Deep Water

Album: Compton (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song describes the difficulties that come with the rap game and the gang lifestyle: when you really dive in you find yourself in deep water and start drowning. Anderson Paak's outro finds him gasping for air and DJ Premier was present during the singer-songwriter's recording. The DJ and producer recalled to Billboard magazine: "He's rehearsing with a bottle of water, swigging the water [makes choking noises], and I think that he's choking for real. I get up to grab him to give him the Heimlich maneuver, and he was like, 'I'm just rehearsing!' He was like shaking his body and trembling, but he was just preparing to do what Dre wanted him to do to sound like a drowning man. Once they have all the effects on it, it sounds like a guy really drowning."
  • Kendrick Lamar spits a verse which provoked talk on the internet that he was delivering jabs at hip-hop rival Drake. His first line namechecks Drizzy's single "Started from the Bottom" and the Compton MC also references "six to carry" a dead man in his coffin, which may be an illusion at least in part to The Toronto Rhymer's fascination with the number six. (It should be noted that six pallbearers is the normal number to carry a coffin.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.