Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
From the Ringer Podcast Network, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. This is episode four of our season-long analysis of Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. I'm your host, Cole Kushner.
Last time on Dissect, we examined Mr. Morales' third track, Worldwide Steppers. It was there we heard Kendrick unify human beings by our capacity to kill each other in big or small ways. He began by confessing a few of his own quote-unquote murders, describing the way he weaponized sex against women as an act of ancestral revenge. He then admitted that these transgressions contributed to the objectifying denigration of women.
After confessing his own sins, the song's third verse and chorus turn the spotlight on society, challenging us to reflect on our own transgressions, to be real about our own imperfect motivations. The potent cynicism of both N95 and Worldwide Steppers is an incredibly bleak two-track sequence, as we can't help but wonder if Kendrick feels humanity is doomed to its own self-centered, egoic destruction. However, as the album continues, Kendrick makes clear that despite our imperfections,
he does see hope in us and himself.
Die Hard was produced by Dahee, FNZ, Baby Keem, J Pounds, and Soundwave. It begins with a drum loop credited to Baby Keem, over which Kendrick repeats the line, I pop the pain away, I slide the pain away. Thematically this continues Kendrick's unambiguous focus on the things we do to avoid or suppress our underlying pain, if only for brief periods of time. He
He plays on the traditional method of relieving physical pain like a headache by popping a pill, likely alluding to those who indulge in stronger substances to medicate their emotional pain. However, pop and slide contain a number of possible meanings. Both are slang for sex, both are slang for violence, and both are slang for dance moves. And so with two words, Kendrick covers three common vices that can be attributed to the worldwide steppers: drugs, sex, and violence.
Meanwhile, evoking dance moves is consistent with Kendrick depicting the Big Steppers as dancers, which is present in the recurring sounds of tap dancing steps as well as the N95 line, "Dancing in a drought, hello to the Big Steppers, never losing count." By subtly linking escape through vice to dancing here, Kendrick is foreshadowing a central meaning behind the symbolism of the Big Stepper, one who tap dances around their problems with distractions and addictions.
This meaning will be more explicitly revealed by Whitney four tracks from now on Purple Hearts. Die Hard then continues with an extended sample passage, where we hear a portion of Kadia Bonet's cover of the song Remember the Rain.
Bonet's high-pitched voice is ethereal, angelic even, as she sings, "I picked you up when you fell and cut your knee, told you not to cry and held you close to me." It's a classic image of a child being comforted after getting hurt. This sample and this image become Die Hard's musical foundation.
It's heard throughout the song beneath the main vocals, and the song's chord progression is taken from the passage as well. Now, it will soon become clear that "Die Hard" is a song written to Whitney Alford, who is of course Kendrick's partner, mother of his children, and the one who bore the painful emotional burden of Kendrick's habitual infidelity. Later in the song, Whitney is depicted as an angel, and in my view, the angelic voice of Kadya Bonet represents Whitney's presence,
as if she were singing these words to Kendrick. The lyric's evocation of adolescence would seem to fit the long history of their relationship.
The two met in high school, long before Kendrick became successful. And while Kendrick has always kept his romantic life private, the few things he has said about Whitney on record almost always comment on her being there before the fame. In 2015, the year the two got engaged, Kendrick told The Breakfast Club that she's been around since day one, and that quote, people that have been on your side, you're supposed to honor that, unquote.
That same year, he told Billboard magazine, quote, This deep history feels embedded in Kendrick's use of the Kadia Bonet sample, with the theme of a pure, meaningful relationship established during the purity of adolescence, per
providing the perfect parallel to Kendrick and Whitney's journey together. And if we dig a little deeper into the original song, Remember the Rain, we can actually find even more connective tissue. The song tells the story of two childhood sweethearts who used to play in the rain together. However, the girl in the story leaves the boy for someone else, and the rain is used as a symbol of the bond they shared together. ♪ You left me some place now and just ♪
Bonet sings, Can you remember the rain? You left me for someone else. Now I must face life by myself. Again, if we imagine this from Whitney's perspective, it does seem to apply to what we know about their relationship, evoking as it does Kendrick's infidelity and Whitney bearing the emotional consequences of his actions. With the Remember the Rain sample forming the musical backdrop of Die Hard, we can imagine what is placed on top of this backdrop to be in conversation with the sample, in conversation with Whitney.
