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Kendrick Lamar · S1 E2
Chicago to Compton
His parents fled Chicago's South Side for California. The gangs followed
Chicago, 1984. Kenny Duckworth loads a car on the South Side with everything he owns, Paula Oliver in the passenger seat, and drives 2,000 miles west toward a cousin's apartment in Compton.
Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna, LOYALTY. What does it mean to stay loyal when your family, your block, and your survival all pull in different directions? That is the question Kenny and Paula carried from Chicago to Compton.
South Side Blood
Kenny grew up on Chicago's South Side, deep in Gangster Disciples territory. He wasn't watching from the sidelines. By the time he left for California, the street life was part of him, and Compton's gangs would recognize that the minute he arrived.
“When you have a father in your life, you do something, he'll look at you and say, 'What the fuck is you doing?' Putting you in your place. Making you feel this small. That was a privilege for me.”
— Kendrick Lamar
South Side, Chicago
Where Kenny Duckworth and Paula Oliver grew up before driving west. The same South Side that produced Kanye West, Common, and Chief Keef.
TAP TO REVEAL: Why did Kenny and Paula pick Compton specifically?
LOYALTY. ft. Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar (2017)
On the surface, LOYALTY. sounds like a love song. Underneath, it's a meditation on competing allegiances: to your partner, your family, your block, your past. DJ Dahi's production is deceptively smooth, while Rihanna's hook turns the word "loyalty" into something that sounds like a prayer and a threat at the same time.
Chicago to Compton: The Migration
Which Chicago gang was Kenny Duckworth affiliated with before moving to Compton?
Growing Apart (To Get Closer), Kendrick Lamar ft. Jhené Aiko (2010)
From Overly Dedicated (2010). The title captures exactly what Kenny and Paula did: left everything behind in Chicago to start over 2,000 miles away. Jhené Aiko's vocals float over a melancholy beat as Kendrick raps about the distance required to become who you're supposed to be. Growing apart from the old life to get closer to the new one.
Kenny and Paula settle into Compton, surrounded by family and surrounded by gangs. But one afternoon in 1995, their eight-year-old son sees something from his father's shoulders that rewires his brain forever. Next: Tupac, Dr. Dre, a music video shoot, and the moment Kendrick decides what he wants to be.
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