Who Shot Ya
Kendrick Lamar Lyrics

Heard a conversation when my father
I overheard my father talking to his friend Tony at a domino table.

Young nigga hopping out, busting like 4 charters
A young man is jumping out of a car, shooting aggressively like he has four guns.

Popping pills, mixing Galen then shermin some holy water
He is taking drugs and mixing them with other substances, even adding holy water into the mix.

Sell it to a priest, he probably can get it off tomorrow
He is selling his drugs to a priest who can probably easily resell them.

It's wicked when my favorite uncle kick it
It's terrible when my favorite uncle passes away.

Fiends tryina kick the addiction to sucking class dicks
Drug addicts are trying to overcome their addiction, like my uncle who sucked men for drugs.

Vivid image is gonna get any fantasy you can fathom
My mind can create any image I can think of - even the darkest, most disturbing ones.

Phantoms ain't the only thing that's suicidal
Not only ghosts, but people too can be suicidal.

Open the doorway to a soul, hit the hallways
If you open up and connect with someone's soul, you can navigate through all their struggles and emotions.

Then hit the closet, you see a rifle aiming at your arteries
But sometimes when you dig deep, you find something dangerous, like a gun pointed at your arteries.

Part of me, parts of me a psycho
I admit that some parts of me are a bit crazy.

And retrospect, my respect was a power ranger I know
Looking back, my admiration for someone was like my love for the Power Rangers as a kid.

Tumbling backwards into a karate kicking high note
I recall tumbling back and doing a karate kick while singing a high note.

My innocence really eventually see a endurance surrendering
As I got older, my innocence slowly gave up and surrendered.

... save the genesis heard it all from my bunk bed, yeah hustling
Even as a child laying on my bunk bed, I was exposed to hustling and illegal activities.

Something my papa said that caught my attention
Something my father said captured my interest.

His eyes red, he smoking on marijuana,
My dad's eyes were red because he was smoking marijuana.

Mixing the 2 11, he said, I'm 7, going on 67
He mixed alcohol with 2 11 (a malt liquor) and joked that he felt like a 67-year-old man, despite only being 7.

The day I turn 17 is the day that a lesson inside my lifetime
When I turn 17, I know an important lesson will be learned during my lifetime.

Come across the close line, every stick my co sign
Whenever I cross the line, every step I take has risks with consequences I'm willing to accept.

Everything in the streets got the power to make me go blind
The streets have so much power that they can corrupt me and make me blind to the truth.

Even if he sat me down in the sun, he gave me those eyes
Even if someone showed me the truth, I might still be blinded to it.

Comprehending well and I can smell the soberness
I can sense when people are sober and think clearly.

Evaporating by itself
The feeling of sobriety can fade away on its own.

He said Tony, my biggest fear is to hear Kendrick disappear
My father's biggest fear is to hear that I have gone missing or died.

In the fire out here and I didn't help
He worries that if something happens to me, he will not have done enough to prevent it.

So if I could give him the game that hide the pain and decisions
So he wants to teach me some tips and tricks to cope with pain and make better decisions in life.

In life, so we can go further that the streets and remain to be on the honor roll
So I can surpass the streets and maintain steady success in my life.

Scarify my life even if that shit my mama don't
He's willing to take risks and give up his life, even if it goes against his mother's wishes.

Till the day he carry bout the big 6, domino
He will keep playing dominoes until the day he dies.

Back pack raps, with gats in it
My raps are in my backpack, but so are my guns.

Don't get your cap peeled by the black menace
Don't get shot by me, the dangerous black man.

K dot therobread, move like a militant, soldier
I move like a militant soldier, under my nickname K-dot therobread.

On point like a paramed,
I'm precise and quick, like a paramedic.

Forced to be wrecking with, with the best shit
I can't help but be amazing and the best at what I do.

Like the strongest manure, I'm ready when you are
I'm like the best fertilizer, always ready to work and help whatever I'm applied to grow.

This is it, I'm in the lab cooking up all day
This is my job, I'm in the studio crafting music all day long.

F' them up all day, like a nympho, I've been dope since S crow way
I can keep rapping all day and never get tired, like someone with a sexual addiction. I've been amazing at rapping since a young age.

Tryina convince hoes I got good hair, knowing damn well it's chemical there
I'm trying to convince women that I have good hair, but I know it's just chemicals added.

I'm in the hood with the 17 year olds, that's on hood patrols
I'm hanging out with young people in the hood who are on neighborhood watch duty.

And they want stripes so they shoot off bikes and you know
These young people want to prove themselves, so they shoot people riding bikes.

Any moment you can loose your life, so kiss your kids and hug your life
Life is unpredictable, you can die at any moment. So make sure to say goodbye to loved ones every day.

Or not you, I spawn with a dragon
If you don't believe me, you can fight me. (In Chinese tradition, dragons were believed to be linked to power and strength.)

He tried to throw us flame, but I ducked then I stabbed him
He tried to attack me, but I dodged his attack and fought back, killing him.

Came out the battle laughing, that's a metaphor for any rapper who want it
I came out victorious and laughing, which can serve as a metaphor for any rapper who wants to take me on.

I smack them till they nose is running
I hit them so hard that they're nose starts bleeding.

You know the hoes is coming if I'm there
Women will come around if I'm there, ready to party.

And the hoes coming, once we hit that hotel
As soon as we go to a hotel, women will show up.

And there's no assumption, cool out before I move out
I won't assume things, but let's relax before leaving.

I pull a 1.05 and do about 1.05 before your ass get thrown out
I'll get high on a particular drug and take my time before leaving.

The back seat, there's a dead guy on the freeway
In the back seat of a car, there's a dead man on the freeway.

Oh, he's not dead, tell the medics it's okay
Oh, he's actually still alive - let the medical professionals know so they can take care of him.

A beast when the beat breaks, you probably think I'm dope
When the music starts, I am amazing and you probably think the same.

Like it's the realest shit I broke
Like it's the most genuine thing I have ever said in a song.

But to me it's a doorway, I stare at them 4 walls
To me, music is an entrance to escape from my mundane life.

And rap like I'm at guard
I'm rapping as if I'm guarding something, like a security guard.

Life's enough, I throw a spirit, nah it's the...
Life is tough, but I express my spirit and emotions through my music.

Matter fact no, I take that back
Actually, let me change my previous thought.

See I don't play with real legends in rap, like you do
I don't mess around with true icons in rap music like you.

And I'm crucial, can real... and they shoot... get the boom.
And I am essential, I can handle and trigger serious situations.

Good kid, mad city
This expression refers to the harsh reality of growing up in a rough city, as a young boy becomes a man through struggle.