“Reincarnated” and Generational Vice

Ever since the King James Version of the Bible translated Ezekiel 28:13 as “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering… the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created,” modern Christian tradition has characterized Lucifer as heaven’s greatest musician before his turn to become the Evil One. 

The antithesis of God having incredible musical talents adds implications to how we perceive music. The view is reminiscent of Plato’s emphasis on regulating art in his Republic, saying, “rhythm and harmony penetrate the inner part of the soul more than anything else, affecting it most strongly,” (401e). 

If music can truly touch our souls more effectively than any lesson can, then it only makes sense to believe that the forces of heaven and hell utilize music to persuade our souls to move in either direction.

This context is where Kendrick Lamar starts his song, “Reincarnated,” the sixth track of the artist’s surprise new album GNX. Coming off a Super Bowl halftime invitation and a monumental diss track back-and-forth with fellow superstar Drake, Kendrick uses GNX to showcase his lyrical prowess. 

Although the album lacks the strong overarching narratives Kendrick has become known for, “Reincarnated” may be Kendrick’s best standalone story, weaving Kendrick’s artistic struggles with a theological one. 

Sound-wise, the reincarnation refers to 2Pac, to whom the delivery and sampling belong. Kendrick has introduced the concept in past albums, but the song seems to juxtapose Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle,” where Drake uses an AI 2pac voice to mock Kendrick and imitate Pac’s mannerisms. 

Despite Kendrick throwing direct responses in his diss tracks, this song gives the most proper response. Instead of utilizing AI to impersonate the artist, Kendrick uses the aforementioned means as a way to pay homage to 2Pac’s unique lyricism.

The true reincarnation Kendrick refers to is far more sinister. Kendrick sees himself as yet another artist possessed by the vices that caused Heaven’s musician to turn towards evil. He starts the hell imagery early with references to both the fire and the snake: “I got this fire burning in me from within, concentrated thoughts on who I used to be, I’m shedding skin.” 

Lamar imagines Lucifer not as someone who resides in hell but instead as a spirit banished to roam the earth by his Father, finding hosts to overtake so that eternity passes quicker. A different host is described in each verse, yet they all share a passion and talent for music. 

At each reincarnation, a new lesson is learned, indicated both in the song’s introduction and by the length of each verse growing longer. Similarly, this calls to mind how people, exposed and tempted to sin, evolve with our society despite the vices remaining the same throughout time.

The first two verses give the perspectives of two separate mid-20th century artists whom Kendrick believes were inhabited. The overlap in their earthly lives implies that we are all prone to the inclinations of the demonic. Lucifer is not exclusive to one person at a time, but Kendrick is trying to look towards other artists who have come before and struggled with the same sins. 

The verses found differences in their lives, but what was more prevalent were the striking cross-references. First, the two artists expressed resentment towards their parents, a sin that seems to be directly paralleling Lucifer’s revolt against God the Father. Just as the prince of darkness sought personal power, these artists fed into temptations of seeking the highs of drugs and sex as a way to indulge in the pleasures that fame makes readily available. Unlike the evil spirit, the two die from their vices as the devil lives on, seeking, “someone to devour,” (1 Peter 5:8).

The story turns to Kendrick, who, despite being next in the devil’s chain of musical victims, rights his wrongs through his awareness of the cycle he is at risk of participating in. “My father kicked me out of the house, I finally forgive him…Took control of my fleshly body when the money changed.” 

Kendrick then turns to his father and asks if he finally broke the cycle. His use of “father” is intentionally vague because he is not speaking just to his biological father, but the father of every person before, dating all the way back to the Heavenly Father of the devil. 

God replies that while Kendrick has done a good job, His “heart is closed…your past creates a cell.” Kendrick gets defensive and cites his good deeds as evidence to justify his stance. Lamar is known for the lengths he has gone to for the sake of authentically breaking the cycle of violence and poverty in his area. Two events he refers to in his song were his most recent efforts.

This past summer, Lamar donated to 20 Los Angeles-based charities, totaling to a sum of $200,000. On Juneteenth in particular, Kendrick headlined a concert in LA’s Kia Forum, where he showcased other LA-based artists and even united rival gang members on stage to promote peace and unity through music. 

Both would seem to promote virtue by means of music. But God sees through the facade. He points towards Kendrick’s contradictory promotion of peace yet spending a whole year leading the character assassination of Drake. God asks Kendrick “How can [others] forgive when there’s no forgiveness in your heart,” and then begins to reveal the purpose of the devil’s reincarnation within the plan of salvation. 

God tells Kendrick that Lucifer fell out of heaven due to a rebellion against divine authority, which applies to the long history of musical figures’ revolt against the norms of the time. The banishment to earth and the proceeding reincarnations were meant to rehabilitate Lucifer into the great angel he was always meant to be. 

Each reincarnation is an opportunity for Lucifer to return to heaven, yet each time the same results occur: The artists, with their immense talents, rejected their earthly fathers and became superstars who manipulated the masses with their morally lax messages and pleasure-seeking lives. 

The difference between Kendrick and the past artists, though, is that Kendrick is still alive and able to correct his ways. 

In response, Kendrick, on behalf of his past lives, tells God, “All I wanted from you was love and approval,” which calls to mind Blaise Pascal’s insight that, “[man] tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself,” (Pensées 148). 

For the musical artist, he seeks love and approval from their fans, colleagues, and awards, but can never be satisfied because all three are finite goods. While the devil’s reincarnation in this story could indicate growth, it can also reflect the world’s longstanding tendency to discover new ways to attempt to replicate God’s goods through creation. 

God should be seen as the primary option to which we offer up our love, glory, and even shortcomings, yet frequently we only resort to Him when every other option has been exhausted. Kendrick ends the song with shame that he has participated in “keeping [people’s] thoughts in captivity,” but also with the optimism that his awareness will allow him to free himself from the devil’s reigns.

Kendrick’s theological meditation clarifies that artists’ success is not indicative of their piety. More often than not, the most successful are the ones most tormented by demons. Still, music’s power to manipulate, captivate, and influence others will inevitably draw the common folk to worship the artist and live by whatever false truths they proclaim. 

Beyond music, Lamar’s song calls us to look inwardly at the generational vice in our hearts. This can be familial, specific to our surroundings, or found in the predecessors in our occupation. By reflecting on all three, we can find the sins and temptations that we will likely face. 

We may not be able to be reincarnated, but we can be reinvigorated by the light of Christ. By allowing Him into our hearts, we are filled with the True Light instead of the bearer of false light. We can start a line of generational virtue through the lives we live now. It is up to us to rewrite the devil’s story by staying with our Father and leading others to Heaven’s trumpets.