One of my all-time favourite articles to write focused on the best bars of the one-and-only Lupe Fiasco. I have long contemplated doing a sequel focusing on a new rapper, but until recently, I haven’t known who to choose. Luckily that question was answered by my man Kendrick Lamar, who recently crammed 87 rhymes into 24 bars on Black Hippy’s remix of THat Part. So, in honor of Newpac, let’s take a look at some of my favorite Kendrick Lamar bars. Of course, these are my subjective interpretations of the lines. If you interpret them differently, then more power to you.

“I’m talking poetic justice, poetic justice/ If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room would you trust it?” - Poetic Justice

To me, this line does a good job of showcasing exactly what makes Kendrick Lamar a great lyricist. It’s deep and requires the listener to think about the message Kendrick wants to convey, but it is also very accessible and straightforward. Kendrick is the dark flower, Compton is the dark room, and the listener is supposed to question what allowed Kendrick Lamar to thrive in an environment that so many struggle in. The line is beautiful enough to exist naturally in the song (especially a song featuring Drake), clever enough to reward someone who analyses the song and relatable enough to have radio appeal.

“The freedom is granted as soon as the damage of vodka arrives/ this how you capitalize/ this is parental advice/ Then apparently I’m over influenced by what you are doin’”- Swimming Pools (Drank)

This whole song is really great. Only Kendrick could take his internal struggles with alcoholism and turn them into a club banger. There’s a really interesting narrative about how alcohol can mess with your decision making and lead to some “parental warning” moments you would regret the next morning, but Kendrick does such a good job of hiding this message behind a trippy chorus and club beat that you don’t really notice. This entire song is just great, but to me this bar is where Kendrick reaches his peak.

The Control Verse- Control

I was going to try and pick out a specific example from this verse, but the truth is the entire verse really stands on its own. It was here that Kendrick followed up the biggest successes of his career (Good Kidd, Maad City) with an absolutely devastating verse calling out practically every rapper alive today for not being on Kendrick’s level. As far as diss tracks go (though you could totally argue this was not a diss-track), this is the right way to throw shade. Kendrick drops names and has the anger and wordplay to back his anger up, as well as the successes to make his insults valid. Plus, this track inspired about 20 response songs from rappers, all of whom wanted to prove they could hang on the same level as Kendrick. None of them really could, but they sure made a lot of good music trying to. So, to recap, Kendrick singlehandedly elevated the entire rap field while simultaneously tearing it down. Not bad.

“I’m yelling Mr. Kanye West for President/ He’d probably let me get some head inside the residence/ I’m in the White House going all out/ bumping College Dropout/ God Bless Americans” – Black Friday

I mean, just look at this. A celebration of the strides hip-hop culture has made wrapped up in a great brag line and, on top of it all, incredibly fun to listen to. This whole remix was all about Kendrick showcasing how unique and talented he is, and no line did it better than this.

“I’m African-American/ I’m blacker than the heart of a f*****g Arian/ I’m black as the name of Tyrone and Darious/ excuse my French but f**k you – no f**k you all” - The Blacker the Berry

This bar goes, like, crazy deep. Support of the black struggle at places like Ferguson coupled with a critique of black-on-black violence and a commentary on the ways that white people construct blackness as negative (as the heart of a Arian). And then, as we all do at some point, Kendrick realizes that there is no right answer and ends up just yelling f**k you all. I feel you K-Dot, I feel you.