Be Humble! Sit Down! Appreciating Another Kendrick Lamar Masterpiece 

For humble, in the context of the single he's talking to others, but in the context of the album he's talking to himself.

‘Metalhead Reacts to To Pimp a Butterfly’ would do numbers

I’d say the songs “Alright”, “DNA”, “King Kunta”, and “DUCKWORTH” are good starting points if you just wanna test the waters with Kendrick

Watching a full grown man discover KDot is a damn treat

Kendrick Lamar makes concept albums. So to understand the song properly you almost need to listen to the entire album to get the picture. It’s definitely worth it. He won a Politzer prize for a reason.

Kendrick has a "your favorite artists favorite artist" kind of vibe. I used to only listen to like hard rock and metal until I heard Good Kid, Maad City, and I've been a hip hop fan ever since. If you appreciate good music and good writing, it's hard to not like Kendrick.

so a massive part of this song is that it’s a part of DAMN. which is a DEEPLY conceptual album that plays with the idea of wickedness vs weakness. this song is an example of his “wickedness” where he is bragging about his lifestyle but contradicts himself by telling himself to stay humble. he’s not actually being true to himself, or showing any “weakness”/vulnerability. despite that he has said that the song is directed at himself. at least that’s how i read into it, it might be a bit inaccurate. his music is definitely best understood when listening to his albums front to back. all of his albums read like stories in chronological order, especially DAMN. which is even meant to be a story when listening to the album from front to back AND from back to front. the content of his music is really dense and takes a while to fully appreciate, but it’s really rewarding to listen to!

You’re in for a journey… Humble doesn’t even scratch the surface of his best work

For someone who isn't a big rap fan, Kendrick is a particularly complex artist. It'll take a bit of effort to fully appreciate him. Or, not - it sounds good enough to be listened to casually too. But, if you choose to, there is a LOT there to dissect and figure out: concepts, literary and biblical references, deep hip hop history, double and triple entendres, speaking from changing perspectives, symbolism, and more. It'd definitely be worth checking out some lyrics break downs to get a feel for what this dude does. What's the Dirt is a good YT channel for getting references. Enjoy! You have over ten years of his work to absorb... and as I long time fan, I'm still catching new things in songs I've listened to deeply for years.

Kendrick is such a deep and thought provoking artist, there are very few artists in any medium at the level that he has gotten to. He can make you feel almost any emotion through his music, from joy and excitement, down to depression and trauma. Snoop Dog and the whole West Coast entrusted him to run the next generation, and he's been doing just that.

kdot really is just DIFFERENT

it's both -- he's reminding himself to be humble. But he's also telling the other rappers in the game to be humble to him. DAMN. is the album this is from, and the meta-analysis for it is that it can go backwards and forwards in the track listing. So there's a lot of mirroring and dichotomies to the way the songs read when you listen to them.

Also for Kendrick look at the genius lyrics where you can see the explanations for each bar

His verse in CONTROL shook the Rap Community. Since you are a metal head, I think you can handle it. It is good and went down in history. Dropped 11 years ago and still is streaming

You have good analysis for someone who is new to Kendrick and hip hop in general. Kendrick is a complex and multifaceted rapper so there are usually many ways to interpret what he says. Couple recommendations: N95 for a newer song, Money Trees is an old classic, DNA is kind of a midpoint. Can't really go wrong with any Kendrick song

if you want to listen to the entire diss-cography (I liked that pun) I'd recommend the following tracks in this order: - The story of addidon (pusha T) - First person shooter (drake feat. J Cole) - Like that (Future, metro boomin, Kendrick Lamar) - push ups (drake) - Taylor Made freestyle (drake) - Euphoria (you already did this one) - 6:16 in L.A. (Kendrick Lamar) - Family Matters (Drake) - Meet the Graham's (Kendrick Lamar, released less than an hour after Family Matters) - They not like us (Kendrick Lamar) - The heart part 6 (Drake)

My favorite genre is people who don’t listen to hip hop listen to Kendrick Lamar for the first time lol

I absolutely recommend m.A.A.d city next. It gives context to where he's from and what he experienced in his youth, all with an amazing beat.

