Kendrick Lamar
B. 1987-Now
Musician/Public Figure
Embedded Files
Because he went running for answers
Musician Kendrick Lamar uses his songs to communicate his feelings to the world. Kendrick Lamar had an extremely difficult upbringing in the gritty Compton, California, neighborhoods. Early in his youth, Kendrick discovered a passion for creating music. He was able to communicate stories in his rap that few others could due to his life experiences from the environment in which he grew up. After some time, Kendrick began to capture the interest of millions of people. People that listen to his music have been inspired by him regarding his life and contemporary global issues. As he has a highly diverse musical approach from other rappers, he deviates from the others. Kendrick deserves respect for his unique approach to songwriting and the impact his songs have on listeners.
Kendrick Lamar has accomplished many outstanding feats through being a rapper. New York Post journalist, Chuck Arnold, states: “The 34-year-old artist has emerged as the king of the rap world, winning 14 Grammys and even a freaking Pulitzer Prize” (Arnold). The Pulitzer Prize is the highest national honor in musical composition. He was the first ever rapper to achieve one of these. Grammys are also hard to get and to get 14 of them is very hard to do without hard work and dedication. Also, according to Spotify: Kendrick has over 41,000,000 listeners on just that platform per month. This is a huge accomplishment to obtain that many listeners. This shows how popular he is among the general population. The more popular he is, the more people listen to his opinions and his life stories through his songs. According to a Gale news article: he deserves recognition for his natural authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that capture the complexity of modern African-American life (Ross). This shows how Kendrick Lamar uses his songs to capture the complexity of modern African American life. Most modern songs are based just on how they sound, but Kendrick goes against the modern standard in order to tell stories about his childhood, struggles for African Americans, and racial justice. Kendrick has accomplished many things that show that he is a popular and influential person among our generation.
Kendrick Lamar has a very unique rapping style that sets him apart from others in the industry. Out of Kendricks 5 studio albums, one that stands out and sets him apart is To Pimp A Butterfly. In a research paper written by Harrison Sugarman he says: “His third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, addresses the ongoing systemic issues that African Americans face on a daily basis” (Sugarman). This quote shows that he has a unique style of writing his songs. He writes about problems that need to be addressed in the world. Something which most rappers don’t try to promote in their music. The mayor of Kendrick’s home town, Aja Brown, also commented on Kendrick’s uniqueness and songwriting ability. He said: “Kendrick Lamar is a phenomenal artist whose work has served as a catalyst to raise a new level of consciousness for this generation,” said Compton Mayor Aja Brown in a statement. “His message challenges the status quo and motivates listeners to rethink our society’s institutions” (Mejia). This testimony shows that he motivates and displays messages through his music. He is raising awareness and consciousness towards problems in the modern world. It also explains how his music is making, and leaving, an impact on the people of the past, present, and future generations. His words speak to all and he is creating a good example. In the modern day hip-hop industry, there are many artists that create music for listening pleasure and don’t have much back story or meaning which causes many songs to sound similar. In an article from ClarkU, it says:“As Kendrick’s political view is formed and shaped – through his upbringing, and rise to stardom – this album allows him to explore these thoughts broadly, and for a mass audience — a particularly important objective of Kendrick’s music” (“Hip-Hop”). This evidence shows how Kendrick does not let other people’s thoughts and views influence his and the kind of music that he makes and puts out. This is one thing that sets him apart from other musicians that may conform to the views of others. Kendrick’s rapping style and uniqueness is what sets him apart and gained him fame.
Through Kendrick’s expression of his views in his songs, he influences and informs youth about the current state of the world. Salim Faraji writes about Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy performance: “Hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar reminded a new generation of this truth--in fact his own generation of emerging activists and revolutionaries through his blistering, conscious, progressive and uncompromising Africa-centered performance at the 2016 Grammys that Africa is in Compton and Compton is in Africa and by extension wherever Black folk live in the United States we too are Africa” (Faraji). This evidence shows how Kendrick Lamar influences people through not only his music, but performances as well. It also shows that he is supporting people of color and showing that they are together no matter where they are living. In his songs, Kendrick has to overcome the duality of presenting a positive message while also bringing negative issues to light: “On how Lamar views violence – specifically black-on-black violence – it also points to Lamar’s internal controversy over how to get a message across that is both positive for black youth, as well as illustrating the significant issues and turmoil that surround his community in Compton, as well as the African American community more generally” (“Kendrick Lamar”). Kendrick emphasizes the problems that he faced while growing up, and how they occur in places other than his hometown of Compton. He illuminates these problems and controversies so that they are recognized and so that they don’t have to happen. Kendrick wishes to set a good example for those influenced by him today, and for those in future generations to come. Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright”, third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly”, could be heard from Black Lives Matter demonstrations everywhere. The song soon became a familiar rallying that people could also unite over. Similar in ways to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, Kendrick’s song is essentially that song for the era of Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, and Eric Garner.
(Blair). This evidence shows how everybody can listen to and enjoy Kendrick Lamar. The comparison to Bob Dylan’s song, “The Times They Are a-Changin”, shows how Kendrick’s music presents a message to today’s generation.
Kendrick should be commended for his unique rapping technique and the effect it has on his audience. His accomplishments in the music business are further demonstrated by his 14 Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Another distinctive quality of his that makes him different from the rap scene is the
effect his songwriting has on listeners. Being one of the most successful musicians in the modern era after starting from nothing inspires others to believe that they can achieve success no matter where they come from.
Noah Mlinarich, Zach Vrbitzky, Luca Romero Lauro, Christian Kornick
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