Confirmed by his recent Coachella headline,
Kendrick Lamar has solidified his place as the rapper most synonymous with Southern California hip-hop. And from the early days of Section.80 to his recent release of DAMN., Kendrick has never been shy about showing love to his hometown, Compton—both philanthropically and lyrically.
While the artist claims everyone wants to visit Los Angeles for three reasons (women, weed and weather), his lyrics prove that there's more to SoCal than the three W's. We listened sharply to each of his albums for shoutouts to specific places in his city.
What more can I say? Welcome to Kendrick's LA—broken down by album, song and lyrical reference.
DAMN.
Tam's Burgers
Song: “Element”
Lyrics: “I be hangin' out at Tam's, I be on Stockton”
Context: "Everybody loves In-N-Out, but it's a very clean-cut burger. Tam's is street-sloppy burgers and shakes. It's a chain, but it's still hood." -Kendrick Lamar (
via Complex)
Nickerson Gardens
Song: “Duckworth”
Lyrics: “See, once upon a time inside the Nickerson Garden projects The object was to process and digest poverty's dialect”
Context: This song is about how Top Dawg Entertainment label founder Anthony Tiffith robbed and almost killed Lamar’s father (“Ducky”) at a KFC. Tiffith is from the Nickerson Gardens Project. So, too, is TDE labelmate Jay Rock. The label now does a
free concert and toy giveaway at Nickerson Gardens every Christmas.
Compton Fashion Center (closed 2015)
Song: “Wesley’s Theory”
Lyrics: “Imma put the Compton swap meet by the White House”
Context: "I've been going to the swap meet my whole life. As a kid, that's where I used to get all my cassettes, all my CDs. My pops, too—he'd buy music. I'd get my Nikes there. You might see Suge Knight, other folks from Compton." -Kendrick Lamar (via Complex)
Compton, Los Angeles
Song: “King Kunta”
Lyrics: “Stuck a flag in my city, everybody's screamin' ‘Compton!’ I should probably run for mayor when I'm done, to be honest”
Context: Last February,
Kendrick Lamar was given a key to the city of Compton at the
Compton Civic Center Plaza. He was also the third grand marshal of the Compton Christmas Parade. He has met former POTUS Barack Obama and could consider a career in local politics one day.
Kendrick receives the key to Compton. Image courtesy of @andrewrites
Compton Unified School District
Song: “Momma”
Lyrics:“I know you know that line's for Compton School District Just give it to the kids, don’t gossip about how it was distributed”
Context: Lamar donated a lot of money to the school district, but did not want that in the media for reasons explained in the song above. He also talked more about it in an interview with VICE’s Noisey website; to watch him discuss it, click HERE
good kid, m.A.A.d city
S Central Ave & El Segundo Blvd
Song: “Sherane”
Lyrics:“I met her at this house party on El Segundo and Central”
"Where you stay?" she said: "Down the street from Manuel Dominguez High School" Okay, I know that's borderline Compton or Paramount "Well is it Compton?"
“No,” she replied
“So now I'm down Rosecrans in a caravan Passing Alameda, my gas meter in need of a pump”
Context: El Segundo and Central is near where Lamar attended Centennial High School. Dr. Dre and DJ Quik also went to Centennial High School. So, too, did Arron Afflalo, who went to UCLA and now plays in the NBA. MC Ren (NWA rap star), Richard Sherman (NFL Super Bowl champion), and Tyson Chandler (NBA player) all went to Dominguez High, the other school mentioned on this song. He said Centennial High School is an integral inspiration for GKMC.
Church's Chicken
Song: “Backstreet Freestyle”
Lyrics:“Park it in front of Lueders, next to that Church's Chicken”
Context: Also referenced on "Money Trees", Church’s Chicken is in the heart of Compton near Lueders Park and signifies the tastes he grew up on.
Gonzales Park
Song: “The Art of Peer Pressure”
Lyrics: “Basketball shorts with the Gonzales Park odor”
Context: Kendrick has said he wanted to be a basketball player but never grew to be tall enough. This is the park nearest his childhood home.
Louis Burgers
Song: “Money Trees”
Lyrics: “That Louis Burger never be the same”
Context: Kendrick raps on his project Overly Dedicated that his uncle was killed at Louis Burger, which is why the idea of “living life like rappers do” was a challenge for him to fully embrace.
Piru Street
Song: “m.A.A.d. city”
Lyrics: “If Pirus and Crips all got along They'd probably gun me down By the end of this song”
Context: The Piru Street Family is a gang alliance formed in Compton and it’s known as the original “Bloods” street gang. Kendrick Lamar is from West Side Compton, near Piru Street.
Food 4 Less
Song: “Real”
Lyrics: “Look, the neighbors say they seen you and your little friends over there by Food 4 Less and they was preaching to you over there telling you about the good book because right about now that's what ya'll need.”
Context: According to this story, Food 4 Less (as well as Gonzales Park and various other places Kendrick Lamar references) is very close to the house he grew up in.
Section.80
Lueders Park
Song: “Keisha’s Song (Her Pain)”
Lyrics: “See a block away from Lueders Park, I seen the El Camino parked”
Context:"This place had one of the biggest pools. Every day of the summer, I'd go swim there. When I was younger, the Mayor paid for a free year of swimming for all the kids, so I stayed close." (
via Complex)
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Bryan Kalbrosky is a writer and editor born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received his journalism degree from the University of Oregon and has published with FOX Sports, USA TODAY, Huffington Post and various other publications. Follow him on Twitter @BryanKalbrosky for more of his thoughts and stories.
Header image courtesy of Kevin Winter/ Getty Images