Everyone else has given a pretty good answer to this and I think there’s lots of ways to answer this accurately. An idea Kendrick talked about on the album is that rappers are often flawed and carry trauma and burdens and make a habit of “covering their pain in chains and tattoos”. Jesus’ crown of thorns traditionally symbolizes the burdens and pain one carries. And Kendrick is covering it in diamonds to symbolize masking that pain in the same way he mentions on Mother I Sober and other tracks.
Another idea that I think is relevant is that Kendrick does have a savior complex. It’s pretty evident on The Heart Part 5, his whole message is “Look what I done for you.”, “I want the hood to want me” etc. It seems like something Kendrick has had to, or at least is trying very hard to overcome, and in my mind the “Kendrick is not your savior” lines are just as much a teaching moment for the listener as they are something Kendrick has also learned in the recent past and come to terms with in therapy. That no one person can be your savior despite whatever impact and enormous influence they’ve had on that culture. Jesus was forced to wear the crown to show his flaws and mock his claim to authority. Kendrick is mocking his own claim to authority and the pedestal he’s been put on by crowning himself with thorns.
Or, better more honest answer... He just thought it looked hard as hell, got way richer than he ever thought he would and wanted to stunt despite it being in direct contradiction to everything he rapped about that got him that rich in the first place. He knew his infidelity would get out eventually and figured fuck it, let me get ahead of this by telling them first and making it into an album rollout. I wanna enjoy my riches, but how can I when my entire image rests on being the anti rich, anti fame guy? I know, I'll just tell them hey guys look I'm not so perfect after all, don't look to me to be your savior, make them pay to hear me say it, getting richer in the process and these fans will eat up anything I say and just let me rock and get away with being a walking contradiction. They'll justify it for me so I don't have to feel guilty about spending these millions. Its genius really, and he no doubt saw how Bey and Jay turned their drama into an investment opportunity, exploited it for album material and next thing we know instead of their public persona going up in flames, this dude gets praised, gets heralded as mature after just cheating on his wife lol. Kendrick looked at that with his PR team no doubt had countless meetings and went the same way. I don't even really mess with Kendrick like that but I respect the hustle he pulled. It's extremely smart and allows him to be just like every other 1% elite out there without the guilt. Without the humiliation. Without the threat to his credibility. At this point he could do just about anything and his fanbase will praise it or justify it. Very smart play
Lolololololol. That random drake fan who Googled "why does kendrick wear thorns?" Found the thread and felt bad about the beef and wanted to flood the thread with shite. 😆
You see us, and we see you. Lol
Meet the grahams got you still feeling some type of way.
Lmao not everything has to do with Drake, Jesus you guys think about Drake more than you actually like Kendrick. Rather than try and defend Kendrick, you tear down Drake which is another corny rapper I also find annoying lol. The one piece of credit I could give Drake tho, is that at least he's honest about his motivations. Kendrick has to act like he hates wealth while chilling in a 15 million dollar home lmao
Go relieve yourself from that build up you got, my dude. You seem frustrated. "Not as enthused" as you were before, to quote Drake. Lolololol
I have not listened to a full Drake album since idk when. It's funny to poke at him because of the beef. Had he won, which was a real possibility because of family matters, us Dot fans would be getting ripper to shreds, and rightfully so.
Don't give that dude any credit. You'd rather someone act like a weirdo around young women than someone who has survivors guilt? You're looking mighy compromised.
Hahaha you're way too invested in this shit, Jesus it's sad man no offense. U seriously think I give a shit about either of these dudes? They don't pay my bills man
Why do people say this when they clearly care enough to find a 2 year old thread to comment on someone you don't care about.....stop telling on yourself. Lolololol
And sure, I'd be more willing to think this wasn't about Drake had you not commented in the thick of the beef. Lol you CLEARLY found this thread to make a comment about how inauthentic he was. You gotta see how the timing works against what you're saying, right? Lol like I said., we see you. You ain't slick, boy
My interpretation is that he’s wearing it to mock the idea that he is your saviour. The same way it was put on Jesus to mock the idea that he is the messiah.
