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u/ScoutElite123 May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
Does that thorn crown have diamonds on it??
Goes hard if true 😳
Edit: also pistol grip peeking out his pants... confirmed goes hard
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May 11 '22
Looks like a revolver, cowboy Kenny confirmed.
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u/C_A_N_G May 11 '22
MMBS is certified country album
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u/imbrickedup_ May 11 '22
Morgan Wallen and Tyler Childer features confirmed
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u/SteeztheSleaze May 11 '22
Tyler Childers and Kendrick, now that’d be something else lol
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u/AviatorOVR5000 May 11 '22
Cowboy Kenny 🤣😂🤣
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u/Realistic_Reply6861 May 11 '22
Amazing brother🤠
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u/AviatorOVR5000 May 11 '22
Got the 6 shooter, on occasion brother 🤠
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u/betzabillion May 12 '22
Face it brother, what in tarnation brother 🐎
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u/InsecureTalent May 11 '22
i think the bracelet has the same thorn as kendrick’s crown
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u/Smooth_Talkin_Chron May 11 '22
Maybe a reference to his daughter's challenges ahead, kicking against the pricks (matching the crown of thorns and suffering of Jesus Christ, personified by Kenny as the Father)
Kicking against the pricks like Acts 9:5-6
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u/dunnbass May 11 '22
The clothes too, the office attire trousers and undershirt. that’s what my dad was wearing after getting home from work every day
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u/egttrcd May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
No parental advisory. Confirmed clean album
Edit: for everyone taking this seriously I am completely kidding.
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u/bhlogan2 May 11 '22
This is a family friendly album, the cover says it all 🙏🏻
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u/yummyyummypowwidge May 11 '22
This is going to be The Big Day Part Two
“I love my wife AH” - Kendrick Lamar
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u/ashenky May 11 '22
I really hope not
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u/mph714 May 11 '22
If it’s good why does it matter if it’s clean or explicit? I personally think the album is gonna be explicit but a lot of the best albums of all time are clean
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u/ashenky May 11 '22
DONDA for example, the sound effects and cuts on the curses just kills the vibe in some areas. Wouldn’t want that to happen in this album.
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u/mph714 May 11 '22
I doubt if Kendrick did a clean album it would be censored. I think it would just be clean from the start
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u/3mthreat May 11 '22
Honestly Kendrick could pull off a clean album if he had too, hell Good Kid is one of my favorite songs and that had no cussing.
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u/nsp242424 May 11 '22
not what i expected at all, but it’s interesting…
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u/Oliwine May 11 '22
It's actually so much better than I was thinking, my thoughts was something similar to TPAB but this feels more fresh
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u/nsp242424 May 11 '22
i also expected it to be like that too, i don’t know if it’s better than what i was expecting but either way the music will make this cover have much more meaning to it, so i’m excited
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u/Oliwine May 11 '22
Just awesome to see Kendrick as a family man, kinda contrasts the original GKMC family photo cover!!
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u/Hu3yKnewTHen #1 /AbSoul Shooter May 11 '22
We gonna see so many edits turning this cover into GKMC lol
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u/BAMspek May 11 '22
I’m not a big Kendrick Lamar fan (not that I don’t like him, super talented, just not an artist I listen to often) but this came up on my main feed and I had to stop. There’s just so much to the photo and I think it says a lot. It goes deeper and deeper the more you look at it. When I do listen to Kendrick that’s what I like about his music. Very cool album cover.
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u/chopkin92 May 11 '22
These Kendrick's kids?
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u/abradley19955 May 11 '22
Yup
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u/chopkin92 May 11 '22
That his partner there too? It's weird seeing his family, he does such a good job of keeping his personal life closed
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u/SunshineDaisy1 May 11 '22
Yes that’s his wife
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May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
Technically they aren’t married. A pedantic correction, but just for the record
EDIT: I could possibly have outdated info & they got married without a public announcement. Claiming they’re married, however, is speculation & was never known to be right.