I hope I'm not too late to set my demons straight I know I made you wait, but how much can you take? I hope you see the God in me, I hope you can see And if it's up, stay down from me, yeah
Die Hard's hook is performed by Blast, an artist, producer, and songwriter from South Central LA. Blast and Kendrick collaborated on the song remotely, with Blast telling Pitchfork that Kendrick is more hands-on than most collaborators. "Every step of the process, he was on the phone with me like, 'I like this part, take out this part, and sing this part like this.'" Together, the two created the song's chorus, which although sung by Blast, feels like a direct address to Whitney.
He sings, "I hope I'm not too late / To set my demons straight / I know I made you wait / But how much can you take?" The idea of Kendrick fearing he might be too late to overcome his demons continues the urgency he's expressed several times on the album so far. On United in Grief, he said, "Humble and up / Because time was imperative." And on Worldwide Steppers, he mentioned ensuring that his children make higher valleys.
It seems clear that Kendrick's sex addiction, itself a manifestation of unconfronted emotional trauma, was seriously threatening the health of his new family. And here we find Kendrick acknowledging that he's been putting Whitney through hell and hoping that it's not too late to finally confront his demons that were directly affecting those he loves most.
The chorus then continues "I hope you see the God in me, and if it's up, stay down for me." Here a dichotomy is established between the previously mentioned inner demons and now the inner God. God also functions as a slant homophone for good.
as Kendrick plays with the classic dichotomy of man, who is not inherently good or inherently bad, rather equally capable of both, depending on a complex mix of circumstance, genetics, environment, and history. As it applies to his personal life, Kendrick here seems to be hoping that Whitney still sees enough good in him to feel like there's hope for redemption, that she has faith that Kendrick can ultimately change his behavior.
The dichotomy continues with the up-down wordplay of, if it's up, stay down for me. It's up is slang for going to war or beefing with someone. In this case, it's Kendrick going to war with himself. Meanwhile, stay down for me is a plea for loyalty and patience as he engages in this battle of self. I don't feel.
Die Hard's post-chorus is performed by Amanda Reifer, a Barbados-born singer who first found success with her band Coverdrive before pursuing a solo career. Reifer met Kendrick while in the studio working on her debut solo project. She told Yahoo, quote, I played him my records, he complimented my pen, which was such an honor. I'm humbled that he took the time to sit and listen to my work at that point, unquote.
After that initial meeting, Ryford would eventually get the call for Die Hard, where Kendrick gave her a series of lyrical prompts to work from. She told Pitchfork, He gives a lot of space for you to express yourself creatively, so I'm expressing what I'm feeling from the music, and he's expressing the things that he wants included, and it all merged together to be what you're hearing."
According to Reifer, one specific reference Kendrick requested was the first line, shimmy shimmy cocoa bop. The phrase originates from the African-American hand-clapping game Down Down Baby, which has been around since at least the 1950s.
In 1959, the pop band Little Anthony and the Imperials worked the lyrics into their single Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop, a song about an enticing dancing woman. Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop, Shimmy Shimmy Bop, Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop, Shimmy Shimmy Bop.
This adaptation of the shimmy shimmy phrase helped popularize it outside the children's clapping game, and it's since been included in a slew of songs over the years, including Nelly's Country Grammar and Digital Underground's 1991 hit single Kiss Me Back. Now,
Now because of Shimmy Shimmy's ubiquity over the last half century, it's hard to know which version Kendrick is referencing on Die Hard. But generally speaking, the phrase originating from a kid's game joins the Remember the Rain sample with its direct association with childhood, once again emphasizing the purity of Kendrick and Whitney's love from a young age.
