What can you say about 2015? Overall it was pretty awful. We saw the rise of Donald Trump as a legitimate contender for the presidency, a ridiculous number of mass shootings (more than one a day, depending on how you define a mass shooting), some terrorism, some blatant systematic racism and just a sprinkle of rioting. I don’t want to be a downer, but it turns out that 2015 did not live up to the expectations we had set for it in 2014. So, how can we sum up a year like this in a simple, positive sentence? It's really pretty easy: 2015 was the year of Kendrick Lamar.
Yes, King Kendrick Lamar sat firmly on his throne this year with the release of his latest masterpiece, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” This album is a dystopian ride through the mind of a brilliant young black man finding his way in a world of fame and success that was not created for him and that he was not prepared to enter into. In this sprawling sixteen track operatic rap, we see Kendrick grow from the initial spoils and flatteries of fame, through depression and dissociation, to becoming a figure of peace, love, and hope. While he undergoes this transformation, Kendrick has to deal with issues that are currently permeating American society, from the seemingly ritualized killing of young black men by police (“Alright”), to black on black violence (“The Blacker the Berry”); from income inequality (“How Much a Dollar Cost”) to political disarray (“Hood Politics”), Kendrick knew exactly the issues that he wanted to preach about and he did so with wisdom and understanding that showed he is not just a rapper, but a leader. Rolling Stone granted “To Pimp a Butterfly” album of the year status, and so did Vice, Spin, The Guardian, and many others. President Barack Obama said that “How Much a Dollar Cost?” was his favorite song of the year, the album has garnered eleven grammy nominations including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for “Alright,” whose chorus, “we gon’ be alright” became a chant for the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Outside of To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick was also very successful. He made many hit music videos, which are more accurately described as short films, including the riveting “Alright.” He got his start in acting became friends with Taylor Swift after contributing verses and himself for her blockbuster music video “Bad Blood.” He appeared on countless talk shows and internet videos, and was the central figure in hundreds, if not thousands of online periodicals and speculation, including one suggesting that his latest album is possibly the most important hip-hop album of the decade so far.
A lot of bad things happened in 2015 -- I would begin to list them here but it would take far too long and would be far too depressing, so I’ll just let you fill in the blanks. But, we may be able to take solace in the fact that a true king has emerged, and will likely fight for what is right for a long time, and his name is Kendrick Lamar.
