Two murals honoring Kendrick Lamar in Compton have been defaced, including one that inspired the song “Wacced Out Murals” from his latest album GNX, released last month.
The first mural, painted by artist Mike Norice on the side of Tam’s Burgers—famously featured in Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” music video—was vandalized last month. The second, created by Sloe Motion and Gustavo Zemeño Jr. on the back of Mi Sabor, a Honduran restaurant, has suffered repeated attacks since its unveiling earlier this summer.
The defacement of these artworks echoes the opening lines of Kendrick’s album intro: “Yesterday, somebody whacked out my mural / That energy’ll make you n—as move to Europe.”
For the artists behind the Mi Sabor mural, the song provided some sense of validation. They shared security footage of the vandalism in an Instagram Reel, writing in the caption:
“A couple months ago our Kendrick mural got hit. Of course we were pissed and wanted to fix it, but it just kept getting worse. Flash forward to today, and Kendrick drops a song about the situation. It doesn’t necessarily make it okay, but it does feel good to have our hard work immortalized by one of the greatest to ever do it. Thank you, @kendricklamar, for making this situation a little better.”
While the motive behind the vandalism remains unclear, some speculate it may be linked to Kendrick’s ongoing, highly publicized feud with Drake. The tension between the two escalated recently when Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group over its involvement in releasing Kendrick’s diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Adding another layer of depth to “Wacced Out Murals” is Mexican mariachi singer Deyra Barrera, whose haunting vocals open the track in Spanish. In an interview with Billboard, Barrera reflected on her role in the song and its connection to the murals.
“I don’t know if you know the story of [Norice’s] painting. It was scratched, vandalized, even from Kendrick’s previous album. That’s why he made the song,” she explained.
Barrera also revealed she’s collaborating with Norice on an upcoming episode of his YouTube series, Art & Soul, where they’ll discuss the mural and its cultural significance. “It was very special because we connected through Kendrick Lamar’s work,” she shared, hinting at an upcoming documentary exploring the mural’s creation and the impact of Kendrick’s music on the community.
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