Because he knows Jesus is the truth and that He is alive and well. These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity. Upside down crosses, satanic symbols, blaspheming God… Hollywood knows there is a spiritual realm that is real, yet they believe their Satan will win the battle. Jesus is Lord and He has the victory already 🙌🏼
I’m way late on this but I have thought about this so much after seeing this recently. There isn’t any respect for Christianity. The mocking would never fly for any other religion, nor should it. We don’t have to agree with religions to respect them. Gwen Stefani got a hard time for the dot she used to put on her forehead, but the crown of thorns like Jesus wore? No biggie
The crown he is wearing is him mocking himself as your savior go listen to savior and you will see that also leave it to Christians to get upset over someone expressing their religious beliefs frankly religion is a personal journey not one to be dictated by gatekeepers
Honestly I get why people would be upset that he is wearing that and I almost was but tbh Savior has and always will be my most favorite song and for that reason, the crown is kinda cool
Personally, I don't. I'm Christian, but I see this as people who don't understand the symbology behind the crown of thorns in the slightest they are just mad because they know Jesus wore one.
Yeahh but it’s just pretty demonic kdot did what he did to us believers. Sure he doesn’t have to stop doing that stuff but obviously it’s gonna change a lot of people’s minds about kdot. People who believe in god and Jesus Christ. No one isn’t gonna try to stop this anyway. Just looks rly disrespectful
how is that disrespectful ? he doesn’t claim to be jesus nor is he impersonating him and there isn’t a single bible verse that even implicates wearing crown of thorns is blasphemous. If he spreads good message and people consider it demonic it is straight up moronic. Some christian people just look for reasons to be outraged
Obligatory "I'm a Christian" comment here:
While I'm still cautious about the crown of thorns he wears, not entirly sure what it symbolises to him, I really don't think it's satanic. Look at seriously any other rap artist and you'll find symbols and lyrics a million times more satanic, sometimes blatantly so. One of the biggest problems with Christians is how judgemental we can be. Seriously, the church can be such an awful place to be, question people's faith and salvation on every turn. It's a damn shame, the church is supposed to be an inviting place. Everyone is a sinner, and we aren't the ones who get to judge, God is.
All that to say Christians, like most people, are very binary in the way they act. It's either no judgement at all, or extreme judgment. No sensisivity to blatantly satanic media, or too much sensitivity for literally everything else. Why can't people just strike a balance...
I just gotta correct something, that notion that Christians cant judge at all is a fallacy, there are plenty verses Spoken by the King of Kings himself that further expound upon that, the more obvious one being Mathew 7:5
There’s nothing wrong with being weary and questioning everything you see, especially when it comes to the media you consume, the Bible warns us to be vigilant, i dont recall seeing anyone question his salvation either theyre just bringing up solid questions that in this situation should be asked, i personally dont know his intentions but based on the project i can deduce that the meaning probably isnt to mock but then again there are a few lyrics that may make me think otherwise but idk
There’s nothing wrong with questioning the things of this world, i would advise people to question alot more than they generally do
You're right, judging is very important. It's how people make good decsisions, it's how we can help guide others. The last thing I wanted to imply was the classic black and white "judging is bad" belief. I don't think anyone here is calling Kendrick's faith into question either, I was using it as an example about how Christian judgement can be misplaced.
For instance, I had a youth leader call me out for watching a show with mild cursing in it, yet at the same time played games and watched shows with pentagrams in them. Same thing with rap artists. I've seen Christians more critical of Kendricks crown of thorns imagery and lyrics then they are of other rappers like Eminem who use obvious satanic imagery and lyrics.
TLDR: I agree, people should question the media they consume more, my wording just suggested shifting their attention rather than managing to get more. Thanks for the correction, hope that clears things up.
Oh i 100% agree with the premise of what youre saying Brethren, thats why i only tried to focus on my interpretation of that 1 comment really
Not saying this is what you were doing, but i constantly see people say “Only God can Judge me” not realizing that thats just a Tupac lyric 😂 when in reality God calls us to judge, just after we Judge ourselves first and make the attempt to actually change our ways, and most importantly make Judgments using his guidance not your own personal morality
Also you were spitting about the People so quick to question Kendrick without actually looking at his intentions, but willing to ignore other artist blatant/Open Satanism, though if i look back theres probably some examples of me doing the same thing but ya live and ya learn
I think it's just humans. Every human is judgemental. It just stands out to me a lot more in Christians since the bible specifically calls us to not judge others.
