May 14, 2021·1 reply
amorydifferences between i single and i “live” version always fire to me, i think it was the best single for him to play around with that dynamic
love this point tbh
May 14, 2021·1 replydapagodlove this point tbh
yeah i think this is article worthy
if you ever feel moved to write up some more thoughts about this
i think it would be received well
May 14, 2021·1 replyAgree and reiterating what a few others have already said in here, this s*** is not cooning, and I never took it as such. He's questioning himself, and his own exploration of self is only there to inspire whoever hears it to also question his or her own perspective. That's the listeners own responsibility though.
With that said, people are going to filter it through their own experiences, so I'm sure it's cooning to somebody out there
- May 14, 2021Fam
Agree and reiterating what a few others have already said in here, this s*** is not cooning, and I never took it as such. He's questioning himself, and his own exploration of self is only there to inspire whoever hears it to also question his or her own perspective. That's the listeners own responsibility though.
With that said, people are going to filter it through their own experiences, so I'm sure it's cooning to somebody out there
Well said
- May 14, 2021notesfromphilo
@AmoryBlain
yeah i think this is article worthy
if you ever feel moved to write up some more thoughts about this
i think it would be received well
if the ppl want it
i will deliver
- May 14, 2021Kr0niic
Off topic
But did Kendrick actually kill someone?
I interpretated the line, and similar ones he's dropped throughout his career, as him taking responsibility for 1 or more persons around him dying as a consequence of choices he has made. Don't think he was ever the man on the trigger directly.
But aye, I'm just speculating, I don't know him directly lol
May 14, 2021·4 replieswhen white ppl use this as a deflection tactic against police brutality it’s bullshit but when you consider that Kendrick is black and grew up around and participated in gang violence the context changes entirely and it goes way beyond “cooning” (which I don’t think it is)
it’s maybe flawed but it’s a real and human question to ask of yourself as a black person and that’s really what the album is about, even if the answer is simple. Kendrick allowed himself to be vulnerable and fail and question the black experience and I think that’s why the album works so well. he’s not positing himself as the messiah or authority on blackness - he’s got self doubt and is tryna figure it out and reckon with his past just like every other nigga out here too and it’s well done IMO
- May 14, 2021big sauce
when white ppl use this as a deflection tactic against police brutality it’s bullshit but when you consider that Kendrick is black and grew up around and participated in gang violence the context changes entirely and it goes way beyond “cooning” (which I don’t think it is)
it’s maybe flawed but it’s a real and human question to ask of yourself as a black person and that’s really what the album is about, even if the answer is simple. Kendrick allowed himself to be vulnerable and fail and question the black experience and I think that’s why the album works so well. he’s not positing himself as the messiah or authority on blackness - he’s got self doubt and is tryna figure it out and reckon with his past just like every other nigga out here too and it’s well done IMO
i love kendrick man 
May 14, 2021
Mastazob
was my reaction- May 14, 2021
I dont even like Kendrick like that but I feel like you gotta be slow or intellectually dishonest to call that line cooning.
May 14, 2021big saucewhen white ppl use this as a deflection tactic against police brutality it’s bullshit but when you consider that Kendrick is black and grew up around and participated in gang violence the context changes entirely and it goes way beyond “cooning” (which I don’t think it is)
it’s maybe flawed but it’s a real and human question to ask of yourself as a black person and that’s really what the album is about, even if the answer is simple. Kendrick allowed himself to be vulnerable and fail and question the black experience and I think that’s why the album works so well. he’s not positing himself as the messiah or authority on blackness - he’s got self doubt and is tryna figure it out and reckon with his past just like every other nigga out here too and it’s well done IMO
you got saucy with this one
- May 14, 2021
F***in amazing ass song
His f***in energy and anger was crazy
Literally a 15/10 song
May 14, 2021·1 replybig saucewhen white ppl use this as a deflection tactic against police brutality it’s bullshit but when you consider that Kendrick is black and grew up around and participated in gang violence the context changes entirely and it goes way beyond “cooning” (which I don’t think it is)
it’s maybe flawed but it’s a real and human question to ask of yourself as a black person and that’s really what the album is about, even if the answer is simple. Kendrick allowed himself to be vulnerable and fail and question the black experience and I think that’s why the album works so well. he’s not positing himself as the messiah or authority on blackness - he’s got self doubt and is tryna figure it out and reckon with his past just like every other nigga out here too and it’s well done IMO
Exactly
Black men killing each other left and right is something that needs to be discussed, but it’s only brought up in the context against police brutality
Niggas on ktt can call me a coon for it if they want but niggas need to stop deflecting about what we out here doing to each other everyday. When another black person brings it up it’s cooning. I’m from bmore probably most violent city in America so I know this s*** first hand.
Homicide is the #1 leading death of black men until the age of 44 and it needs to be discussed. Can’t deflect on to the environment or blame white folks for it either.
- May 14, 2021RX Nigerian Pastor
Exactly
Black men killing each other left and right is something that needs to be discussed, but it’s only brought up in the context against police brutality
Niggas on ktt can call me a coon for it if they want but niggas need to stop deflecting about what we out here doing to each other everyday. When another black person brings it up it’s cooning. I’m from bmore probably most violent city in America so I know this s*** first hand.
Homicide is the #1 leading death of black men until the age of 44 and it needs to be discussed. Can’t deflect on to the environment or blame white folks for it either.
tbh, intellectually and historically, you can certainly blame white ppl.
but I do think it’s a valid question of how far that will get you when it comes to saving real lives, and whether the majority of ppl doing that actually give af about black ppl.
it’s a balancing act. if you ignore the culpability of white ppl it makes black ppl look like monsters, and it’s hard to fix a monster problem too. on the other hand, if you only focus on white culpability, you’re focusing on a problem that is unlikely to ever be solved and you run the risk of just being a complainer and excuse maker forever.
May 14, 2021big saucewhen white ppl use this as a deflection tactic against police brutality it’s bullshit but when you consider that Kendrick is black and grew up around and participated in gang violence the context changes entirely and it goes way beyond “cooning” (which I don’t think it is)
it’s maybe flawed but it’s a real and human question to ask of yourself as a black person and that’s really what the album is about, even if the answer is simple. Kendrick allowed himself to be vulnerable and fail and question the black experience and I think that’s why the album works so well. he’s not positing himself as the messiah or authority on blackness - he’s got self doubt and is tryna figure it out and reckon with his past just like every other nigga out here too and it’s well done IMO
This is such cope lol.
Just because Kendrick is black doesn't make black on black crime a relevant response to police brutality. It only serves to change the topic of conversation from one thing to the other. In the song it's just a plot twist. It's Dance with the Devil or M Night Shyamalan. Probably because he'd sound like an idiot if he tried to elaborate at all. Black on black crime is punished all the time, justly and unjustly, in and out of the court system. In fact a lot of violence is retaliation as communities rightfully distrust police. In contrast, police rarely ever face any consequences for anything. They get off for executing people on video.
If you want to talk about them both, like the BLM movement has, then talk about the economics of poverty wherein schools and social safety are hollowed out while police funds swell. That's how they are related. One isn't a scapegoat for the other. It's a false equivalence. It's what Fox News watching dipshits tell each other.