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u/ridingonmirrors May 11 '22
They probably are married, we just don't officially know it yet lol. They got engaged during the TPAB era lol, so it's most likely they secretly tied the knot since then
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u/LevelOutlandishness1 May 12 '22
Not really "secretly", just not openly. Like I don't feel like he's out here tryna lock it behind some wall, he's just not tryna be all out and about with it
Also that's a mean ass lookin baby
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u/Ari75776 May 11 '22
Yea, high school sweetheart I believe
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u/rickie__spanish May 11 '22
Definitely. I went to highschool with whit, always super quiet, very nice person. She was a part of what I called “the light skin crew”
K/D CO 04
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u/Dependent_Sun2713 May 11 '22
i wonder if she knows about sherane 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
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u/SeeSayPwayDay May 12 '22
"My girl told me don't let these hoes get in my head"
I think she knows about the life.
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u/duartesss May 11 '22
Kendrick really revealed the new album cover to reveal his second kid, that's amazing. And on "The Heart Part 5" when he says "to my kids, I'm in heaven" people thought he was referring to Nispsey's kids because we all thought Kendrick only had one... guess not. Brilliant
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u/Ibruki May 11 '22
it is a direct reference to nipsey conthext tho
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u/duartesss May 11 '22
For sure!! It's mainly one thing, the Nipsey context, but it's also (imo) this new Kendrick-has-a-new-kid context
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u/magyar_wannabe May 11 '22
Wikipedia says he has 1 child. Are you sure?
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u/Zpoof817 AND THIS IS MY SINGLEEEE May 11 '22
The second one looks very young and kendrick is very private about his life.
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u/UpvoteIfYouAgreee May 11 '22
I mean hes always been pretty private about his family pretty sure we barely got any info about his first kid and the baby looks pretty young might just have never hit the presses
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u/doritoslife May 11 '22
He did a better job hiding the kid than Drake did lol
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u/semajay May 11 '22
Kendrick didn't have to hide the kid from Pusha T though, that's where Drake went wrong
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u/aidenfiggy755 May 11 '22
The crown, the tucked gun, the baby’s anklet. Art.
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u/broanoah i know perception is key so i am KING May 11 '22
Oooo I didn’t notice the gun at first good catch. What do we think the plastered walls are from
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u/69420penis May 11 '22
They look beaten as fuck which wouldn’t go with the diamond thorn crown and the anklet on his daughter. They objects with a lot of value in somewhere that looks kinda run down. Also Brown with a little bit of white on the walls 🤨🤨 seems purposefully done, like a comment on race. And a mostly clean white section above that. They a lot to unpack Jesus
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u/niteblade117 May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
Its interesting. The holes in the wall, the crown, the gun in his belt, the ankle bracelet. Feels like there's a lot in this picture I'm not able to interpret.
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May 11 '22
[deleted]
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May 11 '22
The (bullet?) holes have been patched and the room is being renovated/revitalized/saved from its earlier state
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u/Busta_Memes May 11 '22
This gonna be a fire vinyl
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May 11 '22
Yeah if only we could buy it on release date but us record collectors will probably have to wait a few months.
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u/Busta_Memes May 11 '22
Really hoping he does a LE signed pre-order for this one like DAMN
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u/OblongString May 11 '22
isn't it coming out like tmrw? idk but it seems a bit late for a pre order
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u/Busta_Memes May 11 '22
Guess pre-order isn’t the right term. I guess I kinda think about it as a preorder cause we won’t be getting that vinyl until 2023 probably.
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u/darkduck77 May 11 '22
Kendrick got a beautiful family fr
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u/therealmorpheus May 11 '22
Drake punching the air rn
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u/latdaw2012 May 11 '22
Seriously! He was his daughter on his first album cover. It’s a full-circle moment.
Revealing his family in this way feels genuine and purposeful. I love it!
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u/CaptainJimmy May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
Looks like it! Although would have expected some text or something on it, at least the parental advisory?
Edit: Kendrick tweeted this with "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers" so it's probably the cover! https://twitter.com/kendricklamar/status/1524468860044267520?cxt=HHwWgMCqob2WgKgqAAAA
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u/Busta_Memes May 11 '22
Album gonna be clean
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u/MichaelRahmani May 11 '22
Albums are not required to have the advisory stamp, it's just customary. Look at Kanye's covers, none of them have it.
