Kendrick Lamar – The Blacker the Berry Lyrics

Released via Empire star Taraji P. Henson’s twitter, this comes the day after Kendrick won Best Rap Song & Performance for “i” at the 2015 Grammy Awards. The song shares the name and ideals of Wallace Thurman’s novel The Blacker the Berry and has drawn comparisons to 2Pac’s “Keep Ya Head Up.” Kendrick mentioned these ideals in his Billboard cover story.

TDE co-president Terrence “Punch” Henderson tweeted an image of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. side by side.

[Intro: Kendrick Lamar & Lalah Hathaway]
Everything black, I don’t want black (They want us to bow)
I want everything black, I ain’t need black (Down to our knees)
Some white, some Black, I ain’t mean black (And pray to the God)
I want everything black (We don’t believe)
Everything black, want all things black
I don’t need black, want everything black
Don’t need black, our eyes ain’t black
I own black, own everything black

[Bridge: Kendrick Lamar]
Six in the morn’
Fire in the street
Burn, baby, burn (You, you, you, you, you)
That’s all I wanna see (You, you, you, you, you)
And sometimes I get off watchin’ you die in vain
It’s such a shame, they may call me crazy
They may say I suffer from schizophrenia or somethin’
But homie, you made me (You, you, you, you, you)
Black don’t crack, my nigga
[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]
I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean
Been feelin’ this way since I was sixteen, came to my senses
You never liked us anyway, fuck your friendship, I meant it
I’m African-American, I’m African, I’m black as the moon
Heritage of a small village, pardon my residence
Came from the bottom of mankind
My hair is nappy, my dick is big, my nose is round and wide
You hate me, don’t you?
You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture
You’re fuckin’ evil
I want you to recognize that I’m a proud monkey
You vandalize my perception but can’t take style from me
And this is more than confession
I mean I might press the button just so you know my discretion
I’m guardin’ my feelings, I know that you feel it
You sabotage my community, makin’ a killin’
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga

[Pre-Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot

[Chorus: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah’ me Black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah’ we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah’ we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars ‘pon me back
But now we have a big whip parked ‘pon the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah’ we Black
Remember this, every race start from the block, jus ‘member dat

[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar]
I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean
I mean, it’s evident that I’m irrelevant to society
That’s what you’re tellin’ me, penitentiary would only hire me
Curse me ’til I’m dead, church me with your fake prophesizing
That I’ma be just another slave in my head
Institutionalized manipulation and lies
Reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes
You hate me, don’t you?
I know you hate me just as much as you hate yourself
Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt
Watchin’ me as I pull up, fill up my tank, then peel out
Muscle cars like pull-ups, show you what these big wheels ’bout, ah
Black and successful, this black man meant to be special
Katzkins on my radar, bitch, how can I help you?
How can I tell you I’m making a killin’?
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga

[Pre-Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot

[Chorus: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah’ me Black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah’ we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah’ we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars ‘pon me back
But now we have a big whip parked ‘pon the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah’ we Black
Remember this, every race start from the block, jus ‘member dat

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]
I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015
When I finish this, if you listen, then sure you will agree
This plot is bigger than me, it’s generational hatred
It’s genocism, it’s grimy, little justification
I’m African-American, I’m African
I’m Black as the heart of a fuckin’ Aryan
I’m Black as the name of Tyrone and Darius, excuse my French
But fuck you — no, fuck y’all, that’s as blunt as it gets
I know you hate me, don’t you?
You hate my people, I can tell ’cause it’s threats when I see you
I can tell ’cause your ways deceitful
Know I can tell because you in love with that Desert Eagle
Thinkin’ maliciously, he get a chain then you gon’ bleed him
It’s funny how Zulu and Xhosa might go to war
Two tribal armies that wanna build and destroy
Remind me of these Compton Crip gangs that live next door
Beefin’ with Pirus, only death settle the score
So don’t matter how much I say I like to preach with the Panthers
Or tell Georgia State “Marcus Garvey got all the answers”
Or try to celebrate February like it’s my B-Day
Or eat watermelon, chicken, and Kool-Aid on weekdays
Or jump high enough to get Michael Jordan endorsements
Or watch BET ’cause urban support is important
So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street
When gang-banging make me kill a nigga blacker than me?
Hypocrite!

[Instrumental Outro]