Kendrick Lamar Duckworth Research Paper

Hip hop paints pictures of poverty, violence, and thug life. Jay-Z says, “the story of the hustler was the story hip-hop was born to tell- not its only story, but the story that found its voice in the form and, in return, helped grow into an art” (Jay-Z, 18). This shows how hip hop became the voice for people living in the ghetto. The hustler’s story created a connection with a global audience that defined the life of pure struggle (Jay-Z, 18). For instance, Jay-Z was raised in Brooklyn’s drug-infested projects causing him to have a rough adolescence. He became a hustler to afford material items and help his mother pay for the bills like most teenagers in his generation. Jay-Z explains how teenagers were wearing automatic weapons as if they were sneakers. Instead of focusing on education, teenagers were worrying about adult responsibilities. Consequently, teenage roles were shifting in negative

Back then lamar was a nobody until his first released song that began his rapping career. Lamar's family was directly touched by the violence of the streets, and yet he remained thoughtful and soft-spoken, ever the keen observer, even as a child. Lamar's father had been associated with the notorious Gangster Disciples gang. As the 1980s crack trade and West Coast gang presence increased, Lamar grew up around precarious street activity, but he seemed more influenced than harmed by it. Kendrick lamar grew up In a crime area of compton kendrick lamar was never affected by what was going on the streets and was thoughtful with his

Unlike many other mainstream artists, Kendrick Lamar attaches great importance to the lyrics of his songs. Lamar’s song “DNA”, released last April, became a real breakthrough in the world of hip-hop music. In this song, Lamar reflects on various social issues faced by the modern African-American community of the USA. The song’s lyrics, as well as the music video, portrays the most common stereotypes and biases labeled to the African-American community. The central aim of the song is to sarcastically demonstrate the image of African-Americans as they are viewed by biased media. By the use of symbolical sarcasm and double meanings, Lamar underlines the acuteness of the race inequality that remains existing in the modern America.

Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” sheds light on the struggle of achieving rich and fame and the trials that come with. Rolling Stone and Billboard praised the album awarding it the best album of 2015. The album depicts the difficulties of fame by putting the trials and tribulations on display; the inability for those to adjust to their new lifestyle and the potential temptations that creep in. “To Pimp a Butterfly” has been both a divisive and uniting factor in its emergence in popular culture.

The decade of hip-hop is what some may call it. Tupac, Naz, Biggie Smalls, as well as other artists, were major contributions. Not only for the people who are trying to find their footing, but Buck as well. Throughout the book various lyrics were embedded in order to create a better understanding for its readers. In addition, this book is based upon a 90s lifestyle within Philadelphia, which included drugs, gang activity, crime, hip-hop, and havoc. Malo was directly in the center of everything, the girls, the fights, the guns. His experiences shed light towards what it’s like to as an African American individual living in or near the hood. Not everyone realizes what people go through while living there, but now it gives some readers an image of what goes on. Though times have changed, not all previous feelings

Cultural phenomenon, rapper Kendrick Lamar has embraced a growing minority centered culture in America through his album “To Pimp A butterfly” this album conveys themes of hardship for minorities and cultural uprising. One of the singles on this album “Alright” simply tells black audiences that with faith everything will be alright. He uses the Lyrics “Alls my life I has to fight, nigga .Alls my life I...Hard times like God. Bad trips like: ‘God!’ Nazareth, I 'm fucked up..Homie you fucked up..But if God got us then we gon ' be alright” These lyrics simply tell suppressed minorities that despite hardship there is hope within our communities. . Months prior to the release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” several attacks from white police officers happened in the black community. A common case in this uproar was the “Mike Brown case”. In this case a black man was shot dead after allegedly robbing a local gas station. Kendrick simply responded to these seemingly racial attacks with his album to “Pimp a Butterfly”. To pimp a butterfly simply means to use your influence to the best of its ability to make a meaningful impact. With tracks like “Alright” Kendrick Lamar does just that. The Primary themes and issues conveyed in this song are white supremacy, racism and black uprising

Think of a poet. Who came to mind? Was it Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Ralph Waldo Emerson? What about Eminem or Jay-Z? They are both poets too, but in a different way. They go by the title “rapper”, basically a synonym for poet, and Hip-Hop is their form of poetry is. Kevin Coval amusingly says that rap “dusted poetry off, took it out the closet, put Js on its feet, and told it to speak to the people, all the people,” and that hip-hop saved poetry from becoming “classical music,” meaning that rap prevented poetry from becoming an old, out-dated art form and renovated it for the next generation (20). Coval’s book, The BreakBeat Poets, says the creation of hip-hop music was by “latchkey kids in the crack era, left to their own devices to experiment wildly and make language and art new and meaningful,” and goes on to say its purpose is to, “move the crowd, relate to the crowd, and save the crowd,” and Kendrick Lamar does these things perfectly (18). Through the use of clever wordplay and rhyming skills mixed with great story telling, Kendrick is bringing rap music back to its “roots” while introducing a “style” of his own, which is why one can argue that Kendrick Lamar is the “savior” of the rap game and its listeners.

