Kendrick Lamar, also known as Kung Fu Kenny, released his fourth studio album D*mn on April 14, 2017. Somewhat of a departure from his previous projects, D*mn no longer carries the heavy jazz instrumentations from To Pimp a Butterfly. Instead, Kung Fu Kenny's latest release, is a potent mixture of dark, hopeless beats on tracks like, "YAH," "PRIDE," and "LUST," hardcore rap bangers like "DNA," "HUMBLE" and "XXX," and more pop-influenced radio-ready hits, such as "ELEMENT," "LOYALTY," and "LOVE." Each of these tracks deliver deep dives into Lamar's darkest corners of his psyche, showing his current attitude towards the world and his peers. On 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, Lamar strove to elevate and flaunt the skill of prominent black artists, the album being a declaration of his pride as an African American. It explored topics of loving yourself, social injustices, and black empowerment. On D*mn, Lamar changes his viewpoint. He is fed up with the lack of creativity from his contemporaries, and the repetitive nature of rap music in this generation, even delivering this bar, "Last LP I tried to lift the black artists, but there's a difference between black artists and whack artists."
While Lamar is eager to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans, he is also quick to discredit lazy rappers and people only involved for the money or the fame. The album is drawn to a close with the track "DUCKWORTH." The final track on the album tells the story of Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Lamar's record owner and friend, who many years ago, almost killed Lamar's father, Ducky, as he robbed a Kentucky Fried Chicken where the latter worked in the drive-thru. The track details how, "If Anthony killed Ducky, Top Dawg could be servin' life, while I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight." If the entire album is taken from the perspective of a young Kendrick Lamar who grew up without his father, and instead of turning to music, turned to a life of violence and gang activity, eventually dying in a gunfight, the darker, angrier tone throughout the album makes sense. Even on Lamar's more commercially approachable projects, he still manages to tell deep, cohesive stories between the lightning-fast bars, brilliant production, and snappy one-liners.