Kendrick teams up with rock legends U2 on “XXX.,” which delves deeper into the political and religious themes heard throughout DAMN. In an August 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Kendrick described how this song came together:

We had a [different] record we were supposed to be doing together. He sent it over, I laid some ideas to it, and we didn’t know where it was going. I just happened to have an album coming out, so I just asked [Bono], ‘Yo, would you do me this honor of letting me use this record, use this idea that I want to put together because I’m hearing a certain type of 808, a certain drum to it.’ And he was open to it.

The track itself seems to be a transitional moment on the album. Going with the original album play-through or the backwards play theory, in his path of wickedness, Kendrick begins to question the hypocritical ways of America after setting aside his Godly ways and overcoming fear. However, on his path to weakness, Kendrick continues on after “LOVE.,” where he expresses his feeling towards his significant other, and, on this track, Kendrick expresses what he would do to protect his woman as well as his immediate family, before giving his life to God.

In the first verse, Kendrick begins by addressing moral ambiguity, noting that even the best of us are capable of evil if the conditions are right. Kendrick brags about his accomplishments on the streets before a friend calls him for advice on the devastating death of his son—the usually-meditative Kendrick pushes him to take violent revenge. The second verse provides the worldly context for this violence, continuing the nihilistic themes found on “PRIDE.”

In an excellent piece of criticism, Steven Hyden notes that the lyrics of “XXX.” grapple with spiritual dislocation in America, with Old Testament overtones—something U2 has been doing for three decades.

It’s also worth noting that Nardwuar the Human Serviette unintentionally predicted this collaboration back in March of 2012, before good kid, m.A.A.d. city’s release, when he interviewed Kendrick at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. Watch his response when asked if he would ever like to have a sleepover with Bono:

YouTuber Justin Hunte goes into depth in this video about “XXX.” and how Kendrick is representing his generation. He breaks down how the last verse of the song calls out America for its hyprocrisy in these lines:

You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us
Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera
America’s reflections of me, that’s what a mirror does