S1E19 – i (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar

We continue our serialized analysis of To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar with Part 2 of the album’s fifteenth track, “i.”

“i” is the narrative conclusion of To Pimp a Butterfly, the apex of Kendrick’s teachings on self-love and self-acceptance.

While the studio single version of “I” we examined in our last episode could’ve easily acted as the album’s narrative climax, Kendrick chose instead to use a staged “live performance” on the album. His using a live version is a strategic, self-referential appropriation, the reasons for which become clear when the performance comes to a halt after a fight breaks out in the crowd, and Kendrick recites a spoken word piece that puts an end to the scuffle.

The statement “Kendrick Lamar, by far, the realest negus alive” at the end of the spoken word piece is the album’s exclamation mark, the moment of triumph, the one-liner in the movie that signals the hero has finally conquered the villain. 

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