More evidence to this point can be found in the words just before shimmy shimmy in the original hand clapping song, which are down down baby, down by the roller coaster, sweet sweet baby, I'll never let you go.
Again, there's an emphasis on staying together when things go down, when the roller coaster drops. Rifer then continues singing "Seraphina, flame in us." On the surface, Kendrick appears to be evoking the common notion of a burning love between him and Whitney. However, substantial weight is added to this sentiment when understanding the implications of referencing "Seraphina," the female name that stems from the word "seraphim," which itself stems from the Hebrew word "serep," meaning "to burn with fire."
In the Bible, seraphim, or the burning ones, are described as high-ranking six-winged angels that surround God on his exalted throne. In the book of Isaiah, God sends one of the seraphim to Isaiah, and the seraphim uses burning coal to cleanse him of his sins before he begins his prophetic ministry. Thus, it's believed that seraphim act as God's agents of purification, using their command of fire to absolve sins.
And so it seems as though Kendrick is depicting Whitney's love as his own divine purifying agent, one that protects him, one that will ultimately absolve his own sins.
This depiction will be consistent with Whitney's overall role on the album, as she is the quote-unquote pure soul who guides Kendrick through his emotional journey that results in him breaking a generational curse. This depiction becomes more clear in the following lines, where Kendrick formalizes the angelic imagery by describing wings. Reifer sings, "...where I'd be without your love, rest your wings and trust, I feel you deep."
Kendrick can't fathom where he'd be without Whitney, and he hopes that she can find solace in the fact that he truly feels the deep divine connection between them, a connection that transcends the transactional sex-based relationship he's had with other women. This contrast is also reflected musically, as Die Hard's soft, poetic, lyrical tone
its gentle melodic lines and warm harmony are a complete 180 from the tense, frenetic, chaotic tone of the album to this point. Just in the music alone, we can feel that deep, divine connection Kendrick feels with Whitney. I wonder where I lost my way Been waiting on your call
Kendrick begins the first verse with a series of questions. Do you love me? Do you trust me? Once again, the simplicity of these questions are a stark contrast from everything we've heard from Kendrick until now. The fact he even has to ask these questions conveys his fear about whether Whitney has lost her trust and love for him, given everything he's put her through. He then continues, can I trust you? Don't judge me.
Kendrick turns the question around here, yet it still seems rooted in fear. He's wondering if he'll be judged for exposing his personal truth as he prepares to plunge into his past and confront his demons.
While it seems like a simple line, "Can I trust you? Don't judge me," is one of the more concise expressions of Mr. Morales' central premise, as the album attempts to remove the various masks we wear when presenting ourselves to the world, even when the truth of who we are beneath that mask is sometimes ugly and imperfect. This process, this album, is a test of the concept of actual, unconditional love, a test of true empathy. If Kendrick takes the mask off and exposes who he is,
Will we judge him as we're often quick to do in service of our ego and its tendency to thrive on comparison? Or will we have empathy for him, understanding that if we too were to take off our mask, a similar imperfection would be revealed? Kendrick then continues by evoking the song's title, I'm a diehard, it gets ugly. Too passionate, it gets ugly. The standard definition of diehard is being unwilling to change or give up your ideas, even when there are good reasons to do so.
This creates ugly situations, which might be referencing the ways Kendrick's stubbornness has resulted in drama between him and Whitney, something that we'll hear in explicit detail in the song We Cry Together. Kendrick then breaks into singing as he asks, I wonder where I lost my way. Been waiting on your call all day.
With the previous lines about things getting ugly, these lines give the impression that this verse may have been written after a fight, or that the two actually split ways for a while. Alone, Kendrick contemplates where he actually went wrong as he attempts to find his way back to the correct path. This leads to the remainder of the verse, where Kendrick once again expresses his trepidation about fully removing his mask. Tell me you in my corner right now When I fall short I'm leaning on you to cry out We all got enough to live out
My truth too complicated to hide now. Can I open up? Is it safe or not? I'm afraid a little you relate or not have faith a little. I might take my time. Ain't no saving face this time.
