i: Positivity Through Love

In the past few years, Kendrick Lamar had transformed himself into something of a rap icon. With his most recent album, 2012's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Lamar documented his troubled adolescence in Compton, California, one of the United States' most well-known ghettos. The area is known for its impoverished inhabitants, drug problems, and rampant crime. All of these issues and more were documented in the last album through masterful lyricism and storytelling, which are intertwined with beautiful instrumentals and beats, ultimately creating one of the most aesthetically pleasing and intellectually challenging albums of its time.

This album's renown left many speechless, and for the past two years, Lamar has been either on tour for the album, working on songs with other rappers, and hopefully enjoying his new-found fame. With this kind of an album, he easily could have retired young and still been considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. However, he is still deeply passionate about music and the positive impact he can have upon not only his old community, but the whole world.

That is the theme of recently released single, i. The song, which was created using the instrumental from the classically sensual Isley Brothers song, Who's that Lady? (Sexxxxxy Ladyyyy...) This choice by itself is odd, but the producers use this happy, psychedelic guitar riff to lay the base of a song that is unapologetically positive. This is further perpetuated in the beginning skit by a preacher-esqe voice praising Kenrick Lamar's belief in all people, and his musical prowess. 

"He's not a rapper, he's a writer, he's an author! And if you read between the lines, we'll learn how to love one another! But you can't do that... — (Right on!) — I said, you can't do that without loving yourself first..."

Lamar then breaks into fast-paced, high-voiced lyrics. He begins by addressing the trials of his past life in Compton, the events documented in GKMC, and the current "motherfuckers" that are trying drown him. These are continuous themes through the whole song, reflecting that he can't escape the troubles of his past, but he must learn to accept them. He is able to accept these troubles through religion and love, as shown in the line, "Trial, tribulations, but I know God. Satan wanna put me in a bow-tie, pray that the holy water don't go dry."

He then breaks into a catchy hook, a repetition of "I love myself." The hook, despite his recent fame, is in no way a reflection of narcissism. Instead it alludes to his assertion in past songs as well as in the beginning skit that one can't love others and be a positive force for change in a dark world without first loving and accepting yourself. He is, however, confident in his ability to affect this change, and in his ability as a rapper to remain relevant, as shown by in the lines, "I duck these gold faces, post up fee-fi-fo-fum basis. Dreams of realities peace, blow steam in the face of the beast." The gold faces are the powerful rappers he is avoiding who are in it for the money, but Lamar is a friendly giant in the rap game. He dreams of peace, and mocks those who disagree with his positivity.

They also show that with his famous documentation of these troubles comes the pressures of pleasing all who love him. When he says, "You know the miserable do love company. What do you want from me and my scars?" He is rhetorically asking his fans how he should respond to his new fame, and what he should do next, with the his past issues already well known.

If this song is any indication, fans need not be worried about Kendrick Lamar's future. He clearly still has motivations to create amazing art, and hopefully he can achieve his goal of being a positive force for change in the world.

Lyrics and Further Analysis