What Is The Song How Much A Dollar Really Cost?

A Butterfly’s Influence

“How much a dollar really cost?”(Lamar 0.23) a question asked by Kendrick Lamar in his song of just that name “How much a dollar cost”. It poses the question of how much a dollar is worth to each individual person, the answer to this question will likely be influenced by a person’s upbringing and outlook on life. Some people might respond with something along the lines of a pack of gum, others might say, “Not much you can have it.” The album which the song comes from, To Pimp A Butterfly, involves the expression of a multitude of different concepts. This question is a great way to think about how someone's upbringing directs them towards who they become. The reasons behind this are: one's environment shaping who they

That concept is the exact personification of an environment trying to shape someone. The second half of the quote discusses how Lamar is trying to get rid of the walls by knocking them down, a metaphor for the ways his actions are getting rid of bad influences. However, he also mentions how it feels like they’re closing in, which in this context is pursuing the idea that people and areas don’t want to change. So when he tries to change them he gets influenced by closer “walls” telling him what to do. Furthermore in the closing song for To PImp A Butterfly, “Mortal Man,” Lamar sings, “Let these words be your earth and moon / You consume every message / As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression,” (Lamar 0:35). This quote has a slightly different feeling to it than the last one, it feels as if Lamar is now taking advantage of the “walls” which he refers to in the first quote. The reason behind this is that he’s telling his audience to listen to him and take his words as their earth and moon. He then justifies it by explaining that people consume whatever they hear regardless of intention. That notion parallels the premise of environment influencing a person because he’s explaining in his music the way that someone will listen and blindly follow the beliefs of others without thinking for themselves. This environment could be considered many things, whether it be what people see on social media, what people tell each other, or even where someone