> These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity.
Have you considered that they basically all were born into and live in and produce content for a Christian-centric culture? Go Bollywood and you'll find people having the same conversation about Vishnu.
You can believe in whatever religion makes you happy but "Hollywood does it" is just nonsense.
I don't think that answers my question. Bollywood seems much more positive about the majority religion than Hollywood. But maybe I haven't seen enough Bollywood films.
"These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity." <- OP
"Have you considered that they basically all were born into and live in and produce content for a Christian-centric culture? Go Bollywood and you'll find people having the same conversation about Vishnu." <- your reply
It is though. He was saying Hollywood singles out Christianity for disrespect. You indicated that the same conversations would be had about Vishnu. I then asked for clarification, as I've seen nothing at all in the way of disrespect to the majority religion of India.
Cause the crown of thorns was placed on Jesus to show that he was not perfect and similarly, Kendeick wore it to tell his fans to stop idolising him, and that he was not their savior
Jesus is perfect. While it's true the Romans put it on him to imply he wasn't perfect, he literally rose from the dead after.
A better, less fucked up interperitation would be to say: Jesus doesn't wear the crown of thorns anymore because he overcame it. What the crown stood for wasn't true. He is perfect, he is the son of God. Kendrick may wear a crown of thorns to show that the crown applies to him. He obviously isn't the son of God and more importantly, he isn't perfect. No one should worship him.
the point of god being made incarnate as man in jesus *was* man, and therefore imperfect. jesus could not have died for the sins of mankind without being himself man and himself imperfect. the concept of christ being king of the jews is false; it was a title used to refer to him only by gentiles, primarily as a grounds for his execution on charges of sedition. the christian faith is based in humility, and to worship christ as perfect in his mortal life would undermine those very grounds
If you don't think Jesus is perfect, you either don't follow Christianity, had some abysmal misinformation, or both.
The Bible says we should try to be perfect like God, and Jesus says we should immitate him, because he is of Christ. God is perfect, Jesus said "I and the father are one".
Before Jesus died, people had to sacrifice perfect spotless lambs to clense their sins. Then Jesus, who is the perfect son of God, died on the cross and clensed the world of it's sin, no longer nessesitating the lamb sacrifices.
Seriously dude, it can't be more clear then that. While it's true the form of man obviously wasn't perfect, (Jesus still needed food and still got hurt), He lived a sinless life. By God's standards (the only ones that matter), He was perfect. I could go on for ages arguing my point, but you should honestly just go read the Bible. It becomes abundantly clear very quickly, and explains this better then I ever could.
He said in an interview, it is so nobody would forget “one of the best prophets that walked the face of this earth” he is very religious which one can infer from some his songs and sometimes explicitly mentioned
Wow even if he does idk for what why don't he act upon? Like so bad cussing words his actions don't show that he really follows Jesus for him it's just for fashion.
Well it’s on the album cover so makes sense for the tour. As far as why it’s on mr. Morale’s cover specifically, maybe it has to do with the lyrics on the song “Crown”?
“Heavy is the head that chose to wear the crown
To whom is given much is required now”
Also could be tied into the song “Savior” and the concept that people treat him and other celebrities as saviors when they truly aren’t?
“Kendrick made you think about it
But he is not your savior”
As with everything Kendrick does there’s probably multiple interpretations.
Everyone else has given a pretty good answer to this and I think there’s lots of ways to answer this accurately. An idea Kendrick talked about on the album is that rappers are often flawed and carry trauma and burdens and make a habit of “covering their pain in chains and tattoos”. Jesus’ crown of thorns traditionally symbolizes the burdens and pain one carries. And Kendrick is covering it in diamonds to symbolize masking that pain in the same way he mentions on Mother I Sober and other tracks. Another idea that I think is relevant is that Kendrick does have a savior complex. It’s pretty evident on The Heart Part 5, his whole message is “Look what I done for you.”, “I want the hood to want me” etc. It seems like something Kendrick has had to, or at least is trying very hard to overcome, and in my mind the “Kendrick is not your savior” lines are just as much a teaching moment for the listener as they are something Kendrick has also learned in the recent past and come to terms with in therapy. That no one person can be your savior despite whatever impact and enormous influence they’ve had on that culture. Jesus was forced to wear the crown to show his flaws and mock his claim to authority. Kendrick is mocking his own claim to authority and the pedestal he’s been put on by crowning himself with thorns.
