BLOOD.

On “BLOOD.,” Kendrick is shot by a blind lady he’s trying to help. The blind woman can be thought of as representing consequences of the damnation referenced in the Book of Deuteronomy. The duality of obeying God and being blessed, or disobeying him and being damned—giving into “wickedness” or admitting your “weaknesses” and submitting yourself to God—play a major role throughout the album.

The outro is sampled from a clip of FOX News reporters criticizing Kendrick’s “Alright” performance at the 2015 BET Awards. Kendrick later responded to the criticism on TMZ Live, saying:

"How can you take a song that’s about hope and turn it into hatred? The overall message is ‘we’re gonna be alright.’ It’s not the message of ‘I wanna kill people.’"

Kendrick talked about the song in an interview with Zane Lowe at Coachella, and he kept the mystery behind the song secret:

"What I can I say about that, without saying about that. It is… one of the most interesting pieces on the record. Man, I don’t even think I can find the wit… to tell you about that record, without telling you about that record. There’s a new life, its a new life."
Lowe: Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?
Lamar: I can’t tell you that. That’s what I can’t tell you. Come on now, that’s the whole thing.
Lowe: I had to ask though.
Lamar: (laughs) I know. That’s the whole thing.

"What I can I say about that, without saying about that. It is one of the most interesting pieces on the record. I don’t even know if I can find the wit, the wit to tell you about it. The wit to tell you about the record without telling you about the record. There’s a new life, its a new life." - via Beats1

“BLOOD.” debuted at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of May 6, 2017. It stayed on the chart for one week. “BLOOD.” was certified gold on May 25, 2018 by the RIAA.