Kendrick Lamar

Tupac Shakur could possibly be the most effective and irresistible of all rappers. What made Tupac (aka 2Pac, or Makaveli) so distinguished and legends was his abundance of talent, his spotlight amiable appearance, and the feeling that he was “real” and expressed himself freely, while backing it up with his actions. But Tupac just didn’t rap he was also a poet which set him apart from other artists and made his life much more than just rap and music. He was a person fighting for change; from having a revolutionary mother, breaking away from poverty through poetry, and even though he was “fed up” he kept his “head up.” Tupac did not whatsoever

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, who is also known as Kendrick Lamar, was born in Compton, California, on June 17, 1987. After writing stories as a child, he put to music some lyrics about the rough Compton streets he grew up on. His stage name was K-Dot when he first started to get the lime light, releasing a series of popular mix tapes, which brought him to the attention of hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. Lamar 's debut major-label recording, good kid, m.A.A.d City, was released to great sales for an up-and-coming recording artist. He continued to receive accolades for his 2015 Grammy-winning album “To Pimp a Butterfly”.

All he does throughout the track is provide reasoning as to why he is feeling the emotions he has been forced to feel. Lamar is facing inner demons and confusion, he states, “I feel like I’m boxing demons, monsters, false prophets, scheming sponsors … church, religion.” At no point in this track is this shown more than towards the end of Lamar’s second verse. Though the beat remains the same, Lamar’s rapping style speeds up so he can say more in the same amount of time. He speaks of losing family and friends, people in his immediate circle being more focused on making money on the street than helping their community, and he is tired of this sentiment which so many people from his hometown seem to

There may be no bigger name in rap music right now than Chicago's own Chance the Rapper. His third mixtape Coloring Book is now available on all major music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Soundcloud, Spotify, Tidal, etc.) and he is also the first artist EVER to break The Billboard Top 10 Albums chart with streams only. He has burst onto the scene as a "lone wolf" of sorts; refusing to sign to a record label, releasing all of his music for free, and combining rap, jazz, and gospel music more beautifully than anyone we've ever seen in the music industry. To celebrate Lil Chano's recent success let's check out his ten best songs.

Kendrick Lamar grew up in the city of Compton. Lamar’s father was a member of a gang in Chicago before they moved to Compton. His mother’s brothers had ties to the notorious gang the Compton Crips. When Lamar was eight

he history of rap has so many unforgettable legends such as Nas and Jay-Z and that is just two that are alive. What about the amazing artist that are no longer with us? Some of the great, highly known rappers are Iggy Azalea and Tupac Shakur. They both have given the world lyrics that have change lives and have given advice to some many people of youth. Tupac is the type of artist that is a big spokesperson on racism, abuse, poverty, and etc. Tupac believed in defending yourself and becoming violent to protect your people. Iggy music is very spunky and energizing in which she symbolizes excitement and having a good time. They both are very wise spoken artist who were very in touch with their fans and others. Which one was better Tupac

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.

For many years, the youth have been known for singing along to their favorite song and taking that song as whole and using it as their motto for life. It may seem that sometimes these kids do not know what is being said in the music but this shows that they do know what the lyrics are saying. According to Franklin B. Krohn and Frances L. Suazo in their article “Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip-Hop and Rap Lyrics,” many teenagers and minority groups view rappers as their spokesmen because of their ability to speak in street language and bluntly express their frustration (Krohn, 1995). Unfortunately, hip hop lyrics usually tend to talk about drugs, sex and violence leading kids to think that everything they hear is okay and that is how they have to live their life. Yet, there are artists out there who take their lyricist skills to give positive lyrics and messages in their music, but these songs are not often played in the mainstream.

Whether you love it or hate it Rap music has come to be one of the most popular, yet arguable, music genres of the past decades. Today’s rap music has changed enormously since the 1970’s. Rap music was about having fun, being able to express what youth were feeling and a way to keep youth out of trouble. Rap songs usually use explicit and demeaning lyrics, which has huge influence on the youth of today. While rappers say that they’re plainly rapping about reality. They often use violence, the use of drugs and Guns as the main tool to tell the story of their lives and show how hard it is growing up in their neighbourhood. This surely does not set any good examples for the young men and women, listening to this trash and singing along with the

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,

4. Kendrick Lamar is a hip-hop recording artist, and for the African American community he has been a huge social movement. I realized this during a pop culture class I took this semester. His new album, To Pimp A Butterfly specifically, shows his dedication to trying to bring positivity to his listeners. He recognizes that hip-hop has some responsibility for the systematic problems that the black community has faced. And according to, Music.Mic, Hip-hop could have played a huge role in the death of Michael Brown, with a New York Times obituary implying that Brown 's hip-hop aspirations somehow factored into Brown’s death.

Multi-Platinum selling rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 and died on September 13, 1996 at the young age of 25. His legacy lives on even 19 years past his death. He continues to be known as one of the best MCs (Master of Ceremonies) of all time. Tupac was born Lesane Parish Crooks, but his mother changed his name by the time he was two. Tupac was named after an Inca Emperor who fought against Spanish Settlers; Shakur was his step father’s last name (The Life and Times of An America Icon). Tupac was known for expressing his experiences as an African American coming from the ghetto; others viewed Tupac lyrics as vulgar. His mother and biological father were elite members of the Black Panthers, a radical civil right group. Unfortunately, his father was not present in his life and Tupac grew up with poor examples of male role models. Most of his life Tupac’s mother dealt with substance abuse. Growing up Tupac and his sister to constantly move and live on government support due to the impact of his mother’s substance abuse. At a young age, he was writing poetry and would read to escape from the hardships he was dealing with (The Life and Times of An America Icon). At age 12, he took free acting classes and was part of a play at the Apollo Theater for Jessie Jackson’s presidential fundraising campaign. While enrolled in a performing arts school, Tupac used his rapping and poetry talents to fit in with the other children. His talents

Before becoming famous Kendrick was writing stories as a child, he put to music some lyrics about the rough Compton streets he grew up on. He rapped under the name K Dot. Lamar didn’t just stop there the excite lyrics on his debut album, caught and had the attention of hip-hop critics. As well, with MTV naming, him the "Hottest MC" of 2012 also putting him in the company of other rappers. Who have earned the title, including Lil Wayne,

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.