Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"

It's a popular belief amongst hip-hop fans that after the 90's, the quality of hip-hop music has gone downhill. Within the past ten years or so, glorification of gang culture, misogyny, drugs and alcohol has been extremely present in mainstream hip-hop music. Artists such as Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, and Nas were among heavyweights from the late 80's to the mid 90's. These rappers focused on positive messages of empowerment (especially for the black community) as well as sharp critiques of American ideology. Of course, this music still existed after the mid 90's, despite not being part of the mainstream rap scene. But in 2012, Kendrick Lamar's major label debut good kid m.A.A.d. city took the music world by storm. The album is a concept record that takes place over the period of one day in the life of a 16-year old Kendrick Lamar. It vividly describes the peer pressure that many inner-city kids feel growing up around gang culture. The descriptive, emotional lyrics combined with the soulful beats and irresistible hooks have propelled "intelligent" hip-hop to be "cool" again to a certain extent. Anyone who follows hip-hop music has certainly heard of Kendrick Lamar and his impressive breakthrough album. Now, in 2015, the pressure is on Kendrick to deliver a new album as great as good kid m.A.A.d. city. Kendrick could choose to rely heavily on his catchy hooks and become a bona fide pop-star, or he could focus on his ability to skillfully rap about social issues and become something greater. On his newly released single "The Blacker the Berry", Kendrick makes as blatant social statement that proves that he is much more than a pop-star. He is a very intelligent rapper who truly cares about the message of his music. On this song, Kendrick raps aggressively over an urgent guitar-sampling beat courtesy of Boi-1da. He begins each verse by saying "I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015", but goes onto rap about how proud he is to be part of black culture. He takes many racial stereotypes but showcases them in a positive way. One subtle hypocrisy that he may be alluding to is the dissonance between his celebratory lyrics and angry vocal delivery. It is confusing at first, but in the second verse, he goes on to eloquently attack racists who look down upon his culture. His observations show that many times, it is the white-dominated American society whose judgments may keep the perpetuation of gang violence alive ("I'm irrelevant to society / at least that's what you're telling me / penitentiary would only hire me", "church me with your fake prophosizing / that I'mma be just another slave in my head.")  And on the third verse, Kendrick initially switches back to celebrating his black heritage. But at the song's end, he finally reveals why he considers himself to be a hypocrite. He violently spits "Why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street / When gang-bangin' made me kill a n---- blacker than me? Hypocrite!" Naturally, some people have been offended by these lines. Many people have misconstrued these shocking lyrics as Lamar taking the side of the predominantly white groups of Americans who have denied police brutality against minorities. But Lamar has actually been strongly advocating against brutality, and has been vocal about his support for Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and all other victims of police brutality. The overall message is that all forms of violence should not be tolerated. He makes it very clear in the second verse that the way many whites judge and treat black Americans is NOT morally correct in any circumstance. That being said, he feels that if predominantly black inner-city gangs did not kill each other, then certain white officers might not judge every other black American in such a way. Despite it's aggressive nature, I believe this song is essentially a call for peace on all parts of the spectrum. And whether or not you agree with the song's message, it's undeniable that this is the most blatantly political and thought-provoking song that mainstream hip-hop has seen in quite some time. It is also worth noting that the song does not feature a traditional, sing-along chorus like many of Kendrick's previous hits. Instead, the chorus features reggae singer Assassin rapidly firing lyrics such as "they treat me as a slave, 'cause me black / we feel a whole heap of pain 'cause we black". Both sonically and lyrically, this chorus does not sound remotely like a song you would hear on the radio on your way to work. While his previous hits were socially conscious to a degree, this song makes much more of a poignant statement, and sounds much less like a typical pop song. I truly hope that Kendrick's newfound superstar status will cause the mainstream audience to embrace music with a message. I desperately do not want his lyrical boldness and sonic experimentation to cause the mainstream hip-hop audience to turn a blind eye to his new music, because this is the type of hip-hop the world needs to hear again.





Click here to listen to "The Blacker the Berry"