The way I always understood humble is as him remind himself of his beginnings, while at the same time telling others not to judge him for his beginnings but his accomplishments.

Absolutely love seeing new people get into Kendrick. He has so many incredible songs in his discography, no doubt one of the greatest rappers ever. Also this song is great but I think it’s one of his weaker hit songs even though it’s his biggest😂

highly recommend 'The Heart Part 5'!! It's a beautiful track and the one that sold me into checking out the rest of his discography after the beef :^D

I feel like some of the lyrics where he’s bragging in Humble are kind of ironic, like he’s embodying an arrogant rapper talking himself up - followed by his chorus returning with “sit down be humble”

I think you should do “alright”, “DNA”, “King Kunta”, “U” and “The Heart part 5” before listening to the rest of the diss battle, all of Kendrick’s music is great!

kendrick: neon blue background: i like blue

You should listen to an entire album. "Good Kid, m.A.A.d City" or "To Pimp a Butterfly" are his best ones imo.

To Pimp a Butterfly is a wonderful way to learn about Kendrick and what he's about, listening to the album front-to-back is one of the best experiences in not just his discography but rap in general

Much respect ♥️... I'd like to say, just to put in to context Kendrick Lamar's albums have won him a Pulitzer Prize! His albums have been and still are studied in ivy League schools, in many colleges and universities. He combines many different writing styles over the centuries in a very intricate way. Just imagine Shakespeare, all the different styles of poetry, sonnet, ode, haiku, along with narration and descriptive story telling. All this done in a cohesive manner in which depending on the order listened will change the perspective of an album. I believe he studies literature because how he does it is GENIUS! This is more than just rap, IT IS ART✍🏽.

Goddamn bruh i like your reaction the way you caught that Kendrick is being humble and the same time bragging about riches, it's right. He's telling be humble to us and the same time to himself

This song was a counterpart to PRIDE on his album DAMN. PRIDE is very emblematic of Kendrick at his lowest point on the album and HUMBLE is very much the opposite. Worth checking out the other.

Tough thing about Kendrick is he makes concept albums and it’s best listening to them from start to finish in one sitting. He definitely has some good singles and if a full album reaction isn’t really the format of your channel plenty of good recs in comments but if you were just listening and not creating content id just listen to good kid maad city start to finish. Then the same with to pimp a butterfly and damn. If you dont want to do that go for FEAR., DUCKWORTH., XXX., Mother I Sober, Sing about me im dying of thirst, mortal man, rigamortis, alright, the blacker the berry. I guess for a more self contained song that wouldnt ruin the album experience the heart pt 5 would be my recommendation. Jealous that youve never heard this stuff!

This is one of the earlier Drake disses. He has been shooting shots since his 2nd album. I suggest some Danny Brown. He's a rapper with a rockers mentality.

I recommend listening to "The Art Of Peer pressure." It's an older song but really showcases how mature he was for his age at creating a story you can heavily visualize with your eyes closed. Also "XXX" from his DAMN album might be something you will really like

I’m so glad you’re taking an interest in Kendrick. His To pimp a butterfly album is also worth looking at.

You should just react to his entire good kid maad city album. One of the best albums ever made.

I’m so glad you’re listening to more Kendrick!!!!!!

This song would make way more sense when you listen to it in DAMN as it follows the wickedness and weakness theme presented throughout the album

If you want to get caught up on the beef you may want to checkout out the what's the dirt breakdown video of their 13 year diss history. and also would give you a nice sample of both their catalouges

If you really want to get into the lyrical side of Kendrick you gotta listen to "sing about me I'm dying of thirst". It's very relient on the context of the rest of the album it's from, but damn if it's not some of the best storytelling he's ever done

You should also react to his song "Meet The Grahams" which was after he dropped "Euphoria". It was another Drake diss, but much darker. He released it 20 minutes after Drake released his music video that was a diss towards Kendrick, and Kendrick completely killed it within minutes by dropping said song. It will be the most chilling song you've ever heard.

