The Blacker the Berry by Kendrick Lamar
The Blacker the Berry by Kendrick Lamar

The Blacker the Berry

Kendrick Lamar * Track #13 On To Pimp a Butterfly

Download "The Blacker the Berry"

The Blacker the Berry by Kendrick Lamar

Release Date
Mon Feb 09 2015
Performed by
Kendrick Lamar
Produced by
Ken Lewis & ZALE & Boi-1da & KOZ & Terrace Martin
Writed by
ZALE & Agent Sasco (Assassin) & Xplicit & KOZ & Brent Kolatalo & Boi-1da & Ken Lewis & Kendrick Lamar & Terrace Martin
About

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.” Ke...

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The Blacker the Berry Lyrics

[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

[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]

The Blacker the Berry Q&A

Who wrote The Blacker the Berry's ?

The Blacker the Berry was written by ZALE & Agent Sasco (Assassin) & Xplicit & KOZ & Brent Kolatalo & Boi-1da & Ken Lewis & Kendrick Lamar & Terrace Martin.

Who produced The Blacker the Berry's ?

The Blacker the Berry was produced by Ken Lewis & ZALE & Boi-1da & KOZ & Terrace Martin.

When did Kendrick Lamar release The Blacker the Berry?

Kendrick Lamar released The Blacker the Berry on Mon Feb 09 2015.

What did Kendrick Lamar say about "The Blacker the Berry"?

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 becaus...

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

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, s...

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Do the musicians have said something else about the song ?

According to Songfacts, saxophonist Terrace Martin explained his contribution to Billboard magazine:

I was listening to the record, zoning out… what he’s talking about is a perfect time for what’s going on in life. It’s a soulful record, it’s a record that needed to be done, and it’s like the moder...

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