Kendrick continues the verse "Tell me you in my corner right now, when I fall short, I'm leaning on you to cry out." Again, the tone here is powerful in its uncoated simplicity as Kendrick paints an image of himself crying into Whitney's arms. He then opens the verse up to a more universal perspective, singing "We all got enough to lie about, my truth too complicated to hide now." The opposing "truth and lies" continues the dichotomies of the chorus.
Kendrick once again posits that there's incentive for all of us to lie about who we really are, to construct a role or character to play in the theater of the world. However, Kendrick's character has run his course, forcing him to expose his complicated truth. But again, he expresses trepidation in doing so, singing, Can I open up? Is it safe or not? I'm afraid a little. You relate or not? Have faith a little. I might take my time. Ain't no saving face this time.
While these words still apply to Whitney, they appear to double as talking directly to us listeners and our experience of this album. Because Kendrick is sharing his journey not only with Whitney, but now with millions of us through his art. And understandably, he fears our judgment. The line "I might take my time" is open to a number of possible meanings. As it applies to Whitney, he's warning her that his healing may be an extended process.
But as it applies to us listeners, it feels like this is meta-commentary on the album itself. At this point we're just 4 songs into an 18 song project, and so we should be prepared for the long emotional journey ahead. One that wavers between progress and setbacks, between moments of humility and ego, vulnerability and defiance.
And to this point, we should acknowledge just how much of this passage contrasts with Kendrick's tone on N95, where he antagonistically claimed not to care about her potential condemnation.
These kinds of contradicting emotions will become commonplace as we get deeper into the album, as Kendrick continues to unravel his messy, multifaceted emotional palette. It's part of Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers' intended emotional complexity. When the mask is pulled off, when the veneer of our adopted, cultivated persona is stripped away, these are the kinds of blemishes that become exposed. In other words, Kendrick is revealing his humanity by revealing his imperfections. More on that right after the break.
Welcome back to Dissect. Before the break, we reached the end of Die Hard's first verse, where Kendrick expressed trepidation about sharing the full truth of his healing journey, both with Whitney and with us through his music. After a repetition of the chorus, Die Hard continues with verse 2, where Kendrick reiterates these same themes. I got some regrets, but my past won't keep me from my best. Subtle mistakes felt like life for death. I wanna see the family stronger.
Kendrick begins verse 2, "I got some regrets, but my past won't keep me from my best." Again, we have to acknowledge just how transparent and simple the language is here, which for me works to further emphasize the song's central theme. If "Die Hard" is exposing Kendrick's vulnerability, then the simplicity of its language and delivery is part of that exposure.
He's not hiding behind lyrical acrobatics or metaphor. This is plain spoken truth, understood and felt in the moment, a delivery style that contains its own kind of power. He continues, "subtle mistakes felt like life or death." It's an extremely relatable line for anyone who's dealt with anxiety.
Kendrick could be alluding to the concept of catastrophizing, which is defined as, quote, a cognitive distortion that prompts people to jump to the worst possible conclusion, usually with very limited information or objective reason to despair, unquote. Through the lens of Eckhart Tolle's work, catastrophizing is a product of fully identifying with the egoic mind, that is, believing that the thoughts in your head are actually true. If you're totally identified with the
you will have fear if only in the background and it may come out into other forms. It can come express itself as anger. If you look at anger closely, you usually find hidden underneath the anger is a state of fear. And many things that the thought activity, excessive thought activity often creates scenarios of things going wrong that are not happening now, may never happen.
often probably will never happen. And even if they did happen, the actual situation would actually be easier to face than the imaginary situation in your mind, because there's nothing you can do, there's no action you can take to remedy an imaginary situation except to stop thinking it.
Tolle suggests that the first step in overcoming these catastrophizing thoughts is to become aware that they are the involuntary product of the egoic mind. And through that awareness, you'll discover that there's a deeper part of your mind that can actually observe the egoic mind, thereby detaching you from it. Once you can disidentify from the ego in this way, your body will no longer respond to the imaginary threats it creates. And what do you do to step out?
