Song Breakdown: The Heart Part 4 by Kendrick Lamar
In the track announcing the return of the current king of Rap, Kendrick disses Drake and announces the release date of his new album.
"The Heart Part 4" is the fourth song in the Heart series produced by Compton born rapper Kendrick Lamar. The songs delve into Kendrick's feelings and experiences at the time of their release. Most notably, several of the Hearts have either preceded big release dates, with the "Heart Part 3" being released two days before Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, or have been featured on Kendrick's larger projects ("The Heart Part 2" being the first song on Kendrick's mixtape Overly Dedicated).
I think the production of this song is so-so because the beat switch between the first two verses is unnecessary. The first beat is this really smooth and relaxed sound that is incredibly pleasant to listen to. However after the beat switch, the sound of the song changes into a louder and more rambunctious sound. While the second beat matches the change in the tone of the song, it seems almost too aggressive when compared to the first.
Lyrically, Kendrick's is still the undisputed best at producing profound words that connect to the listener and carry a meaning deeper than what is said. The hook is taken directly from James Brown's song "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth on You", and is Kendrick paying homage to one of his influences. Kendrick then reflects on his recent life experiences and past songs he has made in the first verse, transitioning directly from him referencing his daughter "I'm satisfied when I strategize my kid's future" to songs of his that have confronted the different parts of society by saying "I done vandalized the industry full circuit". Here Kendrick references both the song "Control", on which Kendrick attacks every noteworthy rapper in the industry, and "The Blacker the Berry", which challenges the social construct of racial self-hatred.
Getting to the second verse, Kendrick spits bars dissing out Drake. Stating "My fans can't wait for me to son ya punk-ass" Kendrick fire shots at Drake's claim on Fake Love that "you can't 'son' me". Kendrick follows this with another claim, stating Drake "Tiptoein' around my name", essentially calling him scared. Several bars later, Kendrick references the differences in the two artists' lives, where Kendrick still owns properties in Compton, trying to stay connected to where he came from, while Drake simply owns a "house on the hill" and a "house on the beach" in LA, far away from his hometown of Toronto. Kendrick implies that Drake is not in touch with his roots and his hometown. Most notably, after several other small stabs at Drake, Kendrick obliterates him with "Ho, Jay Z Hall of Fame, sit yo' punk-ass down! // So that means you ain't bigger than rapping // So that means no more playin' the back scenes". Here, Kendrick asks Drake to check his ego, referencing the Toronto native insulting Jay-Z on the song "Free Smoke". Kendrick calls the Toronto native out because Jay-Z being a much better rapper than Drake. Kendrick diversifies his shots at Drake by also mentioning his dishonorable use of ghost-writers, then ending the song by announcing the release date of his next album. I was thoroughly impressed by this song that left me with an amazing first impression, then managed to grow on me. April 7th cannot come soon enough with two amazing projects, Joey Bada$$'s All Amerikkkan Bada$$, and Kendrick Lamar's new album, being released.
What did you think of the song?
Sonically, what direction do you think Kendrick will take his next album?
I hope you enjoyed this song breakdown.
-J
I think the production of this song is so-so because the beat switch between the first two verses is unnecessary. The first beat is this really smooth and relaxed sound that is incredibly pleasant to listen to. However after the beat switch, the sound of the song changes into a louder and more rambunctious sound. While the second beat matches the change in the tone of the song, it seems almost too aggressive when compared to the first.
Lyrically, Kendrick's is still the undisputed best at producing profound words that connect to the listener and carry a meaning deeper than what is said. The hook is taken directly from James Brown's song "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth on You", and is Kendrick paying homage to one of his influences. Kendrick then reflects on his recent life experiences and past songs he has made in the first verse, transitioning directly from him referencing his daughter "I'm satisfied when I strategize my kid's future" to songs of his that have confronted the different parts of society by saying "I done vandalized the industry full circuit". Here Kendrick references both the song "Control", on which Kendrick attacks every noteworthy rapper in the industry, and "The Blacker the Berry", which challenges the social construct of racial self-hatred.
Getting to the second verse, Kendrick spits bars dissing out Drake. Stating "My fans can't wait for me to son ya punk-ass" Kendrick fire shots at Drake's claim on Fake Love that "you can't 'son' me". Kendrick follows this with another claim, stating Drake "Tiptoein' around my name", essentially calling him scared. Several bars later, Kendrick references the differences in the two artists' lives, where Kendrick still owns properties in Compton, trying to stay connected to where he came from, while Drake simply owns a "house on the hill" and a "house on the beach" in LA, far away from his hometown of Toronto. Kendrick implies that Drake is not in touch with his roots and his hometown. Most notably, after several other small stabs at Drake, Kendrick obliterates him with "Ho, Jay Z Hall of Fame, sit yo' punk-ass down! // So that means you ain't bigger than rapping // So that means no more playin' the back scenes". Here, Kendrick asks Drake to check his ego, referencing the Toronto native insulting Jay-Z on the song "Free Smoke". Kendrick calls the Toronto native out because Jay-Z being a much better rapper than Drake. Kendrick diversifies his shots at Drake by also mentioning his dishonorable use of ghost-writers, then ending the song by announcing the release date of his next album. I was thoroughly impressed by this song that left me with an amazing first impression, then managed to grow on me. April 7th cannot come soon enough with two amazing projects, Joey Bada$$'s All Amerikkkan Bada$$, and Kendrick Lamar's new album, being released.
What did you think of the song?
Sonically, what direction do you think Kendrick will take his next album?
I hope you enjoyed this song breakdown.
-J
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