Analysis of Kendrick Lamar's "DNA"

Kendrick Lamar’s song and music video, “DNA”, is intriguing, powerful, and incredibly unique. He started his rap career under the stage name, “K-Dot” in 2004 at the ripe age of 16. He eventually gained a major following and popularity in the year 2010 when he retailed his albums “Overly Dedicated” and “Section.80”. He has had more than a couple top charts and his fame continues to grow today. His most recent and arguably most controversial album, “DAMN”, was released earlier in 2017. He has several tracks confronting the issues that the African American race faces in the world we live in today including police brutality and discrimination in general. The track, “DNA”, is one of them. Kendrick Lamar uses his following to spread the message that African Americans must stay loyal to each other in order to survive in this world we live in. Through the examination of the lyrics in the song during the interrogation and the two main characters, the interrogator and Kendrick Lamar, it will become obvious that “DNA” is not only powerful, but it is simply terrific.

The lyrics in this song during the interrogation scene clearly depict some of the common struggles known by African Americans. Throughout the song Lamar is describing hardships that him and people of his race have to go through. One line in the song stands out. He raps, “I know murder, conviction, / burners, boosters, burglars, ballers, dead, redemption, / scholars, father’s dead with kids” (Lamar 29-31). In the Trump-run country we live in, it is easy for people to say African Americans are more likely to commit a crime than Caucasians. Kendrick Lamar is claiming he knows people of his race that have been murdered, are murderers, along with various other crimes he mentioned. He talks this way about his race to show how the world views them, as criminals. Most other hip-hop artists rap about sex, money, drugs, etc. while Kendrick Lamar uses his talent and his fame to spread a message. The message that was spread though the lyrics in the first two verses were about black heritage and how loyalty is important in their culture.

The beginning of the “DNA” music video is set in an interrogation room, the first of the two characters there being the investigator. He makes violent threats towards the suspect (Kendrick Lamar), saying DNA actually stands for “Dead N***** Association”. Kendrick Lamar remains unfazed throughout this encounter. The interpretation of this opening is commonly that people in power like to stereotype black people simply for being who they are. He sits down and turns on the lie detector that is set up on the table. When this happens, something comes upon the investigator – an unknown force takes him over. Now Kendrick Lamar and the investigator are linked through the lie detector. This man who was making violent remarks less than one minute prior is now rapping the first verse of “DNA”.

The second character, Kendrick Lamar seems to stay unfazed through all of this commotion, but joins in on his rap. The investigator and Lamar go back and forth rapping Kendrick Lamar’s track. As the first verse starts, even though everything that is being rapped by both the investigator and Lamar is true, the lie detector is going crazy. This is a symbol for how much a black man’s name is valued – it’s not. Now that both Kendrick Lamar, and the investigator are linked through the lie detector, they both become one and rap the song in unison. The person in power, and the person being shackled are now connected by past experiences and through the oppression they feel every day. They are connected by DNA. This realization results in the investigator releasing the handcuffs that were restricting Lamar and letting him walk free.

The music video is up for interpretation by viewers, but does display his lyrics and meaning behind the song very well. There’s no doubt that readers should check out this song and video. An amazing message was portrayed in this video and it is clear black heritage is important to the performer. Kendrick Lamar uses his fame and following to spread a message to young people. Even if you are not a rap fan I still suggest watching the video for the story and meaning. You can check out Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” music video here: