“Animals” is a commentary on the mistreatment of African-Americans in Compton, Baltimore, and the rest of the United States in general, with police inflicting ruthless violence and essentially treating black people like animals. This song also illustrates how the media gives focus to the wrongdoings of the black community rather than highlighting their peaceful acts.

Anderson .Paak discussed the track with Power 106 L.A.:

This is a song called ‘Animals.’ And this is a tune that’s special, very special to me because this is a tune that I actually brought to Dre. And It’s a tune that I got from [DJ] Premier in Russia after doing a show with him with my group No Worries. He blessed me with this beat and I wrote this tune around the time the riots were going on in Baltimore and I just wanted to express my opinion. I just wanted to be a part of the conversation and what was going on at the time. And I felt like, as an artist, we are to provide the soundtrack for the time and reflect the time so this is one of those tunes where I feel like I was able to capture that with the help of DJ Premier and Dr. Dre. So it was crazy to be able to lock in with both of them for this song, and a powerful song that’s timely and timeless.

.Paak also performed his own verse, which is not included on the studio version.