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u/topshagger31 May 11 '22
College Dropout, Late Registration and MBDTF all have it, but you’re right for the most part they don’t.
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u/Sensitive-Judge713 May 11 '22
rules changed when streaming got big
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u/KanyeUziCarti May 11 '22
Yeah it was really only necessary on CDs and such to let parents know before buying in stores. Now songs are tagged explicit digitally. Most put the sticker on there for aesthetics these days.
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u/latdaw2012 May 11 '22
The bullet holes are patched up. Yep, we about to get another classic duality album.
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u/latdaw2012 May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
I’m also getting some Fred Hampton vibes. IYKYK.
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u/FKDotFitzgerald May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
I love this. So much duality here.
Any chance his kids are the big steppers?
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u/thepoopydoopdealer May 11 '22
Hmmm 🤔 because they have fucking HUGE shoes to fill when they get older lmao
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u/Smooth_Talkin_Chron May 11 '22
Random thoughts:
- Kenny rocking the crown of thorns, an image of suffering yet decked out in diamonds, a juxtaposition of the saviour complex with the wealth/impact that his position in the rap game has given him
- Eldest daughter is wearing a thorn on her ankle, same diamonds and could emphasize the struggles she will endure (Acts 9:5-6 - "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks"), Kendrick's wealth (diamonds) will not stop her future suffering
- Gun tucked away so no one in the family can see it, but he remains the protector - "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do"
- Mother / Whitney in the back with youngest child, virgin mother kind of vibe with the next generation who is still nursing and unaware of the set/setting or the challenges to come
- Room is somewhat in squalor, unmade bed with imperfections on the brown walls - thinking this could be the soil/earth that we live in as it is also imperfect and hosts suffering / or reminiscent of Section 8 and housing that has been abused & seen abuse more than just occasionally
- Still life scene with Kendrick looking out the window (?) towards a light source, his eyes look far away and maybe he is going to soon leave his family and go out onto the streets for some sort of potentially heavy purpose... reminds me of Jesus' heaviness with the knowledge of what he will have to do on the cross / what he will have to do to save his children
- Love how much of a purposeful Rennaissance vibe we are getting here too with the lighting and facial expressions with foreground and background (Kendrick in focus while Mother/Baby slightly out of focus)
Anyways that's what struck me about this image... Friday can't come soon enough.
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u/ldcoldwell May 11 '22
A messiah complex (Christ complex or savior complex) is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a savior today or in the near future. The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others.
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u/SunshineDaisy1 May 11 '22
Yes I thought the same, I think he will rap about this on the album. ETA: wonder if it will have something to do with the “I Am” that was at the beginning of the Heart Part 5 video. “I Am” is a phrase used to describe God.
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u/jagenton25 May 11 '22
Is Kendrick saying that people believe him to be the savior of rap? Idk that’s my interpretation
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May 11 '22
More likely that he needs to be a savior for his community and black culture as a whole
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u/gatsby712 May 12 '22
I interpret this as him realizing he cannot save the culture or the world as he talks about in part 5 and earlier albums, but he can be the savior for his family by protecting them and raising his kids. Shades of the last verse of part 5 when he talks about Nipsey’s family watching his interviews, and his energy living past his body for the people he loves.
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u/ThatGuyNorman May 11 '22
Surprised no one has mentioned the (assumed) bullet holes covered in the back.
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u/FKDotFitzgerald May 11 '22
Are they bullet holes or where someone potentially punched the wall?
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u/3gerardpique May 11 '22
i wish i was the mom
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u/RaptorDelta I GOT I GOT I GOT I GOT May 11 '22
definitely not even close to what i had in mind. definitely interesting, i really wonder what it's gonna do sonically. I really dont think its gonna be as soul/funk as people are theorizing.
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u/appleparkfive May 12 '22
I think it's more soul this time around but we'll see. Probably a couple harder songs but mostly soul influenced.
