the ends

The opening track of Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, "The Ends" is London slang for "neighborhood." This was the first song Scott recorded in his new Beverly Hills home. All the tunes on the album were either laid down by Scott in his crib or on the tour bus during the Saint Pablo tour. He told Billboard magazine: "I was doing that s--t in the field. I don't like studios. That's why all my s--t be leaking."

Andre 3000 raps the second verse in which he reflects on the infamous 1979-1981 Atlanta Child Murders and how he still struggles with survivor's guilt decades later. Over the two-year period, roughly 29 African-American children, teenagers and young adults were kidnapped and murdered in Atlanta. Wayne Williams, an Atlanta native was arrested and convicted for two of the murders in 1982. After his conviction the Atlanta Police Department announced that Williams was responsible for at least 23 of the 29 Atlanta murders, though Williams continues to maintain his innocence. André previously referenced the notorious killings on Goodie Mob's Soul Food track "Thought Process," when he rapped, "The only thing we feared was Williams, Wayne."

Scott's original intention was for Andre 3000 to narrate the album but he ended up rapping this verse instead.