Whether it’s activities you enjoy doing or your hopes and aspirations in life to your deepest darkest secrets or phobias no one else is allowed to know; a lot of things contribute to building one’s identity. Your identity can be discovered through understanding yourself. Kendrick Lamar, a conscious rapper, is a big advocate for expressing himself through his music. From reminiscing about the life of gang violence and gun life he narrowly escaped on songs like “M.A.A.D City” on his second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City to exploring his deepest insecurities that come with the fame and success he’s reached on songs like “u” on his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. Kendrick does not have a hard time exploring his emotions and expressing them in the form of music. His latest record DAMN was released earlier this year on April 14th, 2017. DAMN was Kendricks most discoherent album to date as it featured a lineup that contradicted each other in terms of chronological order. Due to it’s contradicting characteristics, the album can be divided into two: “The Saved Man” and “The Damned Man”. In the concept album DAMN by artist Kendrick Lamar, he …show more content…
To make the world a better place? Or to selfishly abuse what God has given us. Kendrick explores this idea with the song DNA. He explores the thoughts of a man who questions his purpose in the world. The man is confused about his contradicting emotions, “Sex, Money, Murder” vs “Loyalty” and “Royalty”.He’s considering if he should conform to the social expectations of a black man: To pick a side between the Piru Bloods vs the Crips and engage in criminal activity. All the decisions he is faced with is certainly taking a toll on the man, he wants to understand himself, figure out his fate. Ultimately the man decides to stray from the stereotype bestowed upon him from the media. Following the words of God and learning to love
Another case is that of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson whose death was initially ruled the result of accidental suffocation. A second autopsy produced a different conclusion, but when the second autopsy was performed, his body had been stuffed with newspaper, and his organs were missing ("Organ Trafficking, Melanin Theory & the Fountain of Youth -," n.d.). The brain, heart, lungs and liver were missing. He also discovered Johnson's death was due to blunt force trauma to the right side of his neck (Archer,
“You take a record and use it to empower yourself” having growing-up in the Westside of Chicago in a neighborhood fill with violence, Lupe make a lot of records that show listeners that even with the odds against him that he use his struggle to better himself.
When listening to rap music we get to experience the environments that the MC lived through. Most MC’s use music as a way of coping with reality, their violent and hard life. In this way they find a kind of shelter in their songs even though these songs describe their life and how hard it is.
His purpose, that people should be more empathetic toward African Americans is assisted by pathetic appeals, imagery, and ethos
For decades, America has oppressed African Americans due to the color of their skin. Although the country has made many strides in preventing some racial actions, racism still consumes the black culture starting in their early years. Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar released his second studio album To Pimp a Butterfly on March 15, 2015. Lamar spoke out against structural racism on this album and even made a case for the black culture being at fault for some of the racism they face. His message may not have been accepted by all the masses, but his bold statements sparked new conversations that any artist dreams of doing. Lamar introduced several metaphors for the racism in America, but the key focus was the development of the caterpillar into the
to be proud and take pride in everything they have accomplished. DuBois had used the pen to encourage blacks to fight for the rights that they have had. been denied. It is not our fault. Rather we have been the blamed and blamed ourselves for this lack of "economic progress", as it is. called.
On a lighter note, he explains his inspirations for his dream of making music in the song ‘Juicy.’ Biggie’s writing went in depth to show his audience where he came from and to also inspire other artists working their way up in the music industry. Lastly, Kendrick Lamar’s piece Good Kid m.A.A.d City is a coming of age story from the perspective of teenage Kendrick living in Compton, California. This album shows the dark side of Kendrick’s life, as well as his lighter moments of aspiration. There are vivid depictions of violence that he endured as a teen, as well as the influence of money and power.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
Songs are one way of expressing feelings and emotion, many artist do this constantly in their music. To some it is why they make music. There are endless signs and verses that hint at many things such as problems, politics, living in racist era’s also places. I chose to focus on one main rapper and his music only. I chose to examine, review, and study a few of his songs. Kid cudi grew up in cleveland, Ohio. His father passed away when he was a young age which affected the kid ever since. He writes about living his life and having to go through many obstacles
"DAMN" contains fourteen songs, each with powerful messages. Kendrick Lamar uses his song LOYALTY, as a platform to discuss the “value and necessity of complete trust, faithfulness, and dedication in both platonic and romantic relationships” (cite). Through the repetition of the lyrics “tell me who you are loyal to”, not only gets stuck in the listeners head but it causes them to question the songs deeper meaning. When the video was released it became clear that the song is about a volatile relationship between man and women; portraying the power each one of them holds.
Another thing he was trying to do with this book is to show people that black street leaders can become local heroes. Even though they might have started out as street fighters, they can change their life to become a political group and work towards changing the system that they feel will never accept them for the people that they really are. In this book the author shows you a way to build this nation’s communities that are very much under resourced. It also lets you know that there are things that we can do to change a bad situation, as long as we are willing to work towards making a change and there also must be resources available to help make that change. In other words, “where there’s a will, there’s a
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
As Kendrick entered the stage shackled to his black comrades with a soulful saxophone playing in the background, it is obvious that the imagery of imprisonment was a commentary on incarceration in America and its similarities with slavery. By amplifying this modern twist on slavery, Kendrick provokes American viewers to reflect on the struggles that black Americans still go through today. At the start of his performance he goes on to rap “I’m African-American — I’m African” as if he was correcting himself. This isn’t surprising as black identity is hard to establish in a country that implicitly detests you, but explicitly fetishizes your culture. Stuart Hall discusses this in his text when he states, “’the primitive is a modern problem, a crisis in cultural identity’…the modernist construction of primitivism, the fetishistic recognition and disavowal of the primitive difference” (Hall 125). There is no wonder why Kendrick, like many African-Americans, finds comfort in placing his identity with the mother land rather than his true country of origin. How can the black multitude stand in solidarity with a country who will continuously praise black culture but refuse to recognize the black struggle? Kendrick Lamar then conjures imagery of Africa, where he danced and rapped in front of a raging bonfire, one of the most powerful imagery included in his entire performance. One can interpret
According to the narrative, the narrator believed it was possible for blacks to be successful and make a lineage for the African American race to look forward too. He idolized famous historians such Booker T. Washington, wanted to be like them to form a name for himself as a positive “black” man. “Beside them I feel small and selfish. I am an ordinarily successful white man who has made a little money. They are men who are making history and a race. I, too, might have taken part in a work so glorious.”()
“I hope you come back and learn from your mistakes. Come back a man; tell your story to these black and brown kids in Compton. Let’em know you was just like them, but you still rose from a dark place of violence, becoming a positive person” (Kendrick Lamar). The most important question someone can ask, what is the meaning of life? This quote illustrates his meaning of life, however no one truly knows the answer. Philosophers, Priests and every person in the world have their own opinion. We as people have to realize everyone answer will be different. Although, if presented in the correct way, than anybody’s opinion can be correct. Therefore, this piece will argue my answer to the meaning of life. It will start with background information, next