The Characters of good kid, m.a.a.d city
Within Kendrick Lamar’s album good kid m.a.a.d city plot and character are two elements of drama that play a large part in developing the album’s immersive story. The plot develops the problems or conflicts that characters face while the character details the individuals that motivate the plot events. Because the plot depends on the character, these elements are often developed in the same instances. This is very evident in GKMC as new characters are either introduced or many characters are present during major plot points.
Three tracks in the album introduce characters who provide plot motivations: “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter,” “The Art of Peer Pressure,” and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” In the first track of the album Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter Kendrick, Sherane, Kendrick’s parents, and the two black-hooded men are introduced to the listener. As these characters are introduced so are motivations that make them relevant to the story’s plot. The song opens with Kendrick meeting Sherane, his love interest throughout the events of GKMC. Then we are given progress on the relationship between the two teens while learning about Sherane’s family. The song finishes with Kendrick running into the two black-hooded men as he pulls up in his mom’s van to meet Sherane. There is not much detail about the hooded men besides their attire however this interaction between them and Kendrick is revisited later in the album. The characteristics and motivations that this song establishes for Sherane’s character are that she and Kendrick are a mutual love interest, and she has a cousin who is infamous for a history of gang activity. As for the hooded men, we can assume that since they seemed to be waiting for Kendrick in front of Sherane’s place and Sherane’s cousin has gang ties, they also are gang affiliates. The track closes with an outro of Kendrick’s parents leaving him a message on the phone. Kendrick’s mom is asking where he is since he promised to be back home within fifteen minutes, and she has somewhere to be while his dad simply wants to know where his dominoes are. The motivations the track establishes for Kendrick's parents are his mother’s need for the car and his dad’s need for his dominoes. These motivations are relevant to the plot as they provide a sense of urgency in that Kendrick’s parents expected him to be home and so far, he is running late.
In “The Art of Peer Pressure” we are introduced to Kendrick’s friends, referred to as “the homies.” The song portrays the role of peer pressure in Kendrick’s relationship with his friends. As characters, the homies represent the energy and mentality of the mad city which Kendrick struggles with throughout the album. In terms of their relevance to the plot, the homies motivate Kendrick to do things he normally would not do such as robbing houses and drinking or smoking excessively. During the events of the song, we see these influences manifest in the plot as Kendrick and his homies rob a house they had been watching for some time. The influence of the homies on Kendrick’s decisions also manifests later in the plot of the album’s story. In the ninth track of the album “Swimming Pools (Drank)” one of the homies dies from a shootout and we learn his name was Dave.
The final track that introduces plot-motivating characters is “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” In this song, Kendrick interacts with three new characters who influence Kendrick to change his motivations. The first interaction Kendrick has is with Dave’s older brother who calls and thanks him for being with Dave as he died during a shootout that took place in track nine. Dave’s brother expresses anger at Dave’s death and how he may be fated to fade away as a result of the mad city mentality and his desire for revenge. Dave’s passing and Kendrick’s conversation with the older brother are part of what helps Kendrick change his motivations from adhering to the mad city mentality and lifestyle to wanting better for himself and pursuing that. The second character Kendrick interacts with is not named but is known to be the sister of a woman named Keisha who Kendrick referenced in his album Section.80. Keisha’s sister speaks to Kendrick about him talking about Keisha in an older song. Keisha was a sex worker and although Kendrick’s goal in rapping about her was to speak about her unfortunate circumstances Keisha’s sister did not perceive the song that way. Being a sex worker herself, Keisha’s sister feels a disconnect from Kendrick because she believes he could not live the life she has lived. For Kendrick, Keisha’s sister rejecting his attempt to share Keisha’s story is another symptom of living in the mad city. Much like Dave’s older brother Keisha’s sister may be able to see the value Kendrick’s help could bring but she is bound by the tendencies and mindset the mad city forces her to have. Seeing this, Kendrick is again motivated to shift away from the lifestyle and mentality living in the mad city requires.
These two conversations and their effect on Kendrick result in his desire to change his life. We see this desire for change realize itself during the introduction of the third new character. In the outro of “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” Kendrick’s neighbor runs into him and his friends. She sees that they are distressed and vengeful as one of Kendrick’s friends holds a gun. This interaction is relatively soon after Dave’s death, so the experience is fresh in their minds. The elderly neighbor’s role is short, but she urges Kendrick and his friends to receive God back into their lives. This is a pivotal part of GKMC’s plot and is marked by the Elderly woman’s presence as a motivator for Kendrick to make a change in his life.
The plot and character elements of drama help develop GKMC’s immersive story. Introducing characters as motivations for the plot creates a more engaging story. Each character seems to push the story's events in a unique direction, bringing life to their role in the plot. While the three songs “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter,” “The Art of Peer Pressure,” and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” introduce characters to the story and present some of their motivations, there is more to how they directly influence Kendricks life during GKMC. In the future, I will explore the plot of GKMC to clearly show each character's role in pushing the story forward.
