Those posters, which showed Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer accompanied by the straightforward tagline of “I want you for U.S. Army,” cemented the symbol’s place in U.S. history.

While Uncle Sam is perhaps most well-known for the historic “I want you” posters from World War I, the character has a specific meaning to the Black community that Lamar so often focuses on.

The story is told impressionistically; the character of Uncle Sam—if you’re picturing the ... s somebody who’s thinking the way we’re thinking, we want them to know they’re not alone ...