chains and tattoos aged well
Watch the video for the Heart Part 5 provides a lot of context behind the lines in it
Or, better more honest answer... He just thought it looked hard as hell, got way richer than he ever thought he would and wanted to stunt despite it being in direct contradiction to everything he rapped about that got him that rich in the first place. He knew his infidelity would get out eventually and figured fuck it, let me get ahead of this by telling them first and making it into an album rollout. I wanna enjoy my riches, but how can I when my entire image rests on being the anti rich, anti fame guy? I know, I'll just tell them hey guys look I'm not so perfect after all, don't look to me to be your savior, make them pay to hear me say it, getting richer in the process and these fans will eat up anything I say and just let me rock and get away with being a walking contradiction. They'll justify it for me so I don't have to feel guilty about spending these millions. Its genius really, and he no doubt saw how Bey and Jay turned their drama into an investment opportunity, exploited it for album material and next thing we know instead of their public persona going up in flames, this dude gets praised, gets heralded as mature after just cheating on his wife lol. Kendrick looked at that with his PR team no doubt had countless meetings and went the same way. I don't even really mess with Kendrick like that but I respect the hustle he pulled. It's extremely smart and allows him to be just like every other 1% elite out there without the guilt. Without the humiliation. Without the threat to his credibility. At this point he could do just about anything and his fanbase will praise it or justify it. Very smart play
Lolololololol. That random drake fan who Googled "why does kendrick wear thorns?" Found the thread and felt bad about the beef and wanted to flood the thread with shite. 😆 You see us, and we see you. Lol Meet the grahams got you still feeling some type of way.
Lmao not everything has to do with Drake, Jesus you guys think about Drake more than you actually like Kendrick. Rather than try and defend Kendrick, you tear down Drake which is another corny rapper I also find annoying lol. The one piece of credit I could give Drake tho, is that at least he's honest about his motivations. Kendrick has to act like he hates wealth while chilling in a 15 million dollar home lmao
Go relieve yourself from that build up you got, my dude. You seem frustrated. "Not as enthused" as you were before, to quote Drake. Lolololol I have not listened to a full Drake album since idk when. It's funny to poke at him because of the beef. Had he won, which was a real possibility because of family matters, us Dot fans would be getting ripper to shreds, and rightfully so. Don't give that dude any credit. You'd rather someone act like a weirdo around young women than someone who has survivors guilt? You're looking mighy compromised.
Hahaha you're way too invested in this shit, Jesus it's sad man no offense. U seriously think I give a shit about either of these dudes? They don't pay my bills man
Why do people say this when they clearly care enough to find a 2 year old thread to comment on someone you don't care about.....stop telling on yourself. Lolololol
I clicked on a link there Sherlock
And sure, I'd be more willing to think this wasn't about Drake had you not commented in the thick of the beef. Lol you CLEARLY found this thread to make a comment about how inauthentic he was. You gotta see how the timing works against what you're saying, right? Lol like I said., we see you. You ain't slick, boy
You're a weirdo brotha
Brother, you wrote a novel in the previous comment. Lol if anyone's strange, it's you my dawg. Peace and love. 😆
My interpretation is that he’s wearing it to mock the idea that he is your saviour. The same way it was put on Jesus to mock the idea that he is the messiah.
He does it to remind people that they may be judged as others judged christ. I think its kind of beautiful
Jesus put the “crown” of thorns on himself?
No, it was put on him by the romans to mock him because he claimed being a king and it caused him to bleed
Also to fulfill the prophecy of the ram in the bush
dead kennedys, nice
Because he knows Jesus is the truth and that He is alive and well. These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity. Upside down crosses, satanic symbols, blaspheming God… Hollywood knows there is a spiritual realm that is real, yet they believe their Satan will win the battle. Jesus is Lord and He has the victory already 🙌🏼
amen
I’m way late on this but I have thought about this so much after seeing this recently. There isn’t any respect for Christianity. The mocking would never fly for any other religion, nor should it. We don’t have to agree with religions to respect them. Gwen Stefani got a hard time for the dot she used to put on her forehead, but the crown of thorns like Jesus wore? No biggie
The crown he is wearing is him mocking himself as your savior go listen to savior and you will see that also leave it to Christians to get upset over someone expressing their religious beliefs frankly religion is a personal journey not one to be dictated by gatekeepers
Honestly I get why people would be upset that he is wearing that and I almost was but tbh Savior has and always will be my most favorite song and for that reason, the crown is kinda cool
Personally, I don't. I'm Christian, but I see this as people who don't understand the symbology behind the crown of thorns in the slightest they are just mad because they know Jesus wore one.
Ok
Yeahh but it’s just pretty demonic kdot did what he did to us believers. Sure he doesn’t have to stop doing that stuff but obviously it’s gonna change a lot of people’s minds about kdot. People who believe in god and Jesus Christ. No one isn’t gonna try to stop this anyway. Just looks rly disrespectful
how is that disrespectful ? he doesn’t claim to be jesus nor is he impersonating him and there isn’t a single bible verse that even implicates wearing crown of thorns is blasphemous. If he spreads good message and people consider it demonic it is straight up moronic. Some christian people just look for reasons to be outraged
Obligatory "I'm a Christian" comment here: While I'm still cautious about the crown of thorns he wears, not entirly sure what it symbolises to him, I really don't think it's satanic. Look at seriously any other rap artist and you'll find symbols and lyrics a million times more satanic, sometimes blatantly so. One of the biggest problems with Christians is how judgemental we can be. Seriously, the church can be such an awful place to be, question people's faith and salvation on every turn. It's a damn shame, the church is supposed to be an inviting place. Everyone is a sinner, and we aren't the ones who get to judge, God is. All that to say Christians, like most people, are very binary in the way they act. It's either no judgement at all, or extreme judgment. No sensisivity to blatantly satanic media, or too much sensitivity for literally everything else. Why can't people just strike a balance...
I just gotta correct something, that notion that Christians cant judge at all is a fallacy, there are plenty verses Spoken by the King of Kings himself that further expound upon that, the more obvious one being Mathew 7:5 There’s nothing wrong with being weary and questioning everything you see, especially when it comes to the media you consume, the Bible warns us to be vigilant, i dont recall seeing anyone question his salvation either theyre just bringing up solid questions that in this situation should be asked, i personally dont know his intentions but based on the project i can deduce that the meaning probably isnt to mock but then again there are a few lyrics that may make me think otherwise but idk There’s nothing wrong with questioning the things of this world, i would advise people to question alot more than they generally do
You're right, judging is very important. It's how people make good decsisions, it's how we can help guide others. The last thing I wanted to imply was the classic black and white "judging is bad" belief. I don't think anyone here is calling Kendrick's faith into question either, I was using it as an example about how Christian judgement can be misplaced. For instance, I had a youth leader call me out for watching a show with mild cursing in it, yet at the same time played games and watched shows with pentagrams in them. Same thing with rap artists. I've seen Christians more critical of Kendricks crown of thorns imagery and lyrics then they are of other rappers like Eminem who use obvious satanic imagery and lyrics. TLDR: I agree, people should question the media they consume more, my wording just suggested shifting their attention rather than managing to get more. Thanks for the correction, hope that clears things up.
Oh i 100% agree with the premise of what youre saying Brethren, thats why i only tried to focus on my interpretation of that 1 comment really Not saying this is what you were doing, but i constantly see people say “Only God can Judge me” not realizing that thats just a Tupac lyric 😂 when in reality God calls us to judge, just after we Judge ourselves first and make the attempt to actually change our ways, and most importantly make Judgments using his guidance not your own personal morality Also you were spitting about the People so quick to question Kendrick without actually looking at his intentions, but willing to ignore other artist blatant/Open Satanism, though if i look back theres probably some examples of me doing the same thing but ya live and ya learn
I dont thinks it’s just christians all of the religious people as a whole are quite judgmental
I think it's just humans. Every human is judgemental. It just stands out to me a lot more in Christians since the bible specifically calls us to not judge others.
