“Big Ballin' With My Homies” is a song off of Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire by West Coast legend E-40, real name Earl Stevens. The album made Kendrick’s list of 25 Favorite Albums, which he used to play after school.

E-40 usually portrays a luxurious lifestyle in his music, and since Kendrick and his homies are under his music influence, obtaining money seems more than “rational” to them. The usage of “rational” also takes a ironical meaning; pointing out how rap songs gave him and his homies un-realistic ambitions of wealth, and with California having the highest poverty rate in the US, it’s something that’s almost impossible to achieve.

Some people’s desire for money will, ironically, leave them exhausted, disillusioned, or alone—not to mention broke. Others may wander from their faith or loyalty. This notion coincides with the “Halle Berry” or “Hallelujah” theme found earlier in the chorus.

The closing lines, however, evoke winning the lottery; where the purchase of an inexpensive ticket can result in millions of dollars. This blurs the lines between the misconception that “money is the root of all evil” and its ability to change lives. In actuality, it is the love of money that is considered to be evil, according to 1 Timothy 6:10:

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

These bars might also allude to Dolemite, an April 1975 blaxploitation film about a rebellious pimp.

This “girlfriend” might be a personification of hip-hop, with Lamar insisting he’ll elevate the genre and change the industry. Artists like Kanye West and Common have also described hip-hop as a woman.

“Pussy on a pedestal” was first used in Eddie Murphy’s classic 1987 stand up special, Raw. Hip-hop is perhaps infamous for objectifying women, though some believe this is simply a reflection of sexism in society as a whole — Lamar wants to portray women in a different, more favorable light.

Lamar recycled this line on Travis Scott’s September 2016 hit “goosebumps”:

Put the pussy on a pedestal
Put the pussy on a high horse
That pussy to die for

You’re in sync with Hiii Power if you’re throwin' up the 3.

He is also relating to the previous line: We have been needing that “Kendrick fix” and we’ve been waiting in line to get it.

The amount of typical immature rapper tropes (like starting a verse with some ridiculous phrase) Kendrick throws into this song is genius; while it’s mainly a window into Kendrick’s young self, it also serves as a great parody of undeveloped rappers.