Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, who performs as Kendrick Lamar, was born in Compton, California, on June 17, 1987. After writing stories as a child, he put to music some lyrics about the rough Compton streets he grew up on. He rapped under the name K-Dot, releasing a series of increasingly popular mix tapes, which brought him to the attention of hip-hop super-producer Dr. Dre. Lamar's debut major-label recording, good kid, m.A.A.d City, was released to great acclaim and impressive sales for an up-and-coming recording artist. He continued to receive accolades for his 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly, and his 2017 follow-up, DAMN.; both won Grammys for Best Rap Album, while DAMN. also made history as the first of its genre to earn a Pulitzer Prize.
The song "u" by Kendrick Lamar is a part of a unique pattern found in a few of Lamar's albums. Kendrick Lamar, often, finds himself placing two songs titled antonyms of one another, mimicking the way their themes work. "u" is the opposite of the song "i", which emphasizes the value of self-appreciation. "u" on the other hand showcases Kendrick Lamar's self-deprication, from a an extremely rough, broken past.
For the album "DAMN", the “wicked or weakness” and it has a major role in the album conceptually. Kendrick implores his listeners to determine whether his lifestyle and actions are a sign of either wickedness or weakness. Also notice how every other track is rooted in his wickedness, meanwhile the every other track is rooted in his weakness. For instance: BLOOD., YAH., FEEL., PRIDE., LUST., XXX., GOD. are songs on the album in which he reveals his weaknesses. On the other hand, every other track aside from those are DNA., ELEMENT., LOYALTY., HUMBLE., LOVE., FEAR., DUCKWORTH., which are songs rooted in his wickedness. If you play the album from track 1 to 14, Kendrick dies from a gunshot on DUCKWORTH., because of his wickedness. As a result of Top Dawg shooting his father in the outcome of the story of DUCKWORTH., he would grow up without a father and probably die young in a gunfight, presumably over something drug or gang related. If you play the album from 14 to 1, Kendrick dies from a gunshot on BLOOD, because of his weakness. The blind woman in BLOOD represents the consequences of disobeying God, which will result in death, which happens in this case because of Kendrick’s wicked lifestyle. No matter if you play the album from 1 to 14, or 14 to 1, Kendrick will die nonetheless. Kendrick gives the listeners the chance to choose if he dies from his wickedness or his weakness.