Untitled: What Did Kendrick Say?

Lyrics

A few months ago, Kendrick Lamar performed on the penultimate episode of The Colbert Report. As Colbert's final musical guest ever, he performed a new, untitled song he had written. Perhaps as a tribute to the show itself, which is a satire of the white, conservative media, Lamar's song focused mainly on race, which is a prevalent theme in his work, as well as in most hip-hop music. The untitled work is a perfect example of a poem that raises issues of race and the significance of what different races generally have respect for. 

The introduction frames Kendrick going back to his old neighborhood and flirting with a girl, who is asking him for advice at the beginning of each verse in the repeated line, "What did the [insert racial group] man say?" This makes him think about what generally considered in four cultures, represented by four different men. The "Asian," the "Indian," and the "black man" represent the point of views of three different groups, and they all give Kendrick advice in the form of a "piece" of themselves. This parallelism gives the poem structure, and provides a unity to the whole song. It also makes the men similar in that they all want something. The last man, the "white man" instead takes a piece of Kendrick. This is followed by a response from Kendrick, who represents the first three men. 

"(What did the Asian say?)
A peace of mind
That's what the Asian said, I need a divine
Intervention was his religion and now it's a prize"

The first man, the Asian, tells Kendrick he needs a "peace of mind." This is a pun, because whereas all of the other men are giving Kendrick a "piece" of advice, the Asian's advice is a "peace of mind," or calmness. This pun simply emphasizes Lamar's creativity as a lyricist. Eastern culture often focuses on mental and spiritual well-being. This is heavily shown in Buddhism, which encourages meditation and inner peace. By focusing on mental and spiritual health through calmness and perspective rather than indulging the stresses of careers and money a person can achieve this peace.

"(What did the Indian say?)
A piece of land
That's what the Indian said, I needed demand
Telling me longevity is in the dirt, buy some property first
Profit a better dollar with generational perks"

The second man, the Indian, tells Kendrick he needs "a piece of land." This first applies to Native Americans, who historically have a special connection with their land and regard it as sacred. On another level, however, it speaks to how the Native American people have submitted to Western culture by switching their focus towards not only land, but material possessions. Ultimately, the focus of his advice is security, through land, and economic independence, which is not to be confused with greed.

"(Now what the black man say?)
A piece of nookie
That's what the black man said, I needed to push me
To the limit, satisfy my hunger"

The third man, the black man, tells Kendrick he needs "a piece of nookie." This is slang for sex. The point being made is that there is a certain power in the sexual desire that permeates mankind. It is not unhealthy, but rather works as a motivation for success. The lesson here is that attraction and feeling and even hunger are the key to social and physical success in society.

"(What the white man say?)
A piece of mines
That's what the white man wanted when I rhyme
Telling me that he selling me just for $10.99
I go platinum from rapping, I do the company fine
What if I compromise? He said it don't even matter"

 The final man, the white man, instead of giving Kendrick advice takes a piece of Kendrick. This represents the majority of America that is white and the focus in the majority on greed, money, power, and domination. This leads to the commercialization of life and art that robs people of their culture. However, Kendrick does not stand for this robbery of his identity, and speaking for all minorities, he responds. He won't sell out his art or culture for money, and he will use his culture and the advice he learned from the first men to succeed and "shoot for the stars."

"I holler, 'What you do? What you say?'
I shall enjoy the fruits of my labor if I get freed today"

"What the black man say?
Tell 'em we don't die, tell 'em we don't die, we multiply"

The song ends with a repeating hook and repeating outro. The hook is a reference to the enslavement of blacks in America, but also, perhaps more importantly, it is an extended metaphor for the enslavement of all cultures and races by commercialism. The white man is set to exploit other cultures purely for their profit, which means that those who have control of culture are betraying art by commercializing it and the culture of its creators.The outro is spoken directly from Kendrick, in which he says he and the people of all minorities and oppressed cultures will never die or give up but will continue to grow stronger.
Throughout the song, numerous stereotypes are made about the people talking to Kendrick. These stereotypes are not meant to harm people, but rather to signify the uniqueness each culture brings to the table in America. The evil and greed is not a condemnation of white people, but a condemnation of  the white-dominated culture of oppression that exists in America. The advice that Kendrick receives does not automatically mean that all black people love sex or all Asians are peaceful. Each piece of advice represents a different culture. If Kendrick can learn to appreciate and follow (or not follow) each peace of advice, he can be healthy and successful. Likewise, if America can learn to appreciate each race and culture equally, it can be a healthy and successful society.
P.S. If this song can't be obtained for the class playlist on Spotify, I suggest "Hood Politics" by Kendrick Lamar from his new album, To Pimp a Butterfly.