"Silent Hill" contains "crisp, lighter beats".[4] In the chorus, Lamar claims that he is "pushing the snakes, I'm pushing the fakes, I'm pushing them all off me like, 'Huh!'".[5] The song was likely named after the Silent Hill franchise by Konami.[6]
NME music critic Kyann-Sian Williams felt that Lamar was inspired by the "loose rap style" of his cousin, fellow American rapper and record producer Baby Keem on "Silent Hill", which is highlighted by the "animated Kendrick voice we all love" in the chorus.[7] Matthew Trammell of Pitchfork was reminded of DaBaby and Marilyn Manson's guest appearances on Kanye West's song, "Jail pt. 2", from the latter's tenth studio album, Donda (2021), due to Kodak's involvement in the song, explaining that "it's unclear whether his presence is meant to make a case for redemption or musical kinship".[8] Writing for Rolling Stone, Jeff Ihaza conversely remarked that "in the hands of just about any other rapper, the song would read as nothing more than post Playboi Carti-era pastiche, but Kendrick finds new terrain, retracing over unexplored horizons" and "he tries out about three different cadences before Kodak Black, a perfect guest feature on the beat, arrives to deliver a case study on melodic rap".[9]