I think Kendrick’s one of those artists where you’re better off diving into the whole album as opposed to individual tracks. I think good kid mAAd city’s definitely the way to go to start

Got a sub from me for this man, the neutrality is really refreshing. Now youve opened the door to hip hop youll never go back, the lyrcisim, wordplay, and ability to tell and imagine stories is something no other genre could do in my eyes. Highly recommend you listen to all of kendricks catalogue in order to fully understand and see the evolution of his music and himself. Some other good places to start or look would be Joyner Lucas 'im not racist' 'im sorry' and 'ross capichionni' the story telling is utter brilliance.

for older stuff, I'd recommend: his verse on Control for his first diss to all rappers at the time (which was really just to start competition, not real beef). for lyrics: the blacker the berry, no makeup (her vice), Barbed Wire, the art of peer pressure, or Keishas Song and when going through the diss tracks, lookup the lyrics in rap genius they go into much more detail... you'll absolutely need it.

So nice when someone discovers KDot fr. This was me about 6 weeks ago!

DAMN was the album where Kendrick struggled with fame & ego. He’s trying to decide who he’ll be and the extent to which he’ll let fame capture him

If you gonna do the whole diss battle the order is: "Future - Like That" -> "Drake - Push Ups" -> "Drake - Taylormade Freestyle" -> "Kendrick - Euphoria" -> "Kendrick - 6:16 in LA" -> "Drake - Family Matters" -> "Kendrick - Meet the grahams" -> "Kendrick - Not like us" -> "Drake - The heart part 6" There are some others too but these are the most important

Sing About Me I’m Dying of Thirst and XXX. Are two songs that I think really show how he sees things. It’s hard to describe but, but especially in the context of the albums, it really puts you in his perspective (this is coming from someone with completely different upbringing) like I really Understood. Enlightening.

I think it’d be great to see you react to the latest songs, Meet The Grahams and Not Like Us, with the Genius lyrics pulled up so you can really get a feel for how hard he goes in lol

he's bragging about being humble because of the theme of the album "is it wickedness or is it weakness" because it's part of the storyline of the album.. there are 2 versions of this album, one in regular order from Blood to Duckworth, and one in reverse order (the way i like to listen to it), which changes the context of half the tracks.. the reverse order especially works well when you include the music videos, because (from what i picked up on at least) they continue where the next track left off (like Yah playing at the beginning of DNA)

From his latest, i'd go on mother i sober and the heart part 5, just masterpieces

I just started watching you, I love metal too but I’m so glad you’re getting to experience THE Kendrick Lamar! King Kunta is what got me hooked and I haven’t stopped since 😅

Check out "Alright"!

The recent direct drake diss songs: Euphoria 6:16 in LA Meet the Grahams Not like us. In that order. Cant wait to see your mind get blown😂

My favorite part from the video is in the Photoshop part, where he looks the same on both sides of the screen and he is saying he is 100% real.

If the beef wasn’t so recent id say listen to his old stuff, specifically a whole album, but if I were you I’d do a big video on every diss in order, gotta get those views while it’s in the spotlight

definitely like how you take the time to try to understand the lyrics cause most people who give kendrick a listen for the first time never bother to really listen to what hes saying and end up missing the point of the entire song.

Lots of his tracks can be taken at face value in context of themselves, but take on a deeper meaning when the body of work is taken collectively. Generally a lot more introspective as a whole.

I can't hear about Grey Poupon without thinking of Aerosmith's "Eat the Rich"

The album DAMN. tells a story which if u play the album from start to finish or last song to first it tells a different story theres videos telling the full story with context(i’d recommend good kid maad city(album) and my personal favorite P&P 1.5 (song from Overly Dedicated)

I'd listen to the albums. He's definitely a full album kinda artist, each one has an intricately crafted concept. Start with Good Kid Maad City, then go To Pimp a Butterfly, Untitled Unmastered, DAMN., then my personal favorite Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers

You may want to learn his background, he saw a person unalived at 5, he also remembers the Rodney King riots ,as a child. Believe it or not, he had a stutter.