In the concept album, good kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar creates an autobiographical narrative that describes the societal pressures of growing up as a black teenager in Compton, and how his self-awareness and musical passion allowed him to escape from the city’s cycle of violence. Through the album’s storyline Kendrick makes the case that, despite coming from a hedonistic, gang infested city, he is able to transform into a puritan. Kendrick narrates this story through several different perspectives, including actual people from his life as well as his own psyche. Kendrick Lamar mainly invokes the persona of K.Dot, who is based on Kendrick’s actual seventeen year old self. This story begins from the first person perspective of naive K.Dot, who is characterized by a raspy, inflicted voice. The lyrics of this character show the ignorance and lack of direction in his life, as well his self-doubts and impressionability. It is eventually revealed that K.Dot has a passion for music. While K.Dot is a good kid at heart who is not gang affiliated, his innocence is tainted by the desires of the Compton lifestyle. After a violent encounter, a transformation begins to occurs from within K.Dot. He realizes that the negative influences of gang culture have corrupted him,

Kendrick lamar’s award winning music video for his 2017 single Element shows the many experiences he faced growing up as a black man. The various symbols broadcasted throughout this music video show specific conflicts and struggle that he has dealt with throughout his life and also allowed black man that have been in his position something to relate to. He teamed up with director/photographer Jonas Lindstroem to help him convey his message but in a unique and creative way. The slow moving scenes show a softer depiction of his encounters. They give a sense of understanding which allows the viewer to be able to comprehend and absorb his message. As a whole, it was a collection of the pain, beauty, peace and violence that exists within his “element”.

Kendrick Lamar took the music industry by storm last year after his release of his sophomore album To Pimp A Butterfly. Immediately, the album quickly became critically acclaimed and resulted in multiple awards such as winning four grammys this past winter. The album goes deep into Kendrick’s personal struggles as new found celebrity, while also touching on subjects surrounding the black community. For this paper I took a look at the standout song off the album Institutionalized, that deals with the internal struggle people go through in life because of the barriers of thinking they are imprisoned to in their lives. Along with this, the song also has elements that tie

One challenge Kendrick Lamar faced was when his family was directly touched by the violence of the streets, He handled it by remaining thoughtful and safe, also he was a strong observer, even as a child. In 2015, Kendrick released his next album, To Pimp a Butterfly, including and featuring artists like Bilal, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, and others.

Artists sometimes visit schools across the states to talk to students about exploring their own situations and provide them with some strategies to help them towards their personal goal. Artist, Kendrick Lamar, always visits schools and communities and try to give people advice on how to overcome problems and help them make plans to achieve their goal in life ("Kendrick Lamar and Hip-Hop as a Medium for Social Change").

In my opinion, Kendrick Lamar, an award-winning rapper and songwriter, has one of the best abilities to describe his distressed and abused lifestyle in Compton, California. He is not your original cliché artist who does not speak about anything meaningful. Kendrick, also known as K. Dot, is one of the most well known and most respected rappers in this era. Not only does he speak about his gloomy past, but he also speaks about his fortunate future. His ability to give detailed representations of his struggles and his story telling allows me to, metaphorically, enter the mind of Kendrick Lamar.

At this moment, Kendrick’s monologue addresses the battle encountered by African Americans today and the frustration that comes with wanting and deserving more than they have. The backing vocals in this section of the song imply that American society wants African Americans to submit to it and praise it, even though many of them have suffered from it. This introduction signifies how dazed society is to the black people and how there is a constant battle between

Kendrick Lamar is famous for his unique West Coast style and dynamic rhymes that unapologetically discuss “political issues”. In his song, “The Blacker The Berry”, Lamar uses a striking amount of end rhyme and metaphors to deliver his message to listeners. As Lamar begins to tell how others view him, or the black body, he maintains a flow using multiple lines with end rhyme. Areas in the song, such as lines 13 and 14, provide an example of keeping the flow throughout the song by using