Wesley's Theory

“Wesley’s Theory” establishes the album’s theme by describing how racist American institutions upheld by white supremacy exploit Black creators for profit. The first verse pictures a young Kendrick deluded by money, whilst the second is the perspective of “Uncle Sam” – a personification of the U.S Government and White America – trying to charm him.

In other words, Wesley's Theory illustrates how America (represented by Uncle Sam) exploits financially illiterate rappers with newfound success (such as Kendrick after GKMC) by enticing them to purchase copious expensive items without realising they have to pay taxes for those items. First verse is Kendrick wanting to purchase items that are useless or causing further harm to his community (take a few M16s to the hood, pass em all out to the block)- literally misusing his influence. Second verse is Kendrick rapping as uncle Sam wanting to exploit Kendrick by enticing him to buy more and more expensive items until he has to pay taxes for all these items.

The song’s title may be a nod to Wesley Snipes. The actor was embroiled in a tax fraud case throughout the 2000s and served a three-year jail sentence from 2010 to 2013. The U.S. Government stated Snipes was using “tax protester theory” in an attempt to get out of his charges. Lamar basically argues that what happened to Wesley snipes wasn’t just a mistake, but on purpose because the government encourages (black) people to spend beyond their means.

Briefly, Kendrick brought his survival of Compton to the present to explain to everyone where he came from. He had to change or omit certain things to allow his listeners to feel such a state of euphoria. Something that at the time, Kendrick would not have felt.