kendrick at his worst in Compton dealing with Shine the constant fear of walking outside to that key moment changing everything for Kendrick pushing him to achieve more a story of personal change from a immature teenager to a seasoned adult parents focused on dominoes to passing down lessons on being a man to us witnessing Kendrick's group of friends go from troubled teenagers to converted Christians change is at the key Center of all of it showing you that whatever situation you're going through in life with change you can overcome it too so find your good kid in a Mad City and overcome [Music] it I remember you was conflicted