reincarnated

Kendrick Lamar

Que reflejan tu mirada
La noche, tú y yo

I got this fire burnin in me from within
Concentrated thoughts on who I used to be
I m sheddin skin
Every day, a new version of me
a third of me demented, cemented in pain
Juggling opposing kinds of fame
I don t know how to make friends, I m a lonely soul
I recollect this isolation, I was four years old
Truth be told, I ve been battling my soul
Tryna navigate the real and fake
Cynical about the judgement day
I did bad, slight progression
last year and it fucked me up
Reincarnated on this earth for a hundred plus
Body after body, lesson after lesson
let s take it back to Michigan in 1947
My father kicked me out the house
cause I wouldn t listen to him
I didn t care about his influence
only loved what I was doing
Gifted as a musician, I played guitar on the grand level
The most talented where I m from, but I had to rebel
And so I m off in the sunset
searchin for my place in the world
With my guitar up on my hip, that s the story unfurled
I found myself with a pocket full of money
and a whole lot of respect
While the record business loved me
I was head of rhythm and blues
The women that fell to they feet
so many to choose
But I manipulated power as I lied to the masses
Died with my money
gluttony was too attractive, reincarnated

Another life had placed me
as a Black woman in the Chitlin Circuit
Seductive vocalist as the promoter hit the curtains
My voice was angelic, straight from heaven
the crowd sobbed
A musical genius what the articles emphasized
Had everything I wanted, but I couldn t escape addiction
Heroin needles had me in fetal position, restricted
Turned on my family, I went wherever cameras be
Cocaine, no private planes for my insanity
Self-indulged, discipline never been my sentiments
I needed drugs
to me, an 8-ball was like penicillin
Fuck love
my happiness was in that brown sugar
Sex and melodies gave me hope
when nobody s lookin
My first assistant
was a small town scholar
Never did a Quaalude til I got myself around her
My daddy looked the other way, he saw sin in me
I died with syringes pinched in me, reincarnated

My present life is Kendrick Lamar
A rapper looking at the lyrics to keep you in awe
The only factor I respected was raisin the bar
My instincts sent material straight to the charts, huh
My father kicked me out the house, I finally forgive him
I m old enough to understand the way I was livin
Ego and pride had me looking at him with resentment
I close my eyes, hoping that I don t come off contentious
I m yelling, Father, did I finally get it right?
Everything I did was selfless
I spoke freely
when the people needed me, I helped them
I didn t gloat, even told em, No
when the vultures came
Took control of my fleshly body when the money changed
Son, you do well, but your heart is closed
I can tell residue that linger
from your past creates a cell
Father, I m not perfect, I got urges, but I hold them down
But your pride has to die, okay, Father, show me how
Tell me every deed that you done and what you do it for
I kept one hundred institutions paid
Okay, tell me more
I put one hundred hoods on one stage
Okay, tell me more
I m tryna push peace in L. A
But you love war
No, I don t
Oh, yes, you do
Okay, then tell me the truth
Every individual is only a version of you
How can they forgive
when there s no forgiveness in your heart?
I could tell you where I m going
I could tell you who you are
You fell out of Heaven cause you was anxious
Didn t like authority, only searched to be heinous
Isaiah fourteen was the only thing that was prevalent
My greatest music director was you
It was colors, it was pinks, it was reds, it was blues
It was harmony and motion
I sent you down to earth cause you was broken
Rehabilitation, not psychosis
But now we here now
Centuries you manipulated man with music
Embodied you as superstars to see how you moving
You came a long way
from garnishing evilish views
And all I ever wanted from you was love and approval
I learned a lot
no more putting these people in fear
The more that word is diminished, the more it s not real
The more light that I can capture, the more I can feel
I m using words for inspiration as an idea
So can you promise
that you won t take your gifts for granted?
I promise that I ll use my gifts to bring understanding
For every man, woman and child, how much can you vow?
I vow my life just to live one in harmony now
You crushed a lot of people keeping
their thoughts in captivity
And I m ashamed that I ever created that enemy
Then let s rejoice where we at
I rewrote the devil s story just
to take our power back, carnated