Kendrick Lamar Is Wrong - Complex

[The_King_of_Everything]

http://www.complex.com/music/2015/01/kendrick-lamar-is-wrong

Last week you may have read bits (or all) of a Billboard cover story in which Kendrick Lamar, responding to a question about the recent police murders of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, said that the tragedies in Ferguson and Staten Island should never have happened but "when we don’t have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us?" For good measure, Lamar also briefly defended hip-hop pariah Iggy Azalea, who "God wants" here to "do her thing," said thing including the ridicule of hip-hop's forebears and founding concerns.

Suddenly we find the most radical poet of a generation defending a blonde culture vulture; and for his minimal input in this one regard, Kendrick Lamar has earned our digital wrath.

This earliest stretch of 2015 is a tender sort of aftershock. Following a year of marathon tragedy and flagrant unaccountability of the U.S. justice system, no one's tryna hear an eloquent, compassionate rapper endorsing the politics of respectability. Despite society-at-large, hip-hop has long proven a refuge from such concern-trolling about sagging and whatnot. If you think 2014 was a dispiriting year, consider that in 1989, at Public Enemy's zenith, a New York jury convicted five black men and then incarcerated them for 6-13 years, for felonies they didn't commit. Blackness was disastrous in 1989. Blackness is disastrous today. Justice is an enticing myth.

Hip-hop has always had a thing or two to say, or shout, about justice and other matters. KRS-One is hip-hop's irrepressible superego, and Chuck D is its General Washington. 2Pac was a radical entertainer, though not a revolutionary in the full-time, professional sense. Judging by his music and interviews, he was well-read but not a rigorous academic. He was, however, a full-time Negro. He was as qualified to scream "fukk the police" as I am today, as some random blogger who happens to be black and justifiably aggrieved by the events of last year (or any given year, really). As much as critics love to condescend that rappers are rarely equipped to speak on politics, I prefer the world in which rappers theorize too loosely and ramble too far rather than not at all.

Rap is a genre; hip-hop is the culture. It's that latter, more robust context in which rappers' political priorities fascinate us, as ambassadorial representations rather than mere celebrity trivia. Ted Nugent's reactionary screeds and Randian lifestyle are a matter of self, whereas 2Pac's declarations are, to fans, restatement's of hip-hop's values and mission.

Schisms between art and politics predate hip-hop. Much has been made of Migos' ironic triumph over the Beatles' legacy, though it bears remembering that John Lennon, not unlike 2Pac, was a troublesome, utopian socialist and proud Brit who nonetheless antagonized Western governments via song, rhetoric, and action. (Your move, Quavo.) From the Beatles' break-up in 1970 to his death in 1980, Lennon was irreverent, optimistic, and, arguably, misguided.

Within fanbases, not all politics are welcome, and not all declarations are the genre's gospel truth. For every John Lennon, there's a Ted Nugent. There is 2Pac, and then there is Tupac Shakur. And now there is Kendrick Lamar, who apparently believes that police brutality and system-wide injustice are rather a matter of black people learning to love themselves, protests and rallies be damned. Kendrick is wrong, and that's a shame.

Insomuch as this angst is particular to hip-hop, music critic dream hampton has long warned fans that rappers—yes, your favorite rappers, even—will likely disappoint you when they start talking politics. This isn't always the case, of course—2Pac is one inspiring example, and lately Kanye rouses the rabble like none other. dream's advisory does come to mind, however, as Lupe Fiascocrashes through another mirror. Worse yet, T.I. has halted our regard with his repeated, self-interested defenses of IggyAzalea, who is signed to Atlantic Records via Tip's Grand Hustle imprint.

A musician's two cents is as chipped and rusted as everyone else's: take it or leave it. Throughout the '90s and early '00s, dream hampton spent a career demanding respect and spiritual renewal of rappers, especially men, while tempering her expectations of people who've dedicated their mindshare to music rather than advocacy, academia, criticism, or the study of blackness otherwise.

There's narcissism at play when fans or critics overlook that education and privilege are often what separate them from the subjects of their thinkpieces. Lamar was an ace student at Centennial High School in Compton, so give him that much credit; no more, no less.

In any case, it's a full-time feat to reconcile these divergent perspectives on the world: the figurative static between fans, musicians, and critics. dream, for one, works frequently with Jay Z, whose presence is subversive in some ways, but whose politics are "hyper-capitalist" (her words) and gruesomely, well, American. The official, textbook history of the United States is vicious lies and dangerous misdirection; we are born into it, raised to recite it, and quizzed to death regarding the many dubious "facts" of the nation's past and present. Kendrick Lamar is but another casualty.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

cacs tryna troll.



