#phonemes

Lamar mainly uses open vowels in the opening bars of HUMBLE. The open, and rounded nature of the vowel pulls the listener along with the music, until this tension is cut with the closed ɪs phonemes. For example, ‘some counterfits, now I’m countin’ this.’ Open vowels are so called because the mouth, and throat are at their most open. The /a/ phoneme is an open vowel, which is followed by a fronted plosive /t/ in ‘counterfits.’ The fronted plosive acts as percussion. Krims (2000), defined flow in three ways: sung, percussion-effusive, and speech-effusive. Percussion-effusive is, basically, using particularly consonants, but the mouth more broadly, as a percussive instrument. The main way most rappers flow is in a speech-effusive style. In terms of the internal rhymes in Humble, it is a similar technique to what Edgar Allan Poe was doing in The Raven. Lamar is using internal rhymes, and percussive-effusive flow to create the pace of the rap. These rhymes line up with the percussion, thus further emphasising it.

One other place percussion-effusive flow is seen is with the line ‘D’ussé with my boo bae, tastes like Kool-Aid for the analysts.’ /d/, /b/, /t/, /k/, and /α/, all act as plosives, creating an internal beat within the line. D’ussé is a high-end French cognac, backed by Jay-Z. This is juxtaposed with Kool-Aid, which is an affordable drink mix. For Lamar, and his ‘boo bae’, the cognac is an expensive, and luxurious drink. However for the ‘analysts’, whether that be financial analysts, or analysts of his music, and success, it tastes like Kool-Aid. For those who are already rich, the more expensive things in life are not luxuries, but, rather, day-to-day items. There is no reverence, or thought put towards possessing expensive things. Perhaps this is who Lamar is telling to be humble, those who already possess wealth. For those who have made it, who have reached success off of their own hard work, some flaunting is okay. However, for those who have possessed wealth all their life, they are the ones who should be humble. There is another layer to the Kool-Aid line. In 1978, the Jonestown Massacre occurred. 909 people, including 304 children, either suicided, or were murdered by cult leader Jim Jones, and other members of the People’s Temple. This event led to the, frankly, offensive, and insensitive phrase “drink the Kool-Aid.” This essentially means that one passively accepts a certain belief system, or ideology. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” of rap, and hip-hop music may mean to accept that bragging, and flaunting wealth is part of what makes a rap artist. However, Lamar is refuting that by encouraging people to do the opposite.

There is also the use of sibilance in Humble that very effectively draws in the next part of the line. Lamar says that he remembers ‘syrup sandwiches, and crime allowances’, and that there is a ‘soprano C’. Sibilance is the repetition of the /s/ sound, which is a voiceless fricative. In paralinguistic terms, it is typically used to get someone’s attention. We can see this through colloquialisms such as ‘shh,’ or ‘psst.’  It also slows down the text, making the reader pay more attention that way. Here, Lamar is pushing us to pay attention to ‘syrup sandwiches, and crime allowances.’ Syrup sandwiches are bread with syrup on it, a staple of a poverty food diet. It was also referenced on a Nas track, No Introduction. This is then, through the sibilance, coupled with the crime allowances. Crime, and the money earnt from it, is tied to poverty. Low-income is one of the biggest drivers of crime, not because those living in poverty are inherently criminal, but because desperate people will do desperate things. This focus on poverty then contrasts the grand aesthetics of the music video. Conspicuous consumption is the buying, and displaying of things that look/ are expensive. It is quite common among the nuevo riche (new money), especially in the Black American community. This is exemplified excellent in the music video for Ape Shit, The Carters. Displaying wealth is proof that you have made it. All of the wealth seen in the Humble music video, however, is undercut by the songs didactic message of maintaining grace, and modesty in the face of success.

Lamar is known to play with the down beat to create an interesting rhythm, as seen in To Pimp a Butterfly. Hip-hop is mainly in the metre of 4/4 time, this is four beats per bar. Typically, the first beat, the 1, is obvious, however in Alright this is not the case. This creates a restrained feeling that is later released with the chorus, ‘We gon’ be alright.’ The downbeat is on beat 4, with little emphasis to create a bouncy feeling without getting in the way of the lyrics. The half-time backbeat, with the snare being on beat 3, and 7 adds to this. The key chord progression slides down a semi-tone from Abm9 to Gm9. This, all together, gives the song a strong sense of arrival. The sense of arrival is further emphasised with the /ɹ/ in the word, ‘alright.’ Originally, Pharrell pronounced the phrase, ‘we gon’ be alright’ in a Louisiana accent: ‘we gon-be al-ight,’ however, Lamar pushed him to further annunciate the phrase to make the sounds clearer. This added to the sense of arrival captured in the music, as the /ɹ/ phoneme was emphasised as the music kicked in. The strong chorus is one of the best things about the song, and what makes it so iconic. In 2020, it was used as a protest chant to demonstrate, and support Black joy in the face of overwhelming oppression.

The beginning of verse 2 opens: ‘What you want you, a house? You, a car?/ Forty acres, and a mule? A piano, a guitar?/ Anything, see my name is Lucy, I’m your dog/ Motherfucker, you can live at the mall.’ Lamar uses a series of open vowels here in rapid succession to bring the listener with him. The words in bold are these open vowels. These let the music step back from being percussive, as we are suspended for these few lines with the song. Then the percussive-effusive flow, and percussion in the music kick in, making it hit the listener harder. This gives the song more weight, and impact then it might have possessed otherwise. Alright is a hard hitting song because of the unity between the flow, and the music.