POV of For Free? (Interlude)

In preparation for the POV power paragraph tomorrow, I thought I would take a second and analyze POV in a song. Yes, I guess this basically turned into a music blog where I desperately try to relate something in music to class. It looks like there’ll be a lot of stretches this year yikes. Anyways, the song in question I’m looking at is “For Free? (Interlude)” from To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. Before you start reading this, go listen to “For Free? (Interlude) and appreciate that C minor scale from that saxophone, it’s gorgeous and bright. And the sustained C minor chord where the drums begin to move the beat along, wow! I may have chosen this song because I think everyone should appreciate the production (I’m looking at you Nate, I will make you relisten to Kendrick)

    “For Free? (Interlude)” is primarily in 1st Person Subjective, though each of the characters utilizes many instances of “you” and “me”, seemingly talking both to the audience and the other character. The audience becomes Kendrick while the girl is talking and the girl when Kendrick is talking. This shift in perspective for the audience engages the audience, allowing the listeners to constantly feel as the subject of the conversation and pay close attention to Kendrick’s words. Direct discourse is used to help Kendrick keep his flow and as the beat quickens, so do his words, cutting out in shorter and shorter sentences before erupting at the end. By looking at Kendrick and the girl’s view rather than an omniscient or 2nd person view, the audience hears the struggle and pressure weighing Kendrick down as an artist. Kendrick delivers much of his content in the style of a rant, cutting the edges of his rhythms with harsh endings, adding a sense of frustration and disbelief towards his words. On the other hand, the girl’s tone is much more annoyed and angry, repeatedly emphasizing “You” and “I” in order to draw a contrast between Kendrick and the girl as she belittles him. Through To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick describes the multitude of pressures that the record industries place on artists, acting as the middle man and profiting off of their success, similarly to how pimps profit off of sex workers. Kendrick’s words in “For Free? (Interlude)” seem almost accusatory, pointing a finger towards the record industries who have profited off of so many African Americans that many poor black Americans dream of signing a contract deal, blind to the fact that these contracts often trap and hurt the artists that sign them. And as the piece finally reaches its climax, Kendrick personifies America as a woman, revealing that the girl speaking in the beginning was America. Fittingly, the audience (who is probably primarily American) is the primary target of Kendrick’s words. As we hear the song in the view of America and Kendrick, we hear two accusatory points of view, each blaming each other for their own problems and issues, though it’s clear that one is being exploited while the other is the exploiter.   

This was so much harder than I expected but I wrote too much so I couldn’t consider starting over. :(