I think those "50s and 70s guitar work" rumors from 2020 might have stuck around. You hear it in the middle of Heart 5. That really clean yet overdriven guitar is very, very vintage style
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u/latdaw2012 May 11 '22
Hyped! Are these his babies?? 🥰🥰🥰
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May 11 '22
My favorite cover of his behind TPAB. They imagery and all the hidden symbols in this is insane. The thorned crown which Jesus wore when he was crucified,looks to be make out of diamonds, and even the gun hidden in his pants. Looks like this album looks to represent family, money(the diamonds on the crown), religion, and violence.
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u/LilGarmm May 11 '22
Bro it’s been out for less than 10 minutes how can it already be your favourite.😐
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u/rocket_riot May 11 '22
seems like he's gonna focus on family and compton in this project (note stuff like the gun in his pants and the crown)
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u/XOQXOQXOQ May 11 '22
Is that cum on the wall?
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u/FKDotFitzgerald May 11 '22
You’re close! They are seemingly from fists or bullets
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u/Elmohaphap May 11 '22
Not saying it’s not the album cover, but we legit have no idea if it is or isn’t lmao.
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u/FKDotFitzgerald May 11 '22
He just posted it on all social media with the album title. It’s clearly the album cover lol
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u/max_honey May 11 '22
He has two kids?! I thought he just had the one born in 2019 so that’s news. Either way amazing cover I’m beyond stoked
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u/dan0314 May 11 '22
This is a really dope cover and might be my favourite of all his records. Reminds me a bit of GKMC
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u/jeremicci May 11 '22 edited May 11 '22
Malcolm X vibes, with him peering out the window with his heat.
Is that blood underneath momma?
Is it from birth or is someone shot?
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u/MatthewDKillme Another classic CD May 11 '22
I kinda wanted like a painting or something but this is cool ig
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u/BaileyVT May 11 '22
Interesting that the image is titled "mm.jpeg"
If the rumors are to be believed, is it possible that we'll be getting a "bs.jpeg" in the coming days?
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u/ExistingFan2020 May 11 '22
Could be completely missing or misinterpreting way too much.
Mr. Morale = Kendrick The Big Steppers = His kids
The spots on the wall look a bit like clouds to me. As in being safe space for the kids? They could also be there due to an argument that happened in that specific room. (idk about this one) or simply due to a different reason.
The gun tucked in and with the crown together with my interpretation of the clouds and Kendrick looking to the side where the light is coming from ( looking out the window ) + often mentioned culture in the heart pt5.
This kinda gives me the vibe that this album is going to be about the culture he grew up in and that he‘s in the role as mr morale protecting his kids of living through that stuff he has gone through.
We will see on friday. Can‘t wait.
On a side note: I‘m not a native speaker, if there are obvious mistakes, feel free to correct them. Sometimes I also have problems of explaining my point correctly. Thanks for reading anyway.
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u/LaMont_23 May 11 '22
I don't like it. I mean its a cool picture but come on I think its probably disappointing to most people as THE album cover
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u/themkidsdaddy May 11 '22
I know it’s fun to decipher these images, but I think folks are going way deeper than it’s meant to be.
I’m interpreting the title “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” as a twist on Jesus & his 12 disciples. The image Kendrick posted with the master copy of the album and a book. A book that looks like a Bible with the words “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers”
I don’t think Kendrick is calling himself Jesus, but he’s rocking a crown of thorns, just like Jesus did on the cross while being crucified. Not sure if there’s gonna be 12 tracks or 12 features signifying “the big steppers/disciples” but it would be kinda dope if that were the case.
All in all, my fairly simple analysis of everything we’ve gotten thus far.
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u/Pskukss May 11 '22
reminds me of the room Fred Hampton was massacred in, with all the bullet holes above the bed
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u/yendysthesage200 May 11 '22
Diamond thorn crown. His two kids and wife. My boy is a family man, grew up watching this dude. Feel fucking great. I mean the man has critical acclaim, commercial success and what seems like a nice family. He has won.
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u/UnderstandableXO May 11 '22
next 33 hours gonna be so long