Kendrick is an album artist his songs are great by themselves but are so much better when you listen to the album in order. (sorta like a pink floyd album)"Damn" the album that this song is on follows the story of wickedness vs weakness. I highly recommend doing reactions to the full albums.

i think it might be worth doing album reactions for Kendrick. Good Kid M.a.a.d City, To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN, and Mr Morale and the Big Steppers are all concept albums that weave a story throughout the entire piece (imo especially GKMC)

When you revisit the beef make sure to listen to all of the tracks (including Drake's stuff) in chronological order. "Not Like Us" wouldn't have had this impact if Kendrick hadn't set it up so perfectly with the other tracks. I'd also say that Pusha T's "Story of Adidon" (an older Drake diss) is essential context, so it would make sense to listen to that first. Also an awesome diss track on its own.

Can't wait for you to check those disses out chill anime dude

Hey brother. Glad you are liking this type of music. He really is a poet. I will double down and say listen to "Sing about me." When I first heard that song I cried for a very long while. Its a good starting point.

Diss-cography 😂👌🏽. Love the reactions!

Stopped halfway through to recommend listening to the post-hardcore/metal cover by Our Last Night. It’s so good

Love your open mindedness and your non-judgmental attitude. I wish more people stepped out of their comfort zones and experienced other genres. If for no other reason than to understand another culture. 😊

if you're really interested in diving deeper into the meaning of the lyrics, this podcast called Dissect dedicated a season to breaking down the album this is on and its worth checking out. id recommend listening to the full season because the album tells a story in order but i know its a bit much so id say at least listen to the episode on humble

Great stuff! You need to do Mother I Sober, for my money it’s his best song, it’s incredibly vulnerable and personal, and Drake makes an explicit (and horribly inaccurate) reference to it in one of his disses

“i make music that electrify ‘em” this song is about as mainstream as kendrick gets. i’m so happy to see people being introduced to kendrick like this. beautiful! the music video is basically another track in and of itself. especially the part that you ran it back to where the camera angle kept switching and he was under an overpass… it’s basically saying that the “picture” you see depends on what lens you’re looking through. and because you don’t know or see the entire picture, the fact that we don’t know EVERYTHING is why we should be humble. ;) this song is kendrick taking other rappers to school and telling them: don’t forget where you came from. don’t think that all this money and fame define who you are, we are a product of our past and lived experiences. rather than letting the fame and money control you, use it to be productive and give back to your community. this may or may not be a subliminal diss towards drake who is the opposite of kendrick and uses money to prop himself up and does not give back to the culture… in fact, drake colonizes hip hop and uses other rappers (even going so far as to steal their work as his own, when the initial deal was for him to help this new rapper level up in the game by featuring on the song… but i digress). it’s a cool moment for hip hop and i’m glad you’re here with us for the journey! welcome! :D

Definitely should react to DNA or Element next. Btw Element, DNA, All The Stars, Kings Dead, and King Kunta by Kendrick also have drake disses in them. These two guys have been subbing each other for years. Also if you want to get context about the song lyrics I'd suggest having a tab open on your computer or phone to Genius they have explanations for the lyrics when you click on them.

In the context of the album this is on he's telling himself to be humble In the context of the time this song dropped he was talking to Big Sean, a rapper he had a feud at the time with. Kendrick is using Big Sean's ad-libs on this song If you're down to do a full album, To Pimp a Butterfly is his masterpiece and it's generally loved by people who come from other genres. Very Jazzy If you just want a song, definitely The Heart Part V The entire back and forth is roughly 43-45 minutes, I would recommend listening in order. Most of the songs respond and directly reference the previous song First Person Shooter (Drake featuring J Cole) Like That (Future featuring Kendrick Lamar) Push Ups (Drake) Taylor Made Freestyle (Drake) Euphoria (worth a realisten in the context of the beef) 6:16 in LA (Kendrick Lamar) Family Matters (Drake) Meet the Grahams (Kendrick, this song came out within an hour of Family Matters) Not Like Us (Kendrick) The Heart Part 6 (Drake) There's actually a lot more to this beef. If you find yourself entertained and want more you can look into the history of it, or look into the other rappers involved (Rick Ross, Future, J Cole, Metro Boomin) but the main event is Kendrick vs Drake

Humble is from Kendrick’s “DAMN” album and the album displays more of a contradiction ( this may be a strong judgement of the album) for ex. Pride/Humble he go from one subject to the next.

