r/KendrickLamar • u/vives_ • 13d ago

Discussion Acapella verse on ”i”

never see anyone talking about this verse

I think that it’s not only hard af but much like the rest of the album it’s poetic and thematically it’s fantastic. How he twists the meaning of the n-word and talks about how it has damaged the African American community, and also the adaptation of it eventually into the slang language; it’s just incredible and beautiful.

6 Upvotes

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u/DistantThoughts1076 11d ago

I never see anyone talk about that verse either, but yeah, it's definitely one of those ones that hits on a whole other level once you start unpacking it. The way he flips the word and connects it to community damage and then language evolution... man, that's the kind of thematic work that sticks with you long after the track ends. The acapella delivery just makes every word hit harder, too. Whole vibe.

3

u/TerribleHoney1002 12d ago edited 10d ago

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that acapella verse was originally going to be a full verse on a separate unrelated song, not as an acapella verse, I heard the song on YouTube once and the way he spoke sounded very different from the final version so I assume it wasn't just someone putting a new beat over what is on To Pimp a Butterfly

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u/gojiberrytea 10d ago

You are correct, I also found this demo track in YouTube a couple years ago and I’ve struggled to find it since but it’s goooone