And it makes sense that black America, despite being the moral compass in the country, still feels the weight of a cursed fate. As Lamar’s revelation that evil is not something that only exists outside of us. The same way we proclaim ourselves gods, in the metaphysical sense, we are inhabitants of the darkness. So maybe it’s as important to confront the evil and the fear within.

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He invited her backstage after the show to share her story and to support her. During a performance of his song “u,” which talks about depression and suicide, Lamar spotted an audience member singing along and pulled him on stage. His Instagram has 3.4 million followers, despite having made only 12 posts. But he cares deeply for his fans, finding other ways to connect with them.

Billie Eilish — “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”

It’s a portrait of the American Dream, extended to “the least of these,” in the Age of Obama. The latter, released just months into Donald Trump’s presidency, features a close-up of Lamar alone in a white tee, looking defeated, depressed, possessed. His eyes are hollow and soulless; he resembles a demon with hellish intent. Between Parliament, Funkadelic and their offshoots, George Clinton worked on at least 37 different albums in the 1970s.

Beyoncé — “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”

• In 2022, the producer removed Drake from a song called Trance, and unfollowed him on Instagram.
• After Parfit wrote about it in April — debunking the short-lived theory that Lamar had planned to release a second album titled NATION.

I was in the middle of laying down some definitive thoughts about the LP when the realization hit me. Just like her nagging text, the Compton MC had spent the better half of a year forcing me to reckon with my doubts about the wrath of God. It changed my mind about a lot of things to the positive, helped me get out of the mentality of clawing and scratching and fighting over everything, jealous of everything. It helped us try new things that we wouldn’t have never tried before. By Chocolate City, and then Mothership Connection, we had a whole ‘nother outlook. Now it’s a spaceship with lots of expensive costumes as opposed to diapers and sheets.

• On his latest album release, I feel like it would be diminishing to say Kendrick has hit his stride, honestly, he is the stride.
• “Now And Then,” which marked the Beatles’ 35th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, is a tearful close to the band’s legacy.
• “This whole feud has started to reveal itself to be an ouroboros of attention and social-media commentary more than any actual referendum on two rappers’ abilities,” wrote Rolling Stone magazine’s senior music editor Jeff Ihaza in an opinion column on 2 May.
• “Fortnight,” the opening track of The Tortured Poets Department, is no exception as Swift likens a crumbling relationship to the failure of the American dream.

You produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second album – other people might have been resentful of white boys taking their sound.Well, I had already learned my lesson with that when I met Cream. And I think the Chili Peppers lived up to their funkiness – “Give It Away” is a very funky track. The detrimental cycle of incarceration torments predominantly black neighborhoods. Zoning laws, redlining, and housing discrimination have concentrated black people in poor, high-incarceration neighborhoods. As such, predominantly black neighborhoods tend to experience higher rates of poverty and incarceration. Muller and Roehrkasse find that high-income black people are more likely to live in a high-incarceration neighborhood than low-income white people.

• Black people are significantly more likely to be poor and to live in poor neighborhoods, and therefore they are more likely to be connected to incarcerated family members.
• Kendrick is breaking with some of his fellow artists by stating that the promotion of the drug is not good because people are dying from using it.
• The rapper, whose real name is Travis Savoury, pleaded guilty to assault, but the prostitution charges were dropped.
• For Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, that piece of artwork is “Die with a Smile,” a grandiose ballad about not taking your relationships for granted.
• When Marley Marl and those Juice Crew guys made “The Symphony,” that wasn’t what they were trying to do.
• The anger definitely explodes on “Good Luck, Babe!,” with Roan channeling ’80s divas like Kate Bush and George Michael.

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The lyric appears to be a reference to Canadian rapper Baka Not Nice, who began his career as a security guard for Drake, and who was charged in 2014 with forcing a 22-year-old woman into prostitution. The Compton-born rapper proceeded to call out Drake’s parents, and his six-year-old son, by name. “You called the 2Pac Estate/And begged ’em to sue me and get that expletive down,” he says. Drake’s track, Family Matters, appears to suggest that one of Lamar’s children was fathered by another man. In a separate interview, Lamar recounted seeing his father do anything to make money.

This is arguably one of the most important concepts in media right now as I would argue that the same structures consuming and profiting off these cultures is not the anti-racist and empowering solution we like to act like it is. But it wasn’t simply about Black heroes and celebrities like so many chose to believe. It actually engages with the presentations of Blackness that the (and I’m gonna say it) almost entirely white-owned media distribution channels decide to engage with, sell and reproduce. I wish I could break down all the layers within this cover art but alas again it would require a book, all I can say is if you follow up and research anything within this article let it be this. If upon your discovery of these nuances, you still disagree with the idea of Kendrick being a fine artist then I don’t know what to tell you.

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The dynamics of power he moves between are so Substance abuse visually distinct, from the scene of a man crip walking to Backseat Freestyle to the chilling figure suspended from streetlights. Admittedly in the process of writing this article, it became clear to me that to make my point in its entirety I would probably have to fill a book so I do not go nearly as in-depth as the subject deserves. Regardless, here are a few of what I think are the strongest examples of Kendrick Lamar’s engagement with critical Black intellect, bear in mind many Black musicians actually do this, but often it is subversive. With Kendrick, it is direct and distinctive and that’s what makes him so iconic. On that point I would like to posit this… Kendrick Lamar is one of this generation’s greatest fine artists. The fan admitted she had intended to commit suicide, but was saved by her connection to his music.

Particularly, Lamar’s 2015 single, “Alright,” has become widely recognized as a protest song in the Black community. With his Aftermath debut good kid, m.A.A.d city just weeks away from its October 22 release, Kendrick Lamar is quickly becoming one of the strongest voices in the younger Hip Hop generation. Now, in a recent interview with Mr. Peter Parker, the Compton emcee relates his advice to aspiring listeners. Because of this, he doesn’t drink or do drugs, and wants to be an advocate for living drug-free. The latest drug he’s focusing on is “Molly,” the dangerous drug that rappers are now speaking about to impressionable youth. Take a look at this list and find out which of your favorite rap stars abstain from drugs and alcohol.

Keem then returned does kendrick lamar do drugs the favor for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, featuring on “Savior (Interlude)” and “Savior” as well as receiving production and writing credits on “N95” and “Die Hard.” Two years later, Lamar circles back to celebrate the west on 2024’s GNX, a 12-track release that revels in the root of his love for hip-hop and California culture, from the lowriders to the rappers that laid claim to the golden state. Within hours of Drake’s diss, Rick Ross shot back in a track called Champagne Moments, alleging the star had undergone plastic surgery – including a nose job, fake abs and a Brazilian Butt Lift.