I love the idea of you as an "outsider" of the rap scene, making a reaction and opinion of the whole Kendrick-Drake beef, but because you're kinda late lol i truly believe it'd be *much* better if you got like all of the disstracks in one video. They are like 12 songs lol but you could just continue from euphoria since is what everyone really wants to see haha

In regards to what who he was referring to by be humble, he had an interviewer ask him if he was referring to himself and he answered with “ definitely, its the ego” and continues saying that he made the song about not giving and f/ referring to the listeners that they cant f with him but “ultimately im looking at myself in the mirror”

as a metalhead turned rap enthusiast it is so refreshing to see someone with the same genuine reaction as i had. enjoy getting into the storytelling of rap. definitely here for the ride

I hope you do more Kendrick reactions man! React to just the Music Videos, so you can get more enjoyment out of first listens. All of his albums are deeply conceptual and listening to songs on their own without context can be difficult. Also react to his performance on SNL for his song "i", you will be blown away. And it's done with a live band.

I suggest you reacting to The Heart Part 5 music video. It shows Kendrick's attention to details.

Most of Kendrick artworks are in album forms So i suggest you to listen a whole album no matter which one, they are conceptual so is better that way

Im exited to watch more stuff from you, keep doing what u doing

Alright is my favorite kendrick lamar song tbh. theres no flaws and is the perfect length and his rapping performance is top tier.

If you love more complex concepts like what Kendrick brings I would recommend Aesop Rock. He made an absolute banger about his cat (Kirby) but he also has songs about things like going to therapy (Shrunk) and slateboarding (Sode Quest) hes done a lot of stuff about getting old and its all good.

Puts a smile on my face to see hip hop newcomers react and appreciate the art form. Love the genuine curiosity!

You should definitely start doing whole album reactions start with gkmc but you have to analyse the project to fully understand the magnitude of what he is saying and to not get crazy comments

The time might not be right just yet, but I’m excited for you to get to How Much a Dollar Cost. That’s when you’ll really see why he’s so special

Will you react to the entre beef beetwen Drake & Kendrick, that would be so cool. I just discovered you with the Euphoria réaction and I like the way you are. Being just good vibes and vibing.

You should listen to the entirety of "Mr Morale and the big Steppers" album in the order of it as it is

If I were you I would watch a video analysing the whole diss battle between him and drake

Im subbing for the full diss saga reaction

You should save To Pimp A Butterfly once you are more familiar with his discgraphy. My favourite album of all time

The quintissential songs you gotta hear next are Wesleys Theory, M.A.A.D City, FEAR, Alright, Sing About Me, The Blacker The Berry, ADHD, and Money Trees. Those will give you a good initial understanding of him.

I appreciated the DISScography pun btw 😂🫡

Yes! Loving this! Thank you! =)

Kendrick/ Sza - 'All of the Stars', would be a great song to listen to.

'Dissography' got you a quick like lol

If you want old Kendrick Good Kid Mad City is where you want to start. Humble came out in like 2016 off the album “Damn.”personally I think damn was his most “pop” album to date. If you want young Kendrick GKMC is the move. If you want more recent, more emotional and vulnerable/mature Kendrick, the album “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” is good for that. Subbed!

Hey brother, glad you're getting into Kendrick! I would HIGHLY recommend listening to FEAR as an emotional introduction to Kendrick. The song is him reflecting on what he's been most afraid of at different points in his life. It's a vulnerability and self awareness you rarely get articulated as beautifully as Kendrick does. Hope you give it a listen!

I know about some struggle meals lol subscribed. ..try a syrup or honey sandwich ❤

While i do think its generally a good idea to go through an artists top songs to get a feel of them at first, I'd suggest going through Kendricks albums one at a time (or at least the individual songs in order) since all of them tell a different story at different stages in his life. I would personally start with Good kid Mad city but feel free to experiment with his discography how you think might be the best for you :)