Unless Big Business wrote this, i'm not reading.

 

[The_King_of_Everything]

cacs tryna troll.



Unless Big Business wrote this, i'm not reading.

Idk breh they make a lot of good points

 

[Mac Casper]

Co-Sign, this is undeniable - they perfectly defined his position and provided parallels for you to compare

it's more of that "hey guys . . don't vote" kind of attitude

 

[prophecypro]

To be fair, its always t the most whitest hipster blogs that call out problematic stuff people say, on some "We know more about racial sensitivity than you" shyt (see Gawker who have built a whole network on gotcha journalism) ...I just didn't think CaCplex would do it, figured they would be the ones getting called out like Vice or something.

Then again its always weird when a predominantly hipster publication (code for mostly white and yes I am aware this was probably a black writer so you can also say black writers from a different background perspective ) is still going off on anyone about their own perspective on issues that affect their race, their community and their own perspective of the politics within them

This kind of thinking that rappers did pre-internet was not that uncommon and sure a Vibe or Source may call them out on it, but not to the level it is now with the social media. The article kind of gets at that without more specific examples but I can totally imagine things we use to laugh or just nod at it on some would get questioned a whole lot more now ( NWA saying fukk voting or Eazy deciding to go to the white house cause he could, shyt was funny then and there was criticism but I think the concern would be elevated in a social media age. Also I could totally see a week long bunch of articles and online arguments over 2pac's line on Only God could Judge Me Now: "They say its the white man I should fear but its my own kind doing all the killing here")

Bottom line, yeah rappers are gonna have opinions we don't agree with and we probably are armed with more info than them given their just having street conversation type stuff. But its for that reason I also don't think we need to label them c00ns or think that its more problematic or influential in an adverse way if they do. We can just respectfully agree to disagree with them and keep it moving

 

[JXNZ]

Kendrick is neither wrong nor right, its just his take on the situation. Ferguson is my neighborhood and I can tell you for a fact that the self hate is very real out here. Since the Mike Brown situation there has been at least 20 homocides(& thats being optimistic), but nobody marched or protested about it. But you better believe that nikkas was camped out for them Jays tho.

This article basically calls Kendricks point invalid because he's an entertainer & only has a high school education, but the writer swears that he wasnt being condescending. Kendrick Lamar can quadruple this guys salary in one night, so who's really the "smart" one here? People need to realize that education & money does not equal power, but Correct & true information equals power. People also underestimate the power & influence of the entertainer. Kanye taught a whole generation how to dress. He made it "cool" for us to actually wear clothes that fit. With that being said; Kdot has done more to shift the negro paradigm in a positive direction than the majority of the people bashing him just by making projects like section 80, GKMC, & "i".

Situations like Mike Brown will continue to happen until we start to love & respect ourselves. Have you ever seen a black cop kill an unarmed white person on the news? No? Me niether. & the reason is because white people wouldntt stand for it. Meanwhile, we use eachother for target practice, sell drugs to eachother, & attempt to "turn up" 24/7 & call it being "real". Most african-americans glorify & value all the wrong things. We love to revel in gossip, drugs, materialism, & "ratchetness" until a "blonde" comes in & monetizes the situation. But theyre the culture vulture?

Protesting and looting wont change anything at this point. We have to change our state of mind for the better. As within, As without. As above, So below, but yall dont hear me tho.

 

[John Hull]

Most african-americans glorify & value all the wrong things. We love to revel in gossip, drugs, materialism, & "ratchetness" until a "blonde" comes in & monetizes the situation. But theyre the culture vulture?

Everybody glorifies those things you listed. The difference is, we get stereo-typed for it. What's more "ratchet" than Jersey Shore? Last time I checked Perez Hilton was a middle aged hispanic dude.

The Iggy overkill is kind of annoying, but that's only cause she's wack and deserves it. She is literally Vanilla Ice 2.0 with butt pads. Half the people defending her probly never even heard her album, but I guarantee if they did they would stfu cuz ole girl is waaack.

Plus I'm skept on just how much T.I is actually profiting off this bytch, real bosses lurk in the shadows on some Jimmy Iovine, Jerry Heller steez, they don't tap-dance