“I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence. Sometimes I did the same, abusing my power full of resentment, a resentment that turned into a deep depression.” A phrase heard at some point on almost all of Kendrick Lamar’s tracks on his album To Pimp a Butterfly. That phrase, as well as Kendrick’s lyrical stylings and subjects make him a completely different style of rapper and artist. Kendrick is great at what he does. That has never been a debate. What makes Kendrick so different from anyone else is that he is not afraid to stray into politics and use his voice to drive movements that matter to him, an African-American man from Compton, California.
To first understand the genius of that previously stated phrase, it must be dissected. Essentially, what Lamar is saying is that once he was like many other talented young rappers who cared about using music to talk about how great they were or made music about themselves a la J. Cole (I detest J. Cole, but that’s a story for another day). He felt the conflict of using his growing fame for sinful pleasures of life. Kendrick truly changed as an artist when he realized that as an artist it was his job to advance or start the discussion of a plethora of different issues. Kendrick makes music that exists because the people need it, not because he wants people to talk about him. His music has always been that way. It did, however, change with his album good kid, M.A.A.D. City. It was this album that Kendrick was able to advance the discussion of issues affecting the African-American community and Black Lives Matter.
The titular song of the album, "M.A.A.D. City," is the song that Kendrick first blatantly uses to advance the discussion of the issues of black America. Through a carefully crafted piece that shows the plight of impoverished black America, Kendrick’s well-heard track created a discussion about the poverty facing those who grew up like himself.
It was "Alright," from Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly album that truly became a song of a movement. In the song, Kendrick uses lyrics such as “and we hate po-po / wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho.” The song lays an early foundation for issues of police brutality. The chorus of the song “we gon’ be alright” is what drives the song home and what became the rallying cry for the #blacklivesmatter movement and became a career-defining moment for Kendrick. He wasn’t afraid to lose out on radio time and album sales to try to give Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, who had no voice, a way to speak. Kendrick has stayed politically active with his lyrics as his popularity grew.
Recently, Kendrick dropped "The Heart Part 4." In it, he took a shot at President Trump saying “Donald Trump is a chump, know how we feel punk? Tell em’ that god comin’.” Words negatively spoken about Trump can be heard from various entertainers. In typical Kendrick fashion, he went a step further, saying “And Russia need a replay button, y'all up to somethin'. Electoral votes look like memorial votes, but America's truth ain't ignorin' the votes / It's blasphemy, how many gon' blast for me?” Once again showing that Kendrick has political awareness and is willing to say what needs to be said for his community to try and mobilize the voters he cares about.
Kendrick is not the traditional political activist. Standing only 5’5", he does not look intimidating, nor does he have the look of someone trying to change the world. Kendrick does have words and a big following. What he does with those words and how he voices those who used to be unheard make Kendrick different from almost everyone else.
Tyler Corbit is a freshman studying journalism with a focus in strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you listen to Kendrick? Let Tyler know by tweeting him @tylercorbit.
