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The Blacker the Berry

Kendrick Lamar

Lyrics About Tracklist Comments

Released via Empire star Taraji P. Henson’s twitter, this comes the day
after Kendrick won Best…
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The Blacker the Berry Lyrics Translations

[Intro: Kendrick Lamar & Lalah Hathaway]

Everything black, I don't want black (They want us to
bow)
I want everything black, I ain't need black (Down to our
knees)
Some white, some Black, I ain't mean black (And pray
to the God)
I want everything black (We don't believe)
Everything black, want all things black
I don't need black, want everything black
Don't need black, our eyes ain't black
I own black, own everything black

[Bridge: Kendrick Lamar]

Six in the morn'
Fire in the street
Burn, baby, burn (You, you, you, you, you)
That's all I wanna see (You, you, you, you, you)
And sometimes I get off watchin' you die in vain
It's such a shame, they may call me crazy
They may say I suffer from schizophrenia or somethin'
But homie, you made me (You, you, you, you, you)
Black don't crack, my nigga

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[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]

I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I
mean
Been feelin' this way since I was sixteen, came to my
senses
You never liked us anyway, fuck your friendship, I
meant it
I'm African-American, I'm African, I'm black as the moon
Heritage of a small village, pardon my residence
Came from the bottom of mankind
My hair is nappy, my dick is big, my nose is round and
wide
You hate me, don't you?
You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my
culture
You're fuckin' evil
I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey
You vandalize my perception but can't take style from
me
And this is more than confession
I mean I might press the button just so you know my
discretion
I'm guardin' my feelings, I know that you feel it
You sabotage my community, makin' a killin'
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga

[Pre-Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]

The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot

[Chorus: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah' me Black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah' we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah' we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars 'pon me back
But now we have a big whip parked 'pon the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah' we Black
Remember this, every race start from the block, jus
'member dat

[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar]

I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I
mean
I mean, it's evident that I'm irrelevant to society
That's what you're tellin' me, penitentiary would only
hire me
Curse me 'til I'm dead, church me with your fake
prophesizing
That I'ma be just another slave in my head
Institutionalized manipulation and lies
Reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes
You hate me, don't you?
I know you hate me just as much as you hate yourself
Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt
Watchin' me as I pull up, fill up my tank, then peel out
Muscle cars like pull-ups, show you what these big
wheels 'bout, ah
Black and successful, this black man meant to be
special
Katzkins on my radar, bitch, how can I help you?
How can I tell you I'm making a killin'?
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga

[Pre-Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]

The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot

[Chorus: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah' me Black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah' we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah' we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars 'pon me back
But now we have a big whip parked 'pon the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah' we Black
Remember this, every race start from the block, jus
'member dat

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]

I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
When I finish this, if you listen, then sure you will agree
This plot is bigger than me, it's generational hatred
It's genocism, it's grimy, little justification
I'm African-American, I'm African
I'm Black as the heart of a fuckin' Aryan
I'm Black as the name of Tyrone and Darius, excuse my
French
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets
I know you hate me, don't you?
You hate my people, I can tell 'cause it's threats when I
see you
I can tell 'cause your ways deceitful
Know I can tell because you in love with that Desert
Eagle
Thinkin' maliciously, he get a chain then you gon' bleed
him
It's funny how Zulu and Xhosa might go to war
Two tribal armies that wanna build and destroy
Remind me of these Compton Crip gangs that live next
door
Beefin' with Pirus, only death settle the score
So don't matter how much I say I like to preach with
the Panthers
Or tell Georgia State "Marcus Garvey got all the
answers"
Or try to celebrate February like it's my B-Day
Or eat watermelon, chicken, and Kool-Aid on
weekdays
Or jump high enough to get Michael Jordan
endorsements
Or watch BET 'cause urban support is important
So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the
street
When gang-banging make me kill a nigga blacker than
me?
Hypocrite!

[Instrumental Outro]

[Produced by Boi-1da & Koz]

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About
Genius Annotation 16 contributors

Released via Empire star Taraji P. Henson’s twitter, this

comes the day after Kendrick won Best Rap Song &
Performance for “i” at the 2015 Grammy Awards. The
song shares the name and ideals of Wallace Thurman’s
novel The Blacker the Berry and has drawn
comparisons to 2Pac’s “Keep Ya Head Up.” Kendrick
mentioned these ideals in his Billboard cover story.

TDE co-president Terrence “Punch” Henderson

tweeted an image of Malcolm X and Martin Luther

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Translations

Genius Answer 2 contributors

• French Translation
• Polish Translation
• Portuguese Translation

What have the artists said about the song?

Genius Answer 1 contributor

After the murder of a close friend, K. Dot

fantasized of getting revenge, but instead he
poured his angst into this song.

“When I say these lines, it’s for myself, this is

therapeutic for myself because I still feel that
urge and I still feel that anger and that hatred
for that man next door because I gotta get a
call knowing that somebody around the corner
done did this to my partner.”
-Kendrick, when questioned about the 2 last
lines of Blacker The Berry

What has the co-producer, Boi-1da, said about

the track?

Genius Answer 1 contributor

“ That one came along from two producers

that I was working with, KOZ and Zalezy,
who ended up playing me a song. A lot of
times, I’ll listen to tracks and hear maybe one
element that I want to strip down and start
something from scratch. I had heard these
guitars from KOZ that he’d put on the song,
so I ended up stripping it down and putting
some breakbeat drums over it, which really
gave it an aggression. That was really the
whole process to it.

I had a little bit to do with [co-writing the

hook]. Me and another songwriter
[Alexander Izquierdo] had an idea, like an
aggressive hip-hop idea, and basically,
Assassin flipped our idea in patois, in
Jamaican. It was dope.

[Being a part of To Pimp a Butterfly] was

another dream come true. Kendrick’s one of
my favorite artists. It was a pleasure working
with him. He’s a great guy and a great
friend. I was just happy to make a very
impactful record with him.

via DJ Booth

What has producer Boi-1da said about the song?

Do the musicians have said something else about

the song ?

Who produced “The Blacker the Berry” by

Kendrick Lamar?

When did Kendrick Lamar release “The Blacker

the Berry”?

Who wrote “The Blacker the Berry” by Kendrick

Lamar?

To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

Kendrick Lamar

1. Wesley’s Theory
10. Hood Politics

2. For Free? (Interlude)

11. How Much a Dollar Cost

3. King Kunta
12. Complexion (A Zulu Love)

4. Institutionalized
13. The Blacker the Berry

5. These Walls
14. You Ain’t Gotta Lie
(Momma Said)
6. u

15. i (Album Version)

7. Alright

16. Mortal Man

8. For Sale? (Interlude)

9. Momma

Credits
Produced By Written By
Ken Lewis, ZALE, Boi-1da, KOZ ZALE, Agent Sasco (Assassin),
& Terrace Martin Xplicit, KOZ, Brent Kolatalo,
Boi-1da, Ken Lewis, Kendrick
Lamar & Terrace Martin

Copyright Phonographic Copyright ℗

Interscope Records & Interscope Records &
Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment

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