The Art of Peer Pressure by Kendrick Lamar It is necessary that I begin with disclosing the fact that this song is just an extract of an album that describes the reality of a portion of our society that, unfortunately, is in much more need of help than any of us care to realize. In his album good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar tells a first person story of a day in the life of a “crew” of young gangbangers from Compton, CA. The album is full of songs that capture specific thoughts, feelings or provide background to what is happening in the story at that particular moment. The transitions between songs present multiple voice recordings from Kendrick’s and his mother’s voicemail. These transitions are part of the album’s chronological order and are vital in attaining a complete personality and mental profile of the characters followed throughout the story. Simply, the songs and transitions are each just a part of a “bigger picture”. There is one song, though, that tells a particular story which I think accounts for the largest piece of this “bigger picture”.
The Art of Peer Pressure
K.dot (Kendrick Lamar) and three of his blood are driving around Rosecrans in a white Toyota. K.dot (16) is the youngest member of the crew and the oldest is 23. His mother is concerned that he will not get to 11th grade if he keeps “messing around with those damn hoodrats”. This is established in a previous song, but it is indicative that his performance in school has dropped as of recently which would imply an impairment of normal function. The term “hoodrat” was actually used in the first song of the album and it is an easy way to understand the socio-economic status that is persistent throughout the whole album, and especially this song. The characters in this album are all of low income. It is likely that they have a low educational level.
The intro starts with the four of