Kendrick Lamar has established himself as one of the top rappers in the game. But, who was he before he dropped Good Kid, m.A.A.d City? His most recent album, DAMN., went double platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the US in its first week, and peaked at number 1. But let's go back to 2011, when Kendrick Lamar released his first studio album, Section.80. This album is certified gold by the RIAA, and its hit song was "HiiiPoWeR". However, there was another song on the album that was not released as a single. That song is "Rigamortis". The twelfth track off of Section.80, Kendrick delivers three minutes of demonstrating his dominance in the rap game.
The first thing that comes off as interesting in this song is the beat. Considering the fact that the song is about murdering your favorite rapper (figuratively and literally), one wouldn't expect a beat composed of trumpets and drum work. But, it does nothing more than demonstrate Kendrick's lyrical dexterity.
As for the lyrics, they do not disappoint. From the first line in, my attention was caught, and it was maintained for the whole song.
Got me breathing with dragons
This line is an interesting play on the phrase "I spit fire". Although rappers have compared their flow to lava (Ice Cube) or to bombs (Shaquille O'Neal), no one has ever compared their flow to that of a dragon, who literally spits fire.
Now, how do I know this song is about murdering your favorite rapper?
Well, two things give it away. First off, the song is called "Rigamortis", which is a play on words on rigor mortis, which is the scientific term used for when a person's body stiffens when they die. Second, Kendrick literally states it in the hook:
Don't ask for your favorite rapper (He dead!) Yessir (Amen!) Church (He dead!) I killed him (Amen!) Bitch
I think this is all the evidence needed to prove the point of the song.
He also denounces following the norms of society with this line:
I'm on the toilet when I rhyme, if you the shit, then I decline
This line demonstrates that Kendrick does not follow society, as people
The real star of the show, however, comes in during the second half of the second verse, in which Kendrick begins to develop a motif. A motif is a technique used in music to show a pattern. A great example of it is "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5".
In the example above, the motif is three short note, one long note (da da da DUM). With Kendrick, the motif for the second half of the second verse is two short notes, one long note.
And I go visit the nearest creek, and I get busy on many MC Really ballistic, anybody can see Any assistance, everybody deceased I'm persistence, recognize I be Really too vicious, the permanent beast And the demolition, breaking up the street Better partition, better dot your T And I gon' mention, how the far you see Putting my dick in the rap industry Everybody bitching, getting mad at me Recognize Kendrick in the battery And I'm charged up, and the catastrophe Is charged up, and the audacity Of y'all fucks never could hassle me And y'all luck just ran out, you'll see
Kendrick flows extremely well over this beat, and it works out very well.
This song gets a 5/5. It's a very underrated piece that shows Kendrick's dexterity over a beat, no matter how odd it may sound. I would highly recommend this song to someone who wants to hear an early track by Kendrick Lamar. The bar can only go up for him.
That's all for today, guys. This is RBPlayer, signing off!