Poetic Justice Lyrics

[Intro: Kendrick Lamar]
Every second, every minute, man, I swear that she can get it
Say, if you a bad bitch, put your hands up high
Hands up high, hands up high
Tell 'em dim the lights down right now, put me in the mood
I'm talkin' 'bout dark room, perfume
Go, go


[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]
I recognize your fragrance, hol' up, you ain't never gotta say shit, uh
And I know your taste is a little bit, mmm, high maintenance, uh
Everybody else basic, you live life on an everyday basis
With poetic justice, poetic justice
If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?
I mean, I write poems in these songs dedicated to you when
You're in the mood for empathy, there's blood in my pen
Better yet, where your friends and 'em? I really wanna know you all
I really wanna show you off, fuck that, pour up plenty
Of champagne, cold nights when you curse this name
You called up your girlfriends and y'all curled in that little bitty Range, I heard that
She wanna go and party, she wanna go and party
Nigga, don't approach her with that Atari, nigga, that ain't good game, homie, sorry
They say conversation rule a nation, I can tell
But I could never right my wrongs 'less I write it down for real, PS

[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar & Janet Jackson]
Anytime
You can get it, you can get it, you can get it, you can get it
And I know just, know just, know just, know just, know just what you want
Poetic justice, put it in a song, alright
Anytime
You can get it, you can get it, you can get it, you can get it
And I know just, know just, know just, know just, know just what you want
Poetic justice, put it in a song, alright

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]
Every time I write these words they become a taboo
Makin' sure my punctuation curve, every letter here's true
Livin' my life in the margin and that metaphor was proof
, I'm talkin'
Poetic justice, poetic justice

If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?
I mean, you need to hear this, love is not just a verb
It's you lookin' in the mirror, love is not just a verb
It's you lookin' for it, maybe
, call me crazy, we can both be insane
A fatal attraction is common, and what we have common is pain
I mean, you need to hear this, love is not just a verb
And I can see power steerin', sex drive when you swerve
I want that interference, it's coherent, I can hear it, mhmm

That's your heartbeat, it either caught me or it called me, mhmm
Read slow and you'll find gold mines in these lines
Sincerely, yours truly, and right before you go blind, PS

[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar & Janet Jackson]
Anytime
You can get it, you can get it, you can get it, you can get it
And I know just, know just, know just, know just, know just what you want
Poetic justice, put it in a song


[Skit]
"I'm gon' ask you one more time, homie
Where is you from? Or it is a problem."
"Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy, ask him if he heard from Sherane
Ayy, you out here for Sherane, homie?"
"I don't care who this nigga over here for
If he don't tell me where he from, it's a wrap! I'm sorry."
"Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, we gon' do it like this, okay?
I'ma tell you where I'm from, okay?
You gon' tell me where you from, okay?
Or, or, or where your grandma stay
Where your mama stay, or where your daddy stay, okay?"
"Fuck all this talkin'."
"Matter of fact, get out the van, homie! Get out the car 'fore I snatch you out that motherfucker, homie!"

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About

Genius Annotation

Kendrick explained “Poetic Justice” in a 2012 interview with Complex magazine, saying:

If you listen to ‘Poetic Justice,’ it’s a song about a chick saying these legs are poems. On the back end of that, is really the Sherane joint, so it’s a dedication song for Sherane. And that’s going into ‘good kid’ and ’m.A.A.d city,' which completes the story.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Translations
Genius Answer
What did Kendrick Lamar say about "Poetic Justice"?
Genius Answer

Lamar told Complex in October 2012:

If you listen to ‘Poetic Justice,’ it’s a song about a chick saying these legs are poems. On the back end of that, is really the Sherane joint, so it’s a dedication song for Sherane. And that’s going into ‘good kid’ and ’m.A.A.d city’'which completes the story. Me and Drake had been working for a while off the fact that I was on his tour and I was on Take Care. We were talking about what joints we wanted to do. When Scoop shot me the track, I immediately came up with the concept of doing that vibe and the first person I had in mind was Drake. Drake killed it and it came out crazy.

Producer Scoop DeVille added:

After ‘The Recipe’ dropped, it was top priority to get in and make some more pieces. We played a lot of joints that night. That sample flip was a special piece that I was saving for the right artist. I been a fan of what Kendrick has been bringing to the table and it seemed like the right fit and everybody else liked it too. The sample [of Janet Jackson’s ‘Any Time, Any Place’] is so crazy, so the fact that it was even cleared amazes me.

Credits
Featuring
Produced By
Performance Rights
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Additional Producer
Mixing Engineer
Recording Engineer
Recorded At
TDE Red Room, Carson, CA
Release Date
October 22, 2012
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