First, you don't believe your mind that tells you, "No, you can't step out. You have to continue thinking." No, you step out and take a conscious breath or put your attention into the inner energy field of the body. A conscious choice to remove attention from thinking.
Kendrick continues Die Hard's second verse by stating two goals: "I want to see the family stronger. I want to see them money longer." As we've discussed a few times this season, Kendrick's children became a central motivation to once and for all confront his demons. Demons that could easily be passed down to his kids, continuing a generational curse that he will link back to slavery later on the album.
And within this context, I Want to See the Money Longer evokes generational wealth, which is typically created through long-term investments and ownership. This calls to mind Kendrick's decision to leave Top Dog Entertainment in order to create his own label, PG Lang, a move that allows him to own his music outright in perpetuity, a continuous revenue stream that will support his family for generations. ♪ You know that I'd die for you ♪
I get emotional about life The lost ones keeping me up at night The world be reminding me it's danger I still risk it all for a stranger If I told you who I am, would you use it against me? Right or wrong, no stone, just love to send me
Kendrick continues the second verse rapping, you know that I'd die for you. The first time he referenced die hard, it pointed to his stubbornness to change. Here he flips the meaning to refer to his undying support for his family and his willingness to put his life on the line to see that commitment through. He then raps, I get emotional about life, the lost ones keeping me up at night.
Another subtle dichotomy here, as Kendrick plays with life and death, and how the loss of life takes a toll on his emotional state. On United in Grief, we heard Kendrick recount the passing of his friend Chad and his grandmother Estelle. Also, in the years between Damn and Mr. Morale, we know that at least two other friends of his passed, Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle. Kendrick has since paid tribute to both men publicly. In 2020, Kendrick narrated a tribute to Kobe that ran on what would have been his 42nd birthday.
As for Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick wrote a tribute piece as part of Nipsey's memorial service, concluding the piece by saying quote, "He was a vessel from God.
As my heart aches for him and his family, I understand that the Most High doesn't make mistakes. I pray that Eremia's foundation continues to blossom. I pray for those who trespass against it. A true king will be tested in adversity. To stand in fearlessness in what he believes will impact the earth, as well as in heaven. So thank you Nipsey the Radical, Nipsey the Thinker, Nipsey the Father, Nipsey the Brother, Nipsey the Husband, Nipsey the Friend, Nipsey the Great,
And from now on, Nipsey the messenger." Kendrick also rapped from Nipsey's perspective on the "Heart Part 5," which at the time was Kendrick's first solo song in over four years and the first since Nipsey's passing. ♪ I woke up that morning with more heart to give you ♪ ♪ As I bleed through the speakers, feel my presence ♪ ♪ To my brother, to my kids, I'm in heaven ♪ ♪ To my mother, to my sis, I'm in heaven ♪
We can only imagine the compounded grief Kendrick experienced in the wake of these deaths, with the line "The lost ones keeping me up at night" giving us just the slightest glimpse into what must have been a terribly difficult time. The notion of death then leads to the next line: "The world be reminding me it's danger."
I'll still risk it all for a stranger." Like so many of the lines in this song, the plain spoken simplicity here almost disguises the true weight of these words, as this really underscores the way Kendrick views this album. While he did very little press for Mr. Morale, the few comments he did make almost always pointed to the idea that this album was meant for future generations.
In his 2021 public letter announcing his resignation from TDE Records, he wrote, quote, Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most, the life in which my words will land next, unquote.
