Kendrick Lamar uses symbols throughout his 2017 album DAMN. in many songs and a multitude of ways. A writer for Esquire magazine commented on how through this album “Kendrick ambitiously grapples with his and our damnation, and yet he doesn't leave us to linger in purgatory. He wants to deliver us.” (Weathersby). By utilizing this symbol of religion, Lamar can communicate many messages to readers through something a large majority of people understand. Catholicism is the religion Lamar references in this album and it is a part of many people's lives which helps them to understand his ideas. Lamar develops the symbol of religion in his album DAMN. by comparing himself to God, utilizing biblical references, and speaking about his relationship …show more content…
Lamar often writes about how in times of trouble he searches for God’s presence in his life. His religion is a symbol of his struggles and coping mechanisms when it comes to facing the realities of this world he lives in. “YAH.” is a song that is about Lamar finding God in the times he needs him most. In these lines, he is listing bad behaviour from his life but then interrupting each line with the word ‘yah’ which represents how he is trying to let God in amongst all of these sins in his life: I know he walks the Earth But it’s money to get, bitches to hit, yah Zeros to flip, temptation is, yah First on my list, I can’t resist, yah (Lamar 1:40) By showcasing his relationship with God it develops the symbol of religion as a coping mechanism. It is a vessel for the part of his life that is his relationship with God and demonstrates to readers how he copes with negativity through God. Since Lamar lives in such a negative world he has a hard time trusting others, but he trusts God. This is heard in “LOYALTY.” when he asks the audience questions about the lengths they are willing to go to for others before saying that God is whom they should do those things for: I said, tell me who you loyal to Is it anybody that you would die for? Anybody you would slide for? Anybody you would die for? That’s what God …show more content…
With these, he demonstrates his immense knowledge of Catholicism and despite presenting the idea that he does not belong to one religion he religiously references the Bible to get his point across. In “YAH.”, he speaks about the book of Deuteronomy and how it says we are all cursed, “My cousin called, my cousin Carl Duckworth / Said know my worth / And Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed” (Lamar 1:32), this passage in the Bible is speaking about how Adam and Eve cursed the Earth with sin. This is important to his message because it shows how we have all been cursed with sin and have yet to find a way to peace. Using this biblical reference develops the symbol of religion is impactful because it showcases his knowledge on the subject and how his message has been preached for centuries. He alludes to other biblical events not just by name but also through metaphors. This can be seen in the song “XXX.”, “Throw a steak off the yacht / To a pool full of sharks, he’ll take it” (Lamar 0:25), here he is alluding to the story of Noah’s arc. Following his reference to a story in the Bible when humans first sin, this allusion references when humans first asked for forgiveness. This is significant because the symbol of religion in this album is developed through these biblical references and he uses them to convey a message to the reader. Lamar’s references develop from speaking about why we as