Andrew Ferruzza – January 29th, 2018.
For my rhetorical analysis paper, I have chosen the song “How Much a Dollar Cost” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly.
This track was most definitely written about the selfishness and greed that successful and more fortunate people have. At the time, songwriter Kendrick Lamar had already made his way into the mainstream with his previous studio album, Good Kid, M.a.a.d City. He started to see all the money and fame circling around him, and he decided to write about it. The song tells a story about a narrator (presumably Lamar), who owns a “luxury car” and much wealth, denying a beggar a dollar because he thinks he is going to use it to buy drugs. Later in the song, Lamar reveals that this beggar was Jesus Christ (God) himself, and he presented himself as a beggar to teach Lamar the importance of selflessness. Lesson learned, Lamar lost his “spot” in Heaven, in which he apologizes about in the final chorus. He uses many rhetorical strategies to get his point across, which is why I find this song a clear representation of good writing. I have also chosen this song because I believe it has an important theme that we should all be aware of. Of course, we all want to make it to the top and be successful… but what happens when we do become wealthy, and have lots of money? Do we forget about the people on the bottom? Even if they are the son of God, or a person who is trying to test your character?
On a side note — you don’t need to be religious to find meaning in this song. Kendrick Lamar uses Jesus as the beggar because he is trying to show how people aren’t always what they look like on the outside. Its about who they are on the inside. Someone as poor as a beggar could be a rich man from their heart.
Here is the song:
