Hi reader,
The work that I will be focusing on will be on the song/rap,
Alright, by Kendrick Lamar and he talks about his life through his music.
I choose his work because he was on the first artist, since NWA, to preach the
Black Lives Matter movement and many people used this song in many protests. He
talks about his life through his music and talks about the “po-po” or the
police trying to “kill us dead in the street for sure,” and he fought “all [his]
life” and says to the people that “we gon’ be alright.” These lines are
important in his rap because he talks about his experiences in his life, and he
is addressing himself and other people in the same situation as it will be “alright.”
The rap, Alright, paved the for people to play music while protesting and a path for other artists to talk about the Black Lives Movement in their songs and albums. From the article,
We Are Not ‘Alright’, By Craig Jenkins, he notes many artists like Meek Mill in “The Other Side of America,” Lil Baby in “The Bigger Picture,” or DaBaby and Roddy Ricch in “Rockstar”, and all these artists followed in Kendrick’s footsteps by making heartfelt songs about black lives and spread aware on that topic. All of these artists make very different forms of art, but all converge to the same topic of black lives matter and to continue spreading the word throughout the world. Jenkins ends his paper but stating the “game” or rap industry has “its issues, but today, let’s lift” people up and make a “better world,” which means the writer, the same as Kendrick, both want to bring people’s morale up and to know that everything will be “alright.” The only modern issue I see with these artists making raps about this movement is people criticizing their language or the way they express themselves in their raps. When Kendrick released his rap, “alright,” he received tons of backlash from people and news reports, and I see this being a problem when the artist's words becomes concern instead of their movement being the concern. Kendrick uses what the news report said, and he puts a line in Beyoncé’s song, “freedom.” The line goes “Channel nine news tells me I'm movin' backwards,” and this song by Beyonce and Kendrick is another example of a song being used as a platform for artists to spread the word of black lives matter. In another article,
Songs That Shook America’ Episode Two: How Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” Became The Rallying Call For The Black Lives Matter Movement, By Keith Nelson Jr, he brings up the point that Kendrick’s song is a “long lineage of protest art” along with other artists like Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddamn,” Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” and “Oprah Winfrey Sofia in The Color Purple.” These artists were one of the first to public their work of art when they trying to get their equality, and this makes the idea is being used today. People are still trying to get their equality and Kendrick states in his song that “ we gon be alright” and Nelson says that “doesn’t just me we’re going to be ok,” it means that we are “going to be the reason” why we are ok. So like another artist preaches, Nelson says that we need to “wrap our arms around each other” and “nothing can get to us,” and that is the main message being spread by every black lives matter protester.
Sources:
I believe that Kendrick Lamar is by far the most socially conscious artist that we have in music today. Almost all of Kendrick Lamar's songs paint a picture of some sort of discrimination. Kendrick has a unique ability to create a really good song that one can easily digest with deep meaning. Kendrick's lyricism is one of the most important aspects to his craft. His infinite vocabulary and knowledge of the English language allows him to create amazing metaphors and comparisons that anyone can easily digest. I am just a white suburban kid and I could never relate to being black in America, but when I listen to Kendrick's lyrics and the passion and thought that goes into the lyrics I know that he is rapping about something that is extremely real.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have to say about Kendrick and how he is a very socially active person for the Black community. His lyrics and how he can connect so much with people is very inspiring. I like what you have to say with this.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. I believe that songs that call out the racism and injustices that are happening to day are the most influential on society because of how often they are played on the radio. I like how you put that specific picture from the music video for "Alright" in. I also liked how you donk just stick to Kendrick Lamar, but branch out to other black artists to support your point.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful writing here. I enjoyed your exploration of this powerful medium and appreciated the inclusion of modern and older songs. I will never forget the first time I listened to "Strange Fruit" and am still overwhelmed with the imagery and incisiveness every time I hear it.
ReplyDelete