In his 2022 interview with W Magazine, Kendrick said, "I've had rewards for my other albums in different ways, whether it was accolades, whether it was the Pulitzer, whether it was the Grammys. This one is the reward for humanity for me." These comments revealed that while he clearly has trepidation about being so honest about himself and his life, Kendrick viewed it as a risk he was willing to take for the evolution of future generations.
or as he says on Die Hard, "still risk it all for a stranger." Finally, the last thing we hear from Kendrick directly on the song is the lines "If I told you who I am, would you use it against me? Right or wrong, no stone, just love to send me." Kendrick again asks us to truly contemplate the concept of real, unconditional love and compassion.
specifically when difficult truths are revealed about one's character or behavior. He evokes a famous biblical passage, John 8, where Jesus enters the temple at the Mount of Olives to teach those who have gathered there. A group of Jesus' detractors entered the temple with a woman they claimed to have caught committing adultery. They then try to trap Jesus by asking him in front of the crowd whether the woman should be stoned to death. If he said yes, he'd be breaking Roman law. If he said no, he'd be contradicting Jewish law. Jesus then stood and said,
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Convicted by their own conscience, understanding their own capacity for sin, everyone in the temple left one by one in silence.
It's a moral lesson that reflects Matthew 7, part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that Kendrick cited on N95. It's here that Jesus said, "...do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Unquote.
Evoking these teachings of Jesus here at the end of Die Hard, Kendrick is asking us to reserve our judgment until we have judged ourselves to the degree he's about to judge himself on the album. Because if you were to do that, if you were to hold the mirror of judgment to yourself first, if you were to take off your own mask and confront your own blemishes, your own sins, your own capacity to kill as he said on Worldwide Steppers,
it's likely you'd come out of that experience not with a larger capacity for judgment, but with empathy and compassion and a larger capacity to love unconditionally.
Over a new piano part, Blast sings "Baby you make me pray for London, 'cause if I want it all without you involved, I guess it's all for nothing." While we might think first of the city of London, I believe the more likely reference here is Lauren London, the American actress who was Nipsey Hussle's partner and the mother of his son. The sudden tragedy of Nipsey's death had to have resulted in unimaginable grief for London and the rest of Nipsey's family, and the prayers given here are a touching tribute to the woman who has been forced to live without her life partner.
The reference also fits the theme of the final two lines, as Kendrick through Blast can't fathom enjoying a life without Whitney, however "successful" he's become. Unlike Lauren London, Kendrick actually has an opportunity to make things right, an opportunity he's determined to take advantage of. Now if you listen closely during this outro, you can actually hear a little easter egg. It occurs in the gap between the lines "cause if I want it all without you involved" and "it's all for nothing". See if you can hear it.
A high voice I believe is Kendrick sings, I fucking love you. Listen again with the vocals soloed. I guess it's all for nothing.
Singing directly to Whitney in this way is an incredibly endearing moment, the beauty of which is sustained by the song's final instrumental passage, where the piano and strings move together in a delicate duet, like two lovers dancing in a moonlight courtyard. Conclusions
Die Hard is a much needed respite from the frenetic intensity of Mr. Morale's start. Narratively, the album's first three tracks established our protagonist Kendrick as a paranoid, cynical, defiant, and emotionally damaged character whose life had fallen apart despite his material success. Die Hard is the feminine yin to an album that has been dominated by masculine yang. Indeed, if worldwide steppers showed that we're all capable of evil, then Die Hard shows that we're all capable of good as well.
part love letter, part prayer, the song is Kendrick showing us, showing Whitney, the God in him, his divine potential worthy of redemption. Like Isaiah's purification by the fire of seraphim, Kendrick is ready to begin his own purifying journey, ready to slay his demons for the sake of his family. He's going to evolve or he's going to die trying. Thus Die Hard functions as the serene moment of pause before crossing the threshold.
the slow, meditative breath before taking the leap of faith. And because we know Kendrick's healing journey is one that's guided by therapy, we might now ask ourselves, where does therapy usually begin? Well, it often begins with your childhood. I come from a generation of home invasions, and I got daddy issues, that's on me. Everything them forewars have taught me, make habits buried deep. That man knew a lot, but not enough to keep me alive.
Of course, this is Mr. Morales' next track, Father Time, a song we'll examine note by note, line by line, next time on Dissect. If you enjoyed today's episode, please tell a friend about the new season or share on social media. It really helps. Also, you can support the show by purchasing our new Season 13 merchandise, available now at DissectPodcast.com. All right, thanks everyone. Talk to you next week.