Jahmel Jordon Writing & Rhetoric Rhetorical Analysis: Kendrick Lamars Good Kid M.A.A.

D City

Good Kid M.A.A.D City (GKMC) is a story, some fact some fiction, about Kendrick Lamars adolescent years spent in the rough streets of Compton. His story revolves around Kendrick and his three friends living the life of teenagers in a place like Compton. Sex, money, drugs and gangs are all that matter to the teens, and for a long time things were going fine. Then Kendrick gets caught up with a girl named Sherane whose family is known for having many hardcore gangbangers. One day he goes to her house and her cousins brutally beat up Kendrick. Kendricks friends convince him that they need to retaliate. In the middle of the ensuing gunfight one of

Kendricks friends is shot and killed on the spot. Outraged by their friends death they were again determined to retaliate. On their way to their car, guns in hand, they run into an old lady. She of course isnt pleased with whatever Kendrick and his friends are about to do so she confronts them. She asks them whether they believe in God. She then confirms them to Christianity on the spot. She tells them that they can start living their new life, their real life. They never end up trying to avenge their friends death, rather they get serious about their rapping and land a record deal that gets them all out of Compton and away from the lifestyle theyve been trying to put behind them. Based on the story and several conscious choices made my Kendrick Lamar regarding this album I believe that Kendrick was trying to achieve a very specific goal every time someone listens to his album. Kendrick Lamar wants all listeners, through his lyrics, themes and ideas presented throughout the album, to realize what its like to live in the streets of Compton, or any hood for that matter. Not only does he want to illustrate life in the hood but he also wants to use his album as a source of inspiration for listeners who might be in the same situation he was in when he was growing up. He wants to show that even after many setbacks and misfortune kids really can make it out of the hood. Kendrick Lamar had to make many decisions about how and what he was going to present to the listeners of his album. During this part Im going to focus on the how. The first thing that listeners will think about, maybe even before they start listening to the album, is what is the significance in the album title. Kendrick explained that the acronym in M.A.A.D has two meanings. My Angry Adolescence

Divided and My Angels on Angel Dust. When asked during an interview who it was that was addicted to angel dust (for those who dont know angel dust is the street name for PCP) he explained Thats the reason I dont smoke That was me that got laced. In making the title of the album have such a personal meaning it shows that Kendrick is trying to relate his experiences to his listeners. Another choice about the presentation of the album was the cover art for the album. The cover of the album shows an actual photo of Kendrick as a child sitting on the lap of one of his uncles. To their left is another uncle and his grandfather to the right. All of the eyes in the photo except for his own are censored out. Also visible in the photo is a 40-ounce by his baby bottle and his uncle is throwing up the crips gang sign. When asked why their eyes were censored out he replied, And the eyes blanked out, thats for my own personal reasons youll probably hear about that in the album. After listening to the album multiple times I heard him make several references to his uncles being shot in the head. The choice of having an actual photo from his childhood shows how much Kendrick wants listeners to understand the influences that hes been dealing with his entire life. This adds a level of credibility to the idea that someone who has been influenced by drugs, gangs, and alcohol from a young age can indeed make it out of that lifestyle. The last major choice in form for the album was how it was going to sound. On the album cover, located on the bottom right, Kendrick placed the words A short Film By: Kendrick Lamar. This again was no accident and Kendrick stays true to this idea of his album being a short film. To give the entire album the feel of a short film Kendrick seamlessly transitions between the video portions and the actual

songs within the album. The beginning of the album actually starts off with what sounds like a VHS tape being inserted into an old TV. In order to distinguish between the videos and the songs Kendrick adds an effect to the all of the video sequences that sounds like a VHS tape being unwound inside the VHS player. By adding this effect Kendrick is trying to bring listeners into the middle of the action. This then makes the entire story more realistic and allows listeners to empathize with the characters. Apart from how Kendrick Lamar presents his album there is also the matter of what it is that hes actually presenting. Apart from telling the story the fifteen songs in the album touch on themes that all listeners can identify with, whether they live in the hood or not. In the song The Art of Peer Pressure he talks about the things that he was pressured to do while he was with his friends:

I never was a gangbanger, I mean I was never stranger to the funk neither / I really doubt it / Rush a n**** quick and then we laugh about it / Thats ironic cause Ive never been violent, until Im with the homies - (Kendrick Lamar) He also talks about gang violence in Sing about me, Im Dying of Thirst where he talks about his friend dying:

This orphanage we call a ghetto is quite a routine / And last night was just another distraction or a reaction / Of what we consider madness, I know exactly what happened / You ran outside when you heard my brother cry for help/Held him like a newborn baby and made him feel / Like everything was alright and a fight he tried to put up / But the type of bullet that stuck had went against his will / As blood spilled on your hands - (Kendrick Lamar) Kendrick also talks about spirituality and morality in the clip after the song Real:

"Just calling, sorry to hear what happened to your homeboy, but don't learn the hard way like I did homie. Any n**** can kill a man, that don't make you a real n****. Real is responsibility, real is taking care of your motherf***ing family, real is god, n****" - (Kendric Lamar)

Good Kid M.A.A.D City was an album that was much more than just music to Kendrick. I think its explained best in the clip after the song Real:

"If I don't hear from you, by tomorrow... I hope you come back, and learn from your mistakes. Come back a man, tell your story to these black and brown kids in Compton. Let 'em know you was just like them, but you still rose from that dark place of violence, becoming a positive person. But when you do make it, give back, with your words of encouragement, and that's the best way to give back. To your city... - (Kendrick Lamar) To Kendrick releasing this album is the reason why he was given the opportunity to make it out of the drugs, sex, and violence. To make it big so that millions can listen to his album and say, if Kendrick Lamar could get out of the drugs and violence then so can I. With all of the time and attention that Kendrick Lamar placed into every level of Good Kid M.A.A.D City, from the title to the themes within each song, it is clear to me that Kendrick Lamar definitely has achieved his purpose with this album. He told his story of his transformation from a thug in Compton into one of the hottest hip-hop artists in the game right now. Now hes using his influence as a rapper to encourage and inspire kids in the hood to aspire to something more, something better.