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What Once Was Mine
What Once Was Mine
Liz Braswell | 2021 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
๐‘พ๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐’Š๐’‡ ๐‘น๐’‚๐’‘๐’–๐’๐’›๐’†๐’โ€™๐’” ๐’Ž๐’๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’“ ๐’…๐’“๐’‚๐’๐’Œ ๐’‚ ๐’‘๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’‡๐’“๐’๐’Ž ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’˜๐’“๐’๐’๐’ˆ ๐’‡๐’๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

As you will all know by now, I am in love with the Twisted Tales series and have to read each installment as they are released. What Once was Mine is the 12th Twisted Tale book and the 7th written by Liz Braswell so to say I was excited would be an understatement.

As always, TT books come with a tag line to lure you in and this one is โ€œWhat if Rapunzelโ€™s mother drank a potion from the wrong flower?โ€ Yes, instead of the golden Sundrop flower, the ailing pregnant queen is mistakenly given a potion using the Moondrop flower, resulting in a silver-haired princess whose power kills rather than heals!

Of course, that casts the whole locking the princess in a tower concept into an entirely new light! However, many of the other elements remain the same as Disneyโ€™s โ€˜Tangledโ€™ movie: Gothel is Rapunzelโ€™s captor and โ€œmotherโ€, Flynn steals a crown and is on the run from the Stabbington brothers and Rapunzel is desperate to see the floating lights.

What Liz Braswell manages to do (very well, in my opinion) is to maintain all these similarities, keeping her readers rooted to the original story but also to bend the original fairytale into something a bit more mature, a bit darker and, in some cases, a bit more real.


โ€œ๐™๐™๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™ ๐™–๐™—๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™ž๐™จ ๐™–๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™ก๐™š๐™™, ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ ๐™š ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™—๐™ง๐™–๐™ž๐™™๐™จ, ๐™๐™–๐™ฅ๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฏ๐™š๐™กโ€

What Once was Mine is written from Rapunzelโ€™s perspective. Now, this may be an obvious choice, but it also gives Braswell the opportunity to show her protagonist in a slightly more mature light than we are used to. Yes, Rapunzel is scatty, enthusiastic and teeth-grittingly cheerful about everything but she also believes she is dangerous and that she belongs in the tower for the safety of others.

Rapunzel has always been told that her hair killed her parents and that Gothel has been charged with her care and protection. However, what I really enjoyed about Braswellโ€™s Rapunzel is that, although she begins with the same blind faith in Gothel as she has in the movie, she soon develops an inner turmoil of emotions with regards to her captor, questioning where she spends her days and recognising the little digs often made at the daughterโ€™s expense.

As her journey continues, Rapunzel observes other mother-daughter relationships and her doubt and distrust of Gothel begins to build as a result. Lords, ladies and bandits alike are hunting for Rapunzel in order to claim her as their prize but this couldnโ€™t be orchestrated by her mother, the only family she has ever known, could it?

โ€œ๐˜ฝ๐™š๐™œ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ฉ๐™š๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ ๐™ฎ๐™š๐™–๐™ง ๐™—๐™ฎ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง๐™œ๐™ž๐™ซ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง๐™จ๐™š๐™ก๐™›, ๐™๐™–๐™ฅ๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฏ๐™š๐™ก. ๐™๐™๐™–๐™ฉโ€™๐™จ ๐™– ๐™›๐™–๐™ง ๐™—๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง ๐™œ๐™ž๐™›๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™›๐™ก๐™ค๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ก๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™จ.โ€

I have conflicting feelings when it comes to the darker elements of What Once Was Mine. The inclusion of the very real Countess Bathory took me by surprise and was quite gruesome in places: not a problem for a grown-up Disney nerd but Iโ€™m not sure whether I will be passing this one along to the Mini Bookworm any time soon.

There is also the narrator of the story: a brother making up an alternative Rapunzel story for his sister while she is undergoing chemo. I understand this is an emotive topic for the author and I almost got it as a tool for the story-telling, enabling the use of quite modern, colloquial terms such as โ€œmurderhairโ€ and enabling the creative inclusion of characters such as Maximus.

I really wanted this technique to be profound and make the story mean more, such as fairytales having an important place in the modern world for example. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me: it was an interesting tweak but it didnโ€™t make me feel as much as I wanted it to.

It is not all doom and gloom though, Rapunzelโ€™s perspective of the world provides comic moments: her (limited) knowledge of the world comes from the 37 books that she owns, leading to a moose that is definitely a squirrel and a cat which acts suspiciously like a fox. We are also not deprived of the regulars of The Snuggly Duckling, indeed all of your favourites from the film turn up for this novel.

Braswellโ€™s characterisation when it came to Flynn was spot on in my opinion. The observation by Rapunzel that there is the โ€œrealโ€ Flynn and then there is the charming, roguish mask he uses was perfect! Gina was also a great addition, desperately trying to be an adventurer/criminal and not being taken seriously just because she is a girl. The relationship between her and Flynn was adorable and, of course, Ginaโ€™s mother is just legendary.

โ€œ๐™Ž๐™๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™๐™–๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™™๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ก๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ๐™จ; ๐™จ๐™๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ฅ๐™ช๐™ง๐™จ๐™ช๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ง๐™š๐™–๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฏ๐™š๐™™ ๐™™๐™ง๐™š๐™–๐™ข ๐™ค๐™› ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ข๐™–๐™ก๐™˜๐™ฎโ€

The writing style isnโ€™t for everyone and, I must admit, this is the twisted tale which I have probably put down and walked away from the most. However, if you can stick it through the slow sections the story is really worth it and provides a much-admired evolution of the Disney Princess.

Donโ€™t get me wrong - in the animated movie Rapunzel is great and all but by the end she is a princess with a haircut and a smouldering husband. Braswellโ€™s Rapunzel has magic that she needs to study, understand and control, she is a future Queen in the making and simply has more of a purpose than her animated counterpart.

โ€œ๐™Ž๐™๐™š ๐™๐™–๐™™ ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ง ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™– ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™—๐™—๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฃ ๐™™๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃโ€


What Once Was Mine brings a whole new depth to the characters of Disneyโ€™s Tangled. It gives us a new (frankly, disgusting) villain alongside all our favourite characters and definitely presents a creative twist on the traditional story. Donโ€™t worry, Rapunzel still gets her Happily Ever After, but she fought a little harder for it this time around!
  
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
2008 | Action, Crime
The Dark Knight picks up not too long after Batman Begins left off. The way the citizens of Gotham look at Batman is still pretty divided. Some see him as a vigilante in a mask who takes the law into his own hands and others see him as a caped crusader who helps keep scum off the streets. A hero to some and a villain to others. Harvey Dent, the man running for DA, enters the picture and could be the face Gotham is looking for to be its new hero. A man who's not only capable of getting rid of the filth on the streets of Gotham in a more efficient manner, but could be the reason Batman hangs up his cape for good. It seems as though Gotham has found itself with a new criminal psychopath though that's keeping Batman, Harvey Dent, and the Gotham PD busy these days. The Joker is, without a doubt, Batman's most dangerous adversary. A madman whose only desire is to give Gotham a better class of criminal. Bruce Wayne goes beyond his limits as Batman to try and take him down and all The Joker wants is for Gotham to be filled with pure chaos. Can Batman bring The Joker to justice? Will Harvey Dent become Gotham's new white knight? How does Rachel Dawes fit into the picture?

I had been looking forward to this movie for what seemed like an eternity and to make it worse is that I had to sit in the theater for an hour since I got there early. All I could think about was that I was finally seeing this movie that I was so excited about. I have never anticipated a film to this capacity. Ever. I was thinking that there was no way a movie could live up to being that good. So the real question is, "Did the film live up to my expectations?" The answer is no. It didn't. It surpassed my expectations in every way possible. The two hours and thirty two minutes running time went by in a blur as there was little to no down time and my eyes were drawn to the screen the entire time. This movie was epic. I don't toss that word around too often, but there's no way else to describe it. It was epic in every sense of the word. I've never seen a film that had this much of a crowd response to not only the film, its actors, its twists and turns, but the trailers beforehand as well. I lost count how many times I had goosebumps throughout the film because what I was witnessing was exactly what I wanted to see and then some. It is truly an extraordinary experience.

The cast was brilliant. The returning cast from the last film continued to be impressive. Michael Caine always manages to be charming and steal a few laughs as Alfred and the film wouldn't be the same without Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Christian Bale is still the best Batman to ever put on the cape, in my opinion. It was nice seeing more Batman this time around than Bruce Wayne. The way he struggles with if continuing to be Batman is the right thing for Gotham still plagues him and is still equally as amazing. Maggie Gyllenhaal has, as I'm sure you've heard by now, replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes and actually brings a spark to the role. She brought the charisma and overall talent to The Dark Knight that Katie Holmes should have had in Batman Begins. Gary Oldman is an actor who I still think doesn't deserve the credit he deserves and what he brings to the role of Jim Gordon, especially this time around in The Dark Knight, should hopefully get people talking. Which brings me to Aaron Eckhart. By the time the credits start rolling, I can guarantee you'll be praising his work in this film. I can't really imagine anyone else in the role of Harvey Dent now and what he winds up going through and how he portrays it is just incredible. The intensity he put into the role really caused him to steal quite a few scenes.

