Today’s Song of the Day is LUST by Kendrick Lamar.

Kendrick Lamar has certainly cemented his place as one of the greatest rappers of this generation with hits like “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”, “Poetic Justice”, “King Kunta”and “Alright.” I discovered this song on the critically acclaimed 2017 album DAMN and was immediately intrigued by the timelessness and thoughtfulness of the song.

LUST maintains a tempo that immediately establishes self-reflection, that of a human heartbeat. What caught my attention from the first time listened to this song was the fact that it reminded me a lot of an OutKast song circa Aquemini and sounded a lot like something that might have been masterminded by Andre 3000 in the late 1990s. The lyrics and tone of the song progress from being generally introspective toward growing much more existential in nature.

The song begins with the repeated sound of heart beat and the first words are: I need some water, something came over me. Way too hot to simmer down, might as well overheat. These lyrics show the imperative nature of basic human need that gradually grow into a list of things both men and women feel the desire to do daily. Lamar is no stranger to discussing politics in his music, a fact that is evident in the following lyrics:

We all woke up, tryna tune to the daily news

Lookin’ for confirmation, hopin’ election wasn’t true

All of us worried, all of us buried in our feelings deep

          LUST by Kendrick Lamar

This reconciles the previous lyrics and the desire projected in the chorus for sexual contact to deal with fear from external events in the world, primarily the recent U.S. Presidential Election. This provides a fascinating structure to the song that gives the listener a general feeling of introspectiveness. Written by Lamar himself along with Dacoury Natche and Mark Spears to name a few, LUST proves yet again that Lamar is a master not only with putting out songs that boast a phenomenal and unique sound but also with generating insightful and thought-provoking lyrics that hook fans in time and time again.

In conclusion, LUST, much like the rest of DAMN is a unique song that tells a story, allowing the listener to learn more about Kendrick Lamar on a far more emotional level than with his previous albums. This is a song you need on your playlist, primarily for those hot summer nights when you need to get away from everything that stresses you. It is a song one can easily be lost in.

LUST by Kendrick Lamar can be found on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, and Apple Music.