Alright

Alright lyrics meaning by Kendrick Lamar

The Black Lives Matter movement was just getting going when Kendrick Lamar released "Alright" in the spring of 2015.

The song, which was a jazzy political protest as well as a declaration of wrath and hope in the face of persecution, quickly joined that movement. On his seminal album To Pimp a Butterfly, "Alright" stood out, but it has only grown more popular with time.

There was a lot going on, and there is still a lot going on, according to Lamar. "I wanted to take a more upbeat, yet aggressive approach. Having that "We strong" mentality but not playing the victim, you know? The spirit of "we strong" is at the core of "Alright."

"Alright" received four nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Music Video.

Lamar claimed in an interview with MTV News that he got the idea for "Alright" while touring South Africa and seeing the difficulties that the people there faced: "their struggle was ten times harder."

The track begins with the words "Alls my life, I had to fight" from Alice Walker's The Colour Purple. Lucy is a character that Lamar introduces in "Alright" and who is pivotal to the storyline of the entire album.

As Lamar grows, Lucy also does, according to the song's lyrics: "ain't a profit big enough to feed you." Lamar talks about having suicide thoughts while staying in a hotel room at the song's conclusion. "I didn't want to destroy myself... The evils about Lucy were all around me.

Alright lyrics by Kendrick Lamar

[Kendrick Lamar:]

Alls my life, I has to fight, nigga

Alls my life, I—

Hard times like, "Yah!"

Bad trips like, "Yah!"

Nazareth

I'm fucked up, homie, you fucked up

But if God got us, then we gon' be alright

[Pharrell Williams:]

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

We gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Huh? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

[Kendrick Lamar:]

Uh, and when I wake up

I recognize you're looking at me for the pay cut

But homicide be looking at you from the face down

What MAC-11 even boom with the bass down?

Schemin', and let me tell you 'bout my life

Painkillers only put me in the twilight

Where pretty pussy and Benjamin is the highlight

Now tell my mamma I love her, but this what I like, Lord knows

Twenty of 'em in my Chevy, tell 'em all to come and get me

Reaping everything I sow, so my karma coming heavy

No preliminary hearings on my record

I'm a motherfucking gangster in silence for the record, uh

Tell the world I know it's too late

Boys and girls, I think I've gone cray

Drown inside my vices all day

Won't you please believe when I say

Wouldn't you know

We been hurt, been down before

Nigga, when our pride was low

Lookin' at the world like, "Where do we go?"

Nigga, and we hate po-po

Wanna kill us dead in the street for sure

Nigga, I'm at the preacher's door

My knees gettin' weak, and my gun might blow

But we gon' be alright

[Pharrell Williams:]

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

We gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Huh? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

[Kendrick Lamar:]

What you want you, a house? You, a car?

Forty acres and a mule? A piano, a guitar?

Anything, see my name is Lucy, I'm your dog

Motherfucker, you can live at the mall

I can see the evil, I can tell it, I know it's illegal

I don't think about it, I deposit every other zero

Thinking of my partner, put the candy, paint it on the Regal

Digging in my pocket, ain't a profit big enough to feed you

Every day my logic get another dollar just to keep you

In the presence of your chico, ah!

I don't talk about it, be about it, every day I sequel

If I got it then you know you got it, Heaven, I can reach you

Pat Dawg, Pat Dawg, Pat Dawg, my dog, that's all

Bick back and Chad, I trap the bag for y'all

I rap, I black on track so rest assured

My rights, my wrongs; I write 'til I'm right with God

Wouldn't you know

We been hurt, been down before

Nigga, when our pride was low

Lookin' at the world like, "Where do we go?"

Nigga, and we hate po-po

Wanna kill us dead in the street for sure

Nigga, I'm at the preacher's door

My knees gettin' weak, and my gun might blow

But we gon' be alright

[Pharrell Williams:]

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

We gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Huh? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

[Kendrick Lamar & Thundercat:]

I keep my head up high

I cross my heart and hope to die

Lovin' me is complicated

Too afraid of a lot of changes

I'm alright, and you're a favorite

Dark nights in my prayers

[Kendrick Lamar:]

I remembered you was conflicted

Misusing your influence, sometimes I did the same

Abusing my power, full of resentment

Resentment that turned into a deep depression

Found myself screamin' in the hotel room

I didn't wanna self-destruct

The evils of Lucy was all around me

So I went runnin' for answersken