Hm. That's the whole cast isn't it? I'm not leaving anyone out, right? Oh, of course. Heath Ledger as The Joker. Did it live up to the hype and was it worth all the fuss? It does, my friends. It's actually better than the hype. Ledger steals every scene he's in. Period. Whatever he tapped into and whatever kind of preparation he went through for this role is truly phenomenal. He WAS The Joker in this film. He was somehow able to embody The Joker in a way that is frightening, maniacal, and even hysterical all at the same time. You will wind up holding your breath and trying not to make a sound every time he comes on screen because you don't want to miss a second of this mesmerizing performance. I was reading that he locked himself up in an empty apartment for a month to prepare for the role to get a true feel for the character; his body language, quirks, his voice, etc. He had The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughed, and a few of the first issues of Batman that had appearances from the Joker as references. I can tell you this...it truly shows, if that's the case. The way he submerged himself in this character is almost beyond words. He deserves every ounce of praise that he gets.

It is ridiculous how much praise The Dark Knight truly deserves. Even the most elaborate descriptions feel like they're still not doing the movie justice. The film is for Batman fans, for Nolan fans, for fans of good storytelling, for fans of good writing, for fans of amazing cinematography, for fans of some of the strongest acting performances ever to be filmed, for fans of action/crime/dramas...long story short, the film can and probably will be enjoyed by anyone. It is the only film to come out in recent years that not only lived up to the hype, but leaped over it and actually deserved every bit of it. By the time you get to the end credits, you'll immediately want to see it again and you'll be just as excited the second time(and possibly third time) through. It's that good.
  
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Action/Adventure
Gameplay (1 more)
Graphics
Characters (1 more)
Twist ending
A Review By A Disappointed Long Time Fan
Before this game was released, I was certain that it was going to be my Game Of The Year for 2015, and in a lot of ways it is a worthy contender. As an open world stealth game, it is groundbreaking. The gameplay is some of the best Iโ€™ve ever seen, the controls feel tight, the underlying systems and features, (such as reflex mode and the buddy system,) are solid and the AI is responsive and fair. This is KojiProโ€™s first attempt at an open world game, and as far as first attempts go, this is โ€˜pretty good.โ€™ The world is breathtaking as well, the graphics that the Fox engine can produce are stunning in every way, the world feels alive, with both enemies and wildlife, the textures, the particle systems, the gun models, every visual in this game has been created with an insane amount of attention to detail and all of it really pays off. I experienced little to no glitches while making my way through the single player campaign and the presentation overall is great. Motherbase is also awesome, you genuinely feel as if you are assembling an army and even though the Fulton is daft, it is a nice touch. And the amount of variety this game provides is vast, you can take 4 different buddies with you, each with unique skills, you can infiltrate in the morning or at night, you can choose your guns and customise them to suit, you can also customise your buddyโ€™s gear, your helicopter and to a small extent Motherbase too, although that could have went deeper. Now, if that is all that you are looking for, then seriously, stop reading this review right now and go buy the game, you will love it and there is so much to do, I sank a good 75+ hours into this game and my overall completion rate is still only at 75%. If however, like me, you are looking for something more than just great gameplay, you will be left feeling as empty as I do. Like I keep reiterating, the gameplay is phenomenal, but thatโ€™s the problem, I have never played MGS for the gameplay. It wasnโ€™t the gameplay that made me fall in love with the series growing up and if anything you would always suffer through the stiff gameplay in order to experience the deep and complex story and that was okay, because it would always be so worth it. This game throws all of that out of the window.

The way that this game is structured is awful. You play a few main missions in a row, the story is beginning to hook you, but then OCD kicks in and you realise that you have 4 or 5 side missions building up to be completed, so you go and do them, but then you come back to the main story and forget what was going on in the last mission, but who cares when you can Fulton a goat, right?

The writing in this game is possibly the laziest itโ€™s ever been, one example of this is the โ€˜controversialโ€™ character known as Quiet. This character has been masterly debated over a lot (see what I did there?) and thrown more gasoline on the fire that is the over-sexualisation of women in video games. My stance on it is somewhere in between, the reason for her lack of clothes and speech is silly, however she is running around Afghanistan and Africa, which are very hot countries, so really they could have put her in a bikini top and a pair of cargo pants and I doubt anyone would have batted an eyelid. Now, the Metal Gear series has always been known for its odd Japanese perviness, but when it is a main character that has been sexualised, itโ€™s always been for a justified narrative reason, such as EVA in MGS3 walking about with the front of her jacket unzipped showing off her bikini clad chest, but the whole point of her mission in that game, was to seduce Snake, so it made sense within the context of the story, in this game the reason for Quietโ€™s over exposure is much lazier and feels tacked on as a cheap excuse.

The worst part about all of this is the fact that, this is it, Kojimaโ€™s definite last Metal Gear game, there is no going back to redeem anything, like in MGS2 when everyone hated it, but because 4 solved some of the problems that were created in 2 people are now okay with 2, that canโ€™t happen with this game because Kojima and Konami are no more. Now I could write a whole other paper on Konami vs Kojima and my stance on it but this is the jist, Kojima was spending too much money and taking too much time with this game, Konami demanded he finish it so they can make their money and add their microtransactionโ€™s etc Kojima told them where they can stick it and the partnership was dead. This has had an effect on the game, there is clearly content missing, Konami has confirmed that at least one mission was cut, where Snake would have went to Africa to have another battle with Eli and Sahalanthropus, which is the Metal Gear in this game, which is unacceptable really. Also, I assume there was a lot of other content that was cut that we werenโ€™t told about. Sahalanthropus is another problem I have, how is it that this Metal Gear created in the 80โ€™s is more advanced than REX, which was created in the early 2000โ€™s. Also, when you fight Sahalanthropus, there is no one in the thing, it is an empty robot being controlled by Mantis, who floats beside the giant mech. That is actually a decent metaphor for the lack of villains in this game. Skull Face is hardly in the game and his eventual death, like every other significant event in this game, just kind of happens with no build up and packing little punch. The team of bosses in the original Metal Gear, headed up by Liquid and Ocelot, were probably the best team of villains in any game ever, since then the bosses have gone slowly downhill. The Sons of Big Boss were great, Dead Cell were pretty cool, The Cobras were okay, The Beauty & The Beast Corps were pretty lame and The Skulls in this game are emotionless zombies who donโ€™t even have individual names and Skull Face is such a disappointing antagonist, he is hardly in the main game and then he shows up at the end, gives some silly speech that we have heard before in the trailers and then just dies, no boss fight or anything. Also, no customisable Metal Gear, which I feel like is a huge missed opportunity and no Sims like Motherbase customisation, interior or exterior.

David Hayter was missed in this game, Keifer was fine on the rare occasion he did speak, but the phantom Snake twist was the perfect opportunity to reintroduce Hayterโ€™s voice and they didnโ€™t take it. Also no Campbell or EVA, not even a reference. And it is never explained why the last time we see the real Big Boss, he is rescuing a child and a young girl and the next time we see him he has become modern day Hitler. Ultimately, this game just makes me sad, it is hard not to focus on the fallout from the Konima debacle, P.T/Silent Hills is no more, that promisingly terrifying demo we were teased with will amount to nothing and this game is all we will ever get again in terms of the Metal Gear saga. This is the end of an era, and itโ€™s an end that doesnโ€™t sit perfectly with me.
  
Damn. by Kendrick Lamar
Damn. by Kendrick Lamar
2017 | Rhythm And Blues
Kendrick Lamar is an iconic hip-hop artist outta Compton, California. Not too long ago, he released his fourth studio album, entitled, โ€œDAMN.โ€.

1) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œBLOOD.โ€
Lamar tackles the issue of life and death. He poses several questions over a melodic instrumental produced by Lamar, Bฤ“kon, and Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith. One of them being, โ€œAre we gonna live or die?โ€ Lamar tells a brilliant story about him walking down a block, and he sees a blind lady in search of something she had lost. He goes over to help, and then he asks, โ€œHello, maโ€™am, can I be of any assistance? It seems to me that you have lost something. I would like to help you find it.โ€ She replied, โ€œOh yes, you have lost something. Youโ€™ve lost your life.โ€ And then we hear a gunshot. Lamar is shot. Did he lose his life? The dire ending answers the probing question posed in the beginningโ€”we gonna die.

2) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œDNA.โ€
Lamar explains why his DNA differs from a suckerโ€™s DNA. His deoxyribonucleic acid consists of going through the school of hard knocks. He endured a rugged street life, prisons, money, drugs, alcohol, sex, murder, mayhem, loyalty, royalty, joy, etc. This is because his DNA comprises of things shared collectively by African-Americans who have been through the struggle. Lyrically, Lamar leaves earth, while rapping over an explosive track produced by Mike WiLL Made-It. From beginning to end, he doesnโ€™t take a bar off and shows why conscience rap has resurrected into the new norm.

3) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œYAH.โ€
Lamar let it be known that heโ€™s diagnosed with real ni^^a conditions, and keeps it a hunnit by calling out Geraldo Rivera because of criticism Lamar received from a FOX NEWS segment. The kid Capri intro adds a classic east coast authenticity over a laid-back track produced by Bฤ“kon, Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, Sounwave, and DJ Dahi. Preconceived lies told by White slave masters to African slaves are melting like hot butter in the sun. Lamar, a descendant of those slaves, has awakened and knows himself.

4) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œELEMENT.โ€
Lamar, who Capri calls the โ€˜New Kung Fu Kennyโ€™, continues his Shaolin-rap assault over a Wu-Tang-like track produced by Bฤ“kon, Tae Beast, James Blake, Sounwave, and Ricci Riera. Lamar is simply on another level than his peers. Heโ€™s been through more sh*t than them, and heโ€™s ready to put the Bible down and go eye for an eye for this sh*t. When he said, โ€œI been stomped out in front of my mama / my daddy commissary made it to commas / B*tch, all my grandmas dead / So, ainโ€™t nobody prayinโ€™ for me, Iโ€™m on your head.โ€

5) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œFEEL.โ€
Lamar beautifully expresses how he feels on a dope Sounwave-produced track, where Lamar raps, โ€œI feel like the whole world want me to pray for โ€™em / But who the f*ck prayinโ€™ for me?โ€ Lamar feels that nobody ainโ€™t prayinโ€™ for him, and this void has him with a chip on his shoulders, looking at life from a dark, and troubled point of view. He feels pain and doesnโ€™t see hope. Did the incident with the blind lady cause him to feel this way? Why does he feel this way? Kendrick raps, โ€œI feel like it ainโ€™t no tomorrow f*ck the world / The world is endinโ€™, Iโ€™m done pretendinโ€™โ€ฆ I feel like this gotta be the feelinโ€™ what โ€˜Pac wasโ€ฆโ€

But Lamar knows ill-thinking is bad for his health, and he acknowledges the source of his negative thinking, โ€œThe feelinโ€™ is toxic, I feel like Iโ€™m boxinโ€™ demons / Monsters, false prophets scheminโ€™,โ€ and the list goes on and on. If no one is, just know that we are praying for you Kendrick, YAH-willing.

6) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œLOYALTYโ€ (FEAT. RIHANNA.)
Lamar and Rihanna explore one of the key elements in Lamarโ€™s DNA, loyalty; and they pose a simple questionโ€”who are you loyal to? Is it your family? Friends? Or yourself? Maybe itโ€™s money, weed, or alcoholic? Where does it begin and where does it end? Lamar and Rihanna do a wonderful job over a beautify track produced by Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, Terrace Martin, Sounwave, and DJ Dahi.

7) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œPRIDE.โ€
The Steve Lacyโ€™s intro, โ€œLoveโ€™s gonna get you killed, but prideโ€™s gonna be the death of you and me,โ€ fits perfect in the scheme of things. Lamar, a spiritual intellectual, understands Proverbs 16: 18, which states, โ€œPride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.โ€ So, Lamar uses those reference points to further expound his faith. In the beginning, Lamarโ€™s love for the blind lady got him shot. And now, will his pride, the great satisfaction he feels when he reviews all that he has achieved, will that be the death of him? Over a smooth/laid-back track produced by Bฤ“kon, Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, and Steve Lacy, Lamar states that he canโ€™t fake being humble, just because people are insecure.

He answers the question of pride
Lamar raps, โ€œSick venom in men and women overcome with pride. A perfect world is never perfect, only filled with lies. Promises are broken and more resentment come alive. Race barriers make inferior of you and I. See, in a perfect world, Iโ€™ll choose faith over riches. Iโ€™ll choose work over b*tches, Iโ€™ll make schools out of prison. Iโ€™ll take all the religions and put โ€˜em all in one service. Just to tell โ€™em we ainโ€™t sh*t, but Heโ€™s been perfect.โ€

If Lamar maintains his Israelite faith over riches, and keep that equation as the top priority, he wonโ€™t be a victim of pride. But the question isโ€”can Lamar remain humble amidst all the madness?

8) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œHUMBLE.โ€
Lamar shows that being humble is easier said than done. Over a bouncy-head-nodding track produced by Mike WiLL Made-It, Lamar speaks his mind and gives zero f*cks on what people think about him. Heโ€™s braggadocios, confident, and asserts himself as the king of rap music. He sends a cryptic message to his competition, โ€œWatch my soul speak, you let the meds talk. If I kill a ni^^a, it wonโ€™t be the alcohol. Iโ€™m the realest ni^^a after all, b*tch, be humble.โ€

9) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œLUST.โ€
Lamar tackles the issue of lust, one of the main causes that fuel what we do. He begins by creating a scene, where lust has him trying to stick the tip of his phallus inside a womanโ€™s vagina. She agrees, causing blood to run through his favorite vein. His logic, it doesnโ€™t matter what you doโ€”just make it count.

So, over a chilled- track produced by BADBADNOTGOOD, Sounwave, and DJ Dahi, Lamar raps, โ€œHop in the shower, put on your makeup, lace your weave up. Touch on yourself, call up your ni^^a, tell him he ainโ€™t sh*t. Credit card scam, get you a Visa, make him pay your rent. Hop on the โ€˜Gram, flex on the b*tches that be hatinโ€™ on you. Pop you a pill, call up your b*tches, have โ€˜em waitinโ€™ on you. Go to the club, have you some fun, make that ass bounce. Itโ€™s whatever, just make it count.โ€

10) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œLOVE.โ€ (FEAT. ZACARI.)
Lamar turns the lights down over a contemporary R&B love song, produced by Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, Greg Kurstin, Sounwave, and Teddy Walton. The theme of love and lust continues, but this time, into a more unchartered direction. Zacariโ€™s melodic cadence compliments Kung Fu Kennyโ€™s intimate love-lyrics to the love of his life, probably his fiancรฉ Whitney Alford, Lamarโ€™s high school sweetheart.

11) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œXXX.โ€ (FEAT. U2.)
Lamar gets political over an NWA-type track produced By Bฤ“kon, Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, DJ Dahi, Sounwave, and Mike WiLL Made-It. The theme is America and the plight and strife of young African-American males trying to make ends meet. Lamar talks about a man who calls him, needing prayer and advice because his son had been murdered. He wants to know what to do and seeks advice from Lamar because heโ€™s anointed.

But Lamar doesnโ€™t sugarcoat his advice. He tells the man straight up, โ€œIf somebody kills my son, that means somebodyโ€™s gettinโ€™ killed.โ€ Then, Lamar goes on to tell the man how he would go about doing the killing. America is an eye-for-an-eye nation, and forgiveness is hardly practiced.

12) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œFEAR.โ€
Lamar deeps dig into his soul to confront his fears. He does so over a conversation track produced by The Alchemist. Lamar uses Deuteronomy 28:28 to make sense of his damnation, where the title track derived from. โ€œThe Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heartโ€ฆ,โ€ states the biblical commandment. Lamar reasons that YAH cursed the Israelites (so-called Blacks, Hispanics, and Native American Indians) because of their iniquity. So, that explains their conditions in the wilderness of North America.

Pride
So, Lamarโ€™s fear of lose it all like the biblical character forced him or scared him to not spend a dime. Not because he is cheap, but because he didnโ€™t want to spend money because he feared running out of money, and going back to Section 8. Lamar raps, โ€œ30 shows a month and I still wonโ€™t buy me no Lexus.โ€ Not a lot of people can say this.

13) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œGOD.โ€
Lamar talks about the success that he doesnโ€™t want to lose. He compares it to what it was like when he didnโ€™t have fame and fortune. Even though he chooses faith over riches, heโ€™s still feeling good laughing to the bank like aha. Over a laid-back track produced by Bฤ“kon, Anthony โ€œTop Dawgโ€ Tiffith, Cardo, Sounwave, Ricci Riera, and DJ Dahi, Lamar tells listeners, โ€œDonโ€™t judge me,โ€ because this is what God feels like. Matthew 7:1 states,

14) Kendrick Lamar โ€“ โ€œDUCKWORTH.โ€
Lamar uses his last name, Duckworth, as a song to explain the relationship between his father, Ducky, and Anthony Tiffith, CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment. Lamar explained if Tiffith had killed Ducky, then he would be serving life, and Lamar wouldโ€™ve grown up without a father. And there would have been no Top Dawg Entertainment, and probably no Kendrick Lamar.