Lamar starts by rhyming about his circumstances. "I come from a generation of pain, where murder is minor / Rebellious and Margielas'll chip you for designer," he raps. "Desensitized, I vandalized pain / Covered up and camouflaged / Get used to hearin' arsenal rain." Lamar has often touched on life growing up in Compton, CA, and the violence he encountered during his youth. The remainder of his first verse opens up a dialogue for listeners to relate to the feeling of numbness to everyday community violence. "I done seen n*ggas do 17, hit the halfway house / Get out and get his brains blown out, lookin' to buy some weed / Car wash is played out, new GoFundMe accounts'll proceed / A brand-new victim'll shatter those dreams, the culture," he continues.
