- Well, I'm actually moving to the beat.
(laughing)
- I exercise to this song. (laughing)
♪ (hard rock music) ♪
- (FBE) Today, we're gonna have you read
some lyrics from top songs all by one current artist
and tell us the meaning and what you think,
then you'll get to listen to the songs you read
and tell us your thoughts. - Okay, excellent.
These are always fun.
- Ever since I've was 12, I've been into lyrics.
- I like old-school a lot, and new music all depends
on who brings it.
- I doubt if it's any kind of rap.
I hope not. (chuckling)
Otherwise, we'll just stop right there.
- "Yep, her president is black.
She black too.
Purple label on her back, but that tab is light blue.
She take it straight to the head.
Then she look at me, she got A.D.H.D."
- I got no idea who it is, but he says she's got problems.
- It's a little discrimination, a little making some fun
of somebody who's got a health challenge.
That does not sit well with me at all.
- "Now I done grew up around some people livin'
their life in bottles.
Granddaddy had the golden flask.
Some people like the way it feels."
- "Some people wanna kill their sorrows.
Some people wanna fit in with the popular.
That was my problem."
Yeah, this is all about alcoholism.
- Trying to drown their sorrows,
that's probably why most people drink a lot.
- I mean, who doesn't know about the guy in the bar
who is drinking to suppress his sorrow?
- Sounds like he woke up to something.
Sounds like he woke up to a little revelation of some sorts.
- He got involved with alcohol, trying to get rid
of his bad feelings, insecurities, and he did that as a result--
he wanted to just fit in.
- "Why you babysittin' only two or three shots?
I'ma show you how to turn it up a notch.
First you get a swimming pool full of liquor,
then you dive in it."
- First, you're the victim, where you're doing
what your peers are doing, and now it sounds like
you're the big guy.
- Swimming pool full of liquor, that's a lot of liquor.
- It's taking it to the extreme other side
of someone who's babysitting two or three shots.
- I think he's owning up to the fact
that he himself had some problems as a result of what he saw,
and the message could be, "Listen to me.
Don't get into a situation, don't experience life like I did.
It's not good for you."
- "Wouldn't you know. We been hurt, been down before."
It's the N-word.
"When our pride was low, looking at the world like,
'Where do we go?'"
- There's a sense of, "I'm at the bottom, looking up.
What do I do now?"
- We've been here before, so we know what this situation
is like, where we've been confused about which direction
we should go in life.
- People judge and they take away people's hope
and every kid especially should have hope.
- You know, discrimination is very upsetting,
and it makes you feel, you know, that you're not really worthy.
- N-word, "and we hate po-po.
Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho'."
- "I'm at the preacher's door.
My knees gettin' weak and my gun might blow.
But we gon' be all right."
- He's upset because I guess the police are, you know,
basically what's going on right now.
Young black men are getting, you know, shot.
- He has to get on his knees and pray,
and he's been on his knees for a while,
that they're getting weak.
- I think it's fabulous because the police need to start listening.
- No one can tell me what I'm feeling about
something somebody does to me or, you know, in my case,
the anti-Semitism going on at the colleges around
the United States, and I'm the son of a survivor.
No one can tell you, "Well, you shouldn't feel this,
you shouldn't feel that." No, I don't like it.
None of us are to judge what someone else is feeling
about what's going on in their world or community.
- "I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances.
Finesse and, you know, with some counterfeits,
but now I'm countin' this."
- "Parmesan where my accountant lives.
In fact, I'm downin' this."
- Syrup sandwiches, that's kind of like ketch-up sandwiches
or something like that.
You're poor, so you just eat what you can.
- Well, he's been down.
Maybe now he's up.
- There's a lot you can pull from this.
Even though I don't like the N-word and the content of this rap song
or whatever, maybe this is the writer's story.
- It's like a story from rags to riches.
He used to eat syrup sandwiches, and now he got money.
He got Parmesan.
- "Girl, I can buy yo'--" (stammering) There-- hello.
"Girl, I can buy yo' ass the world with my paystub.
Ooh--" Oh, Lord.
There it is again.
"Ooh, that... good.
Won't you sit on my taste bloods?"
- A lot of the songs have the women, you know,
dancing and they're throwing the money around,
and they really feel that they can buy the women,
which a lot of them can.
- Well, it's not one that I would use, you know,
if you're trying to impress a female, you just gotta, you know--
that's not my style.
- "I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA.
I got hustle though, ambition flow inside my DNA."
- He's probably a rapper that's been successful with his music
and he's full of himself.
- What I'm guessing is good to bad, I have all the capabilities
built inside me.
- It's in his bones, it's in his blood, you know,
power and poison and pain and joy, it's all inside.
- You know, you have pain, but you do have joy in your life.
But I like the part with the power because it sounds
as if he's able to handle himself. He's got confidence.
- There could be somebody that is facing some difficulties
in their life-- they're discouraged, they have no ambition,
they have no drive, and then they hear this song,
they could be uplifted.
It's just positive.
It shows character.
This is good. I'm pleased.
- (FBE) Any idea whose lyrics you've been reading?
- No clue.
- No idea at all.
- I have no clue. (laughing)
- I have no idea, but I like it.
- (FBE) So these were lyrics to songs from
Kendrick Lamar's repertoire. - Oh, okay.
I know him and I like him.
- Doesn't ring a bell. (laughing)
- (FBE) Kendrick Lamar is continuing the tradition
of music being a form of protesting, like Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke
in the '60s.
Kendrick has tapped into a deep-seated dissatisfication
with the status quo in American society.
So what are your thoughts on activism in music?
- I think it's great. It's a great platform.
- Music has a lot to contribute as far as
letting people know what's going on.
- Young folks, they're listening to this.
Their eyes, their ears are wide open to what this person
is gonna say next, so they should say something positive.
- (FBE) Let's play you the songs you read.
- Okay. (laughing)
- ♪ Yep, her president is black ♪
♪ She black too ♪ - Yeah, I like that beat.
Nice, really good.
- ♪ She take it straight to the head ♪ - Wow, I could actually understand
the lyrics when he said them.
- ♪ ...she got A.D.H.D. ♪
- Yeah, I had a feeling it was this kind of a rhythm.
- ♪ Now I done grew up 'round some people ♪
♪ Livin' their life in bottles ♪
♪ Granddaddy had the golden... ♪ - I know this song.
- ♪ ...everyday in Chicago ♪
♪ Some people like way it feels ♪
♪ Some people wanna kill their sorrows ♪
♪ Some people wanna fit in with the popular ♪
♪ That was my problem ♪
♪ Why you babysittin' only two or three shots? ♪
- Well, I'm actually moving to the beat. (laughing)
- ♪ ...get a swimming pool full of liquor ♪
♪ Then you dive in ♪ - Pretty cool.
It's actually, yeah, you know-- like I said, it's not a message
that would get to me, but it's a message that needs
to be out there.
- You can actually hear the lyrics.
A lot of those songs, you can't even understand
what they're saying. I really like that about him.
- ♪ Wouldn't you know ♪
♪ We been hurt, been down before ♪
- I heard this before, too.
But I didn't really know who it was.
- ♪ Where do we go? ♪
♪ [Bleep], and we hate po-po ♪
♪ Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho' ♪
♪ [Bleep], I'm at the preacher's door ♪
- Yeah. - ♪ My knees gettin' weak ♪
♪ And my gun might blow ♪ - Yeah, I-- nope.
- It's got a great hook to it, the way it leads up.
- A little violence there, just a tad bit,
but I really like the beat.
- ♪ I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances ♪
♪ Finesse a [bleep]... ♪ - I exercise to this song.
(laughing)
- ♪ ...my accountant lives ♪
♪ In fact, I'm downin' this... ♪ - Yeah, he sounds very happy.
You know, it sounds like he's got everything under control.
- ♪ ...the world with my paystub ♪
♪ Ooh, that [bleep] good, won't you sit it on my taste bloods ♪
- Yeah, it's not my type. Not my kind of song.
Sorry to have to say that.
You know, there is some poetry to these.
- ♪ I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA ♪
♪ I got hustle though, ambition flow inside my DNA ♪
- Yeah, I think my children would like it.
- You can understand what he's saying,
which is rare for me as far as rap goes.
- He seems like a very fluent writer.
- He's been having feelings about issues
that need to be talked about.
- It hits its targeted audience with a good message.
You can't do better than that.
- I have, you know, some of Jay-Z and different artists,
but I don't have him and I know he's really good,
so I'm gonna check him out.
- Thanks for watching us take on Kendrick Lamar on the React channel.
- Don't miss out, subscribe!
- If you liked this episode, then go ahead
and hit that Like button.
- Bye!
- Hey guys, I'm Katie, a React channel producer.
Thank you so much for all your comments
requesting Kendrick Lamar.
I loved doing this episode. So let me know down in the comments
which artists you want to see next time.
Thanks guys, bye!