Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California, in 1987. Since then, he has become one of the most influential musicians of our generation. His first album released in 2012, "good kid, m.A.A.d city," was an overnight sensation consisting of modern hip-hop and incorporating a sense of modern issues that have plagued society, specifically among African-Americans. Three years later, he would take a new approach to his music focusing on social issues dealing with the African-American community and the African-American lifestyle. His sophomore album, "To Pimp A Butterfly," would relate to the community in multiple ways, from institutionalization, the power of sex, police brutality, the ideas of differentiation based on complexion, and the idea of family while incorporating more genres of music such as jazz and blues. The Grammys performance that shook the world would be the highlight of the evening, but also led to controversy and criticism of the 28-year-old rap artist. Media outlets miss the message entirely based on the pre-determined negative notions that is rap and certain aspects of African-American culture. When it was time to pay attention, some missed the messages that Kendrick was attempting to convey.
Some critics such as Geraldo Rivera from Fox News would claim Kendrick's lyrics from the song "Alright" has caused more harm than racism itself. He claims that hip-hop is the root of African-American violence. While Rivera probably can't tell the difference between hip-hop and Justin Bieber, he points out only select, controversial lyrics in the song, such as, "We hate Po-Po, want to kills us dead in the streets for sure." One would assume a well-known journalist such as this jackass would know what a hyperbole is and its function as a rhetorical device. Kendrick wants to emphasize this point because he knew it would probably be the only piece of the song that would rub those the wrong way, and therefore, getting the attention of everyone, and it did! Some may catch other pieces of the song, such as, "We gon' be alright!" explaining to the African-American community that things will get bad through their endeavor to bring police brutality to an end or "Drown inside my vices all day, won't you please believe when I say," where he emphasizes that he has done wrong in the past but that should not be a factor in his message now. Kendrick knows that his song is about bringing hope to a community and promoting peace and patience, which can be seen in his performance. While some say "hip-hop is the greatest threat to the African-American community," like Rivera, would one rather see a young black man rapping about his struggles versus going to the street to express their struggle?
During the performance, Kendrick had the attention of their entire crowd. No one was cheering, dancing, or anything really. There was a huge sense of focus and sincerity. The crowd was listening not for a melody, but for the message that Kendrick was attempting to get across. The message was about the hypocritical mindset of the African-American community that is angry about a white man killing a black man, but the lack of attention to African-Americans killing within their own community. The ideas portrayed in the performance were harsh, but honest and true. I think outlets take Kendrick's words for granted and do not attempt to interpret them in a positive manner. Rap has a culture that demands a harsh environment since most rap artists use their lyrics to spread messages of these harsh environments versus a Taylor Swift, whose lyrics deal with her boyfriends leaving her. While those can relate to every teenage girl in America, we need to have the same perspective on the lyrics and the Kendrick Lamars and J Coles of the world. Once we actually take a message to heart free of bias and scrutinize it to its core, we can then maybe see the positive light that each song and poem truly represents, no matter how harsh the lyrics.
