imagine if you will, an average american diner; home to many pleasant memories and your favourite meals. your one stop shop for a good cup of coffee. only, this diner is serving something far more sinister. tonight, something far more ratched and evil awaits on the plates of our hungry locals. Tonight we're serving cunt.. in the Twilight Zone
Someone online called me “retard the third” today and I can’t even really argue because my biological father and grandfather are autistic too which makes them technically correct
When I started watching Dungeon Meshi I assumed Izutsumi would join the monster eater gang near the beginning, with how many posts I’ve seen of her, but she doesn’t even show up until episode 18
Got caught up with the whole Drake and Kendrick drama recently
First of all, feel free to scroll past this if you don’t give a shit/have heard about it too any times already
But it inspired me to relisten to To Pimp A Butterfly, my favourite album of all time. I’d forgotten how majestic this album was.
I really wish it was treated more like a concept album, because that’s what it is in truth. It starts with Wesley’s theory and then “for free”, both demonstrating Kendrick’s desire for fame, and to be the great and respected by the women in his life. Then it goes to king kunta, which is a beautiful song about Kendrick celebrating achieving his goal, he is one of the greats, he made it, he’s the king. Then it starts to get self reflective, institutionalised has the key chorus “shit don’t change until you get up and wash your ass”, demonstrating the fact that Kendrick is acting like a child, wanting to be the best without considering what being the best actually means. This is further confirmed in These Walls, a haunting portrayal of toxic sexual relationships, reflecting “for free” as being completely out of touch. Kendrick then has a massive reflection in “u”, struggling with insane self loathing after his friend’s death, addressing “you” as his former self. Alright then counters the depressed mentality of the last song, explaining how despite all the struggle that he and the rest of his community will be “alright”. Then “for sale” brings forward the idea that the gangster rapper mentality is inherently toxic, and that the commodification of that lifestyle is like signing a deal with the devil. “Momma” shows the results of this self reflection, showing that he has a far deeper understanding of himself, before talking to himself as a child, who doesn’t even recognise the modern Kendrick. “Hood Politics” further describes the violence inherent to his culture. “How Much a Dollar Cost” shows how rappers become economically isolated from their communities and god. “The Blacker The Berry” shows Kendrick confronting the cultural construction of ‘the black man’, as violent, enslaved, institutionalised. This notion is completely rejected by “You ain’t gotta lie”, which demonstrates how conformity to these stereotypes is unnecessary and fake. Kendrick therefore achieves the maturity he lacks at the beginning of the album, describing how he loves himself as being true to himself rather than the constructed identities of a black man or a rapper, and countering especially the immaturity of Kendrick in “king kunta”, describing himself instead of a “king” as a “negus” a black king of Ethiopia, identifying himself with his African heritage and demonstrating his understanding of racial politics and identity. This notion of identity is further explored in “mortal man”, which analyses the very idea of black people as icons, quoting several examples, dead, alive, and killed. The song ends with a conversation with Tupac, another massive cultural icon who was killed, in which they discuss metaphors in their music and inspiring their communities.
This is of course merely one perspective, and I’ve definitely missed a lot in these songs, but just… it’s just so well done. Kendrick grows through the album, and everything about the music reflects it.