Kendrick Lamar – The Blacker the Berry Lyrics

The Blacker the Berry

Kendrick Lamar

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"The Blacker the Berry." - Kendrick Lamar

Sunday, 25 October 2026, 07:39 pm

Album: To Pimp a Butterfly

Track No: 13

Everything black, I don't want black
They want us to bow
I want everything black, I ain't need black
Down to our knees
Some white, some black, I ain't mean black
And pray to the God
I want everything black
He don't believe
Black, I want all things black
I don't need black, I want everything black
Don't need black, our own eyes ain't black
I own black, I own everything black
Six in the morn', fire in the street
Burn, baby, burn, that's all I wanna see (You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you)
And sometimes I get off watchin' you die in vain
It's such a shame, they may call me crazy
They may say I suffer from schizophrenia or somethin'
But homie, you made me (You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you)
Black don't crack
I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean
Been feeling this way since I was sixteen, came to my senses
You never liked us anyway, **** your friendship, I meant it
I'm African-American, I'm African
I'm black as the moon, heritage of a small village, pardon my residence
Came from the bottom of mankind
My hair is nappy, my **** is big, my nose is round and wide
You hate me, don't you?
You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture
You're **** evil, I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey
You vandalize my perception but can't take style from me
And this is more than confession
I mean I might press the button just so you know my discretion
I'm guardin' my feelings, I know that you feel it
You sabotage my community, makin' a killin'
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real ****
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot
I said they treat me like a slave cah me Black
Woi, we feel whole heap of pain cah we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains cah we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip left scars pon me back?
But now we have a big whip parked pon the block
All them a say we doomed from the start cah we Black
Remember this, every race start from the Black, jus 'member dat
I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean
I mean, it's evident that I'm irrelevant to society
That's what you're telling me, penitentiary would only hire me
Curse me till I'm dead
Church me with your fake prophesizing that I'ma be just another slave in my head
Institutionalized manipulation and lies
Reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes, you hate me, don't you?
I know you hate me just as much as you hate yourself
Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt
Watchin' me as I pull up, fill up my tank, then peel out
Muscle cars like pull ups, show you what these big wheels 'bout, ah
Black and successful, this Black man meant to be special
CAT scans on my radar, ****, how can I help you?
How can I tell you I'm makin' a killin'?
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real ****
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot
I said they treat me like a slave cah me Black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain cah we Black
And man a say they put me inna chains cah we Black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip left scars pon me back?
But now we have a big whip parked pon the block
All them a say we doomed from the start cah we Black
Remember this, every race start from the Black, jus 'member dat
I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
When I finish this, if you listen, then sure you will agree
This plot is bigger than me, it's generational hatred
It's genocism, it's grimy, little justification
I'm African-American, I'm African
I'm black as the heart of a **** Aryan
I'm Black as the name of Tyrone and Darius
Excuse my French but **** you, no, **** y'all
That's as blunt as it gets, I know you hate me, don't you?
You hate my people, I can tell 'cause it's threats when I see you
I can tell 'cause your ways deceitful
Know I can tell because you're in love with that Desert Eagle
Thinkin' maliciously, he get a chain, then you gone bleed him
It's funny how Zulu and Xhosa might go to war
Two tribal armies that want to build and destroy
Remind me of these Compton Crip gangs that live next door
Beefin' with Pirus, only death settle the score
So don't matter how much I say I like to preach with the Panthers
Or tell Georgia State "Marcus Garvey got all the answers"
Or try to celebrate February like it's my B-day
Or eat watermelon, chicken, and Kool-Aid on weekdays
Or jump high enough to get Michael Jordan endorsements
Or watch BET 'cause urban support is important
So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street
When gang banging make me kill a **** blacker than me?
Hypocrite!

Writer(s): Kendrick Lamar, Matthew Jehu Samuels, Stephen Kozmeniuk, Ken Lewis, Brent Kolatalo, J. Campbell, A. Izquierdo & Z. Epstein.

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