[Intro: excerpt from interview with Dash Snow]
I'll tell you what I don't believe in, can I do that?
Alright, I don't believe in the, in laws, or the system by any means, whatsoever
I try not to obey them at any time
That's what I believe in, not believing in
(So what keeps you alive?)
Four big bottles of water a day, two packs of Marlboro Reds and
uh, what keeps me alive? Shit, um
Music, I have to listen to music all day long
I say that keeps me going
I'm a pretty dark person, I've thought about ending it a million times
and I have to say that music keeps me here, by far, the main thing
[Kendrick Lamar]
Thank you
Sitting in the studio thinking about which mood would go
right now, freestyle or write down, whatever
And still I come up clever, I just need to free my thoughts
and Lord knows that I know better, but I ain't perfect
I ain't seen too many churches or know them testament verses
You should either hear me now or go deaf
or end up dead, die trying and know death
Might end up dead, swallow blood, swallow my breath
Fuck a funeral, just make sure you pay my music respect nigga
I mean that from the bottom of my heart
You see my art is all I have, and victory tastes sweet
even when the enemy can throw salt
Still knock 'em out the park like a fucking tow car
Let bygones be bygones, but where I'm from
we buy guns and more guns to give to the young
I'm living the life of a nigga trapped nigga
inside the system, all you envision is trap niggas
My uncle doing life inside prison, he wasn't wrapped too tight
He told me rap about life, not rap, niggas
That's why I'm shaking my head when you rap dissing
My stomach start turning, my nerves get to twitching
I start evaluating, then my final intuition
is that you wishing a come up, would just come up
We used to beefing over turf, fuck beefing over a verse
Niggas dying, motherfuck a double entendre
And this is Compton, lions in the land of the triumph
Wrap Saran our defiance, ban our alliance
Put burners in the hands of the black man
One hood with twenty fo'-fo's like a cloned Kobe Bryant
You probably heard I wanna be heard and wonder who I am
You probably even listen to "Faith" and think I know Zion
But really I'm just caught in the loop of understanding the truth
because it seem like it's always clashing with science
I got a big fear of flying
My future so bright I'd probably go blind before I blink twice, I ain't lying
I swear to God half of y'all just don't know Kendrick
The school of hard knocks, we was the first ones in attendance
You walking down the block, he got shot, you wouldn't know I witnessed
You just mind your bidness
You just turn your head, kneel down, and then tie your tennises
It's kinda scary ain't it
You can't act like no bitch, that only got Tyler Perry famous
Just let me explain this, why you pick up that stainless?
Cause your pops wasn't anxious to see you when you hated him
so much, you probably had your burner tucked in graduation
Said if you see him on them bleachers then you kill him, facing
twenty-five to life with a murder charge
Your enemies was the prey, and now you pray to God
I pray these bars get farther than Compton
And if my record never break I still won't break my promise, I promise to keep it honest
Secret society, all we ask is trust
and all we lack is communication like service sucks
The people scared of annihilation when Kingdom Come
And I'm like, the Kendrick Lamar O.D. in less than a month
Alright? Gotta keep it pushing
Can't let the government tell me how my future looking
I'm on Rosecrans & Central trying to duck the central bookings
If the fucking pigs get behind me then you know I'm bucking, never will I surrender
I've been a warrior when I came out of my mom's placenta
In the gutter lane like I'm Master Splinter
How splendid, I guess my project had did it
Got all these niggas approaching their mixtapes different
They said seven tracks, I said fifteen
Called it an EP, they said I'm tripping
But little did they know, I'm tryna change the rules
that we've been confined to, so the corporate won't make decisions
Uppity bitches, handling bidness
Killing our dreams, stealing our vision
Out in Haiti adolescents barely have a home
In L.A. everybody think they fucking on
Hop on Twitter, perpetrate, we doing big shit
Who we hanging with, and bragging about the iPhone
I swear to God, most y'all cats just don't know Kendrick
You barely know yourself, so I guess most of y'all should be offended
Ain't doing this for my health, I'm just trying to purchase my momma them businesses
Occupy my time with riches, justify my time, ambition's
just to coincide, just to go inside, books we idolize while we living
Look the mastermind, took the master's mind, just the perfect time, just to mastermind
Just to master grind with precision, look the mastermind, took the... [coughs]
[Outro]
We would like to call this an appreciation tape
for those who recognized the Kendrick Lamar EP
For this is the Kendrick Lamar O.D.
Because of you, we are Overly Dedicated