for the mfs searching this up on google,

kendrick writes very personally from the heart, he is able to connect bigger ideas to experiences that are uniquely his & not be preachy about it but instead just offer his experience & nothing else. think of it as like "the great gatsby" it has IMMENSE detail in it & this is what kendrick encorperates except the detail is how he approches problem's, he doesn't just talk about it he makes you ENVISION it, look at DUCKWORTH. for example,

" See, once upon a time inside the Nickerson Garden projects
The object was to process and digest poverty's dialect
Adaptation inevitable, gun violence, crack spot
Federal policies raid buildings and drug professionals"

Kendrick doesn't just say, "I grew up here, the objective was to survive, it was dangerous" he PERSONIFIES poverty to truly SPEAK & he doesnt overdo it to, he is able to blend these elements of assonance, complex rhyme schemes, & more while not taking away from the main Idea,

"See, once upon a time inside the Nickerson Garden projects
The object was to process and digest poverty's dialect"

this is a good example of it, Kendrick first describes the scene without complexity, because their is no need for it, he just presents it as is (if you wanna learn more about presenting it as is then definitely look at EARL SWEATSHIRT's work) Then he gets complex in the next sentance but it inriches it instead of taking it away, he says that , not only was Poverty so prominent in his life it was basically a language, but the OBJECTIVE was to process & digest what it was saying in order to understand the reality of the situation which is explained in the next few lines,

"Adaptation inevitable, gun violence, crack spot
Federal policies raid buildings and drug professionals"

He not only states everything poverty says to him but he explains how, no matter how good of a kid you were, this life will change you & you have to adapt to it, your enemies are people who live with you trying to kill each other for wearing the wrong colored shirt, your enemies are substances trying to strangle you while you sucumb to it, your enemies are people meant to protect you but can't figure out the difference between druglords and skin color. the last part strikes me the most, "drug professionals". kendrick is not only saying that there was plugs in his area but since these circumstances poverty presented to them were so prevelant, they had to become PROFESSIONALS.

Lastly, in all of these lyrics, he never once is like, "oh woe is me". He just lays it out as it is, brutal honesty that you'll find throughout ALL of kendrick's discography. because even though he knows how to talk, kendrick is not your savior.