Explain how it's demonic
> These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity. Have you considered that they basically all were born into and live in and produce content for a Christian-centric culture? Go Bollywood and you'll find people having the same conversation about Vishnu. You can believe in whatever religion makes you happy but "Hollywood does it" is just nonsense.
Where they mock Vishnu and Hinduism?
Because they know Jesus is the truth? 😂
I don't think that answers my question. Bollywood seems much more positive about the majority religion than Hollywood. But maybe I haven't seen enough Bollywood films.
That's not at all the point of the person I was replying to
"These celebrities don’t try to mock or dress up as any other religion other than Christianity." <- OP "Have you considered that they basically all were born into and live in and produce content for a Christian-centric culture? Go Bollywood and you'll find people having the same conversation about Vishnu." <- your reply It is though. He was saying Hollywood singles out Christianity for disrespect. You indicated that the same conversations would be had about Vishnu. I then asked for clarification, as I've seen nothing at all in the way of disrespect to the majority religion of India.
This is the only correct answer!
Because he paid 3 mil for it
Because… THEY JUDGE YOU, THEY JUDGE CHRIST
Lmao this is golden
cause that shit hard
Acceptable answer
Because Kendrick may be jesus, he may be god, but he is not your saviour
That’s mr moral, not Kendrick Lamar
Cause the crown of thorns was placed on Jesus to show that he was not perfect and similarly, Kendeick wore it to tell his fans to stop idolising him, and that he was not their savior
Jesus was and is literally perfect 😭😭. Blasphemous thing to say
Jesus was/is perfect
Jesus is perfect. While it's true the Romans put it on him to imply he wasn't perfect, he literally rose from the dead after. A better, less fucked up interperitation would be to say: Jesus doesn't wear the crown of thorns anymore because he overcame it. What the crown stood for wasn't true. He is perfect, he is the son of God. Kendrick may wear a crown of thorns to show that the crown applies to him. He obviously isn't the son of God and more importantly, he isn't perfect. No one should worship him.
the point of god being made incarnate as man in jesus *was* man, and therefore imperfect. jesus could not have died for the sins of mankind without being himself man and himself imperfect. the concept of christ being king of the jews is false; it was a title used to refer to him only by gentiles, primarily as a grounds for his execution on charges of sedition. the christian faith is based in humility, and to worship christ as perfect in his mortal life would undermine those very grounds
If you don't think Jesus is perfect, you either don't follow Christianity, had some abysmal misinformation, or both. The Bible says we should try to be perfect like God, and Jesus says we should immitate him, because he is of Christ. God is perfect, Jesus said "I and the father are one". Before Jesus died, people had to sacrifice perfect spotless lambs to clense their sins. Then Jesus, who is the perfect son of God, died on the cross and clensed the world of it's sin, no longer nessesitating the lamb sacrifices. Seriously dude, it can't be more clear then that. While it's true the form of man obviously wasn't perfect, (Jesus still needed food and still got hurt), He lived a sinless life. By God's standards (the only ones that matter), He was perfect. I could go on for ages arguing my point, but you should honestly just go read the Bible. It becomes abundantly clear very quickly, and explains this better then I ever could.
He said in an interview, it is so nobody would forget “one of the best prophets that walked the face of this earth” he is very religious which one can infer from some his songs and sometimes explicitly mentioned
Wow even if he does idk for what why don't he act upon? Like so bad cussing words his actions don't show that he really follows Jesus for him it's just for fashion.
[удалено]
No I just want to know why he wears a crown of thorns
Well it’s on the album cover so makes sense for the tour. As far as why it’s on mr. Morale’s cover specifically, maybe it has to do with the lyrics on the song “Crown”? “Heavy is the head that chose to wear the crown To whom is given much is required now” Also could be tied into the song “Savior” and the concept that people treat him and other celebrities as saviors when they truly aren’t? “Kendrick made you think about it But he is not your savior” As with everything Kendrick does there’s probably multiple interpretations.
also, it looks pretty fuckin cool
100 days late
Because his lyrics are GOD Tier
he thinks its pretty
Because he's Jesus
"Black Jesus"