Andrew Ferruzza

Karlianne Seri

WRT 102.72

27 February 18

Kendrick Lamar, “How Much a Dollar Cost”: The Definition of Compassion

Kendrick Lamar made quite a name for himself in 2013 when he released his major label debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. The album was unanimously praised by critics for its production, songwriting, and Kendrick’s catchy yet thought-provoking style. However, the acclaim wouldn’t end here. Fast forward two years and America has increasingly become more racially, sexually, and morally seperated. Events such as the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Ferguson County riots were inspiring protesters everywhere to fight for change. These callings were also reaching musicians as well, of all genres and races. In looking at Kendrick’s second major-label album, To Pimp a Butterfly, it is important to keep in mind that these issues are exactly where he is drawing most of his lyrics from. Kendrick has put himself out in the spotlight at this point in his career. He has shook the hand of success, and he has seen how it destroyed other artists in his realm. On track eleven of this album, “How Much a Dollar Cost,” Kendrick recites an anecdote on his account of a homeless beggar. His control of rhetorical strategies such as foreshadowing, repetition, and imagery forces the listeners to rewind the song and hope to truly understand his message about human compassion, selfishness, and greed.

“How much a dollar really cost?” Kendrick asks us in the first line. Already we are placed in Kendrick’s position. We are asked to ask ourselves a question that cannot literally be answered. We are rhetorically asked to think as Kendrick insists, “The question is detrimental, paralyzin’ my thoughts.”  The setting is also established in the first few lines, and it is very crucial to the message. Kendrick recites this story from a gas station, which means he is pumping his own gas, in his own car, like any “average” person. He is putting himself down to our level, and not where he could easily stand with all of the fame and money he has accumulated.

Shortly after establishing the setting, Kendrick walks out of the gas station and spots a “homeless man with semi-tan complexion, asking for ten rand [ten rand is about one U.S. dollar].” Foreshadowing is an important strategy used in this story, and it all comes from what the homeless man says back to Kendrick. “…stressin’ about dry land, deep water, powder blue skies that crack open.”  Later on in the story, the homeless man asks Kendrick, “have you ever opened Exodus 14? A humble man is all we ever need.” Exodus 14 is a chapter in the Book of Exodus from the Bible. It is the story of when Moses parted the Red Sea, which explains the dry land the man is speaking about. He also claims earlier, “My son, temptation is one thing that I’ve defeated,” which is a Biblical reference to Jesus Christ. So the reader already gets the idea that there is something different about this homeless person, and the Biblical references should start to become pretty clear. He isn’t just asking Kendrick for money, but he is testing him. Finally, in the last verse, the homeless man reveals himself to be the Son of God, and that his whole act was precisely a test of Kendrick’s character, in which Kendrick failed. With this foreshadowing, the reader eventually understands that the beggar was testing Kendrick all along, and he only hinted at it. This is exactly what is making us rewind the song again, paying closer attention to the lyrics the second time around.

While foreshadowing plays a great role in developing the beggar’s character, repetition does the same for Kendrick. As the song progresses, particularly in verse two, Kendrick becomes increasingly aware that the beggar isn’t just asking him for a dollar, or a “piece of crack that he wanted…” The constant repetition of “He’s starin’ at me” shows the listener Kendrick is dwelling on more thoughts. He is witnessing all the life that is below him, but there’s something about this particular man that keeps pulling him back. “He’s starin at me in disbelief…He’s starin at me, his eyes followed me with no laser…he’s starin at me, I noticed that his stare is contagious” Kendrick notes, as he admits to the listener — the human inside him wants to give in to this man. He knows it would be the right thing to do, but his selfishness controls him yet again, and he still refuses. Kendrick does not know that this man is in fact God.

Perhaps the most important use of repetition is featured at the end of all verses when Kendrick insistently asks, “Tell me how much a dollar cost.” By asking this question, we can uncover the Kendrick’s conflicting thoughts even further, as he ponders why he should have to give this man a dollar.

As mentioned with the setting, another rhetorical strategy Kendrick uses is imagery, and he uses it in a way to paint a picture of his encounter at the gas station. He wants us to put ourselves in his position in this exact moment. He writes very specific features of this station, mentioning the “indigenous African” man at the counter and his parked “luxury car” which showcases the poor gas station clerk vs. Kendrick’s luxury. We get a sense of how he is physically and emotionally feeling while talking to the homeless man when he explains things like “my temper is buildin’… feelin’ some type of disrespect…” and “If I could throw a bat at him, it’d be aimin’ at his neck.”  There is even some olfactory imagery mixed in when Kendrick gets closer to the man, “I smell Grandpa’s old medicine reekin’ from your skin, Moonshine and gin.” All these descriptions are meant to put us in this exact situation and make us answer for ourselves if we would honestly give this man what he wants. Kendrick admits that his “…selfishness is what got me here, who the fuck I’m kiddin’” but he also admits that these “Sour emotions got me looking at the universe different.” Again, we get the sense that Kendrick is conflicted in this particular scenario. It’s essentially a story about seeing how other people live, some living outside of a gas station, or some working inside the gas station just to get by. These are things that we don’t usually notice on a daily basis, especially for someone like Kendrick who doesn’t have to see this side of the human race much at all. Which is why it is important to recognize why he has written this album, and why in this scene, he denied this certain man a dollar. It is because he is supposed to represent us here. When we know that we are not being tested, and we think we know everything about a certain someone just by the way we look (Kendrick thought the beggar was a crack addict), that is exactly when we are wrong.

When the homeless man comes out to Kendrick as Jesus, he says “I’ll tell you just how much a dollar cost, the price of having a spot in heaven, embrace your loss…” And here, the repeated question is finally answered. Kendrick’s genuine confusion and betrayal of his own thoughts and morals is just a part meant to represent the human race as a whole. What he is ultimately saying here is that when we make it to the top, we’ve never really made it to the top. Sure, everyone wants to be successful, purchase the “luxury car” of their dreams, and be able to say that they made it. But what not everyone realizes is that we are all tested in some way. Putting religion aside, you may not be tested by a God or Gods, but maybe by someone who might think nothing of. Here, the Son of God is portrayed as a homeless man to Jesus, because why would Kendrick Lamar want to give a dollar to a homeless man, after his album just went multi-platinum? There is a reason why he explains so many things about the gas station like how it looks, how it smells, and what he sees; to put us in his exact position. To drop the listener right into this specific setting and give them a sense of what it’s like to be tested at his level. Through Kendrick’s brilliant storytelling and effective use of these rhetorical strategies, he is able to make us, the human race, remember the meaning of empathy, and selflessness above all.

Sources

Kendrick Lamar, “How Much a Dollar Cost,” To Pimp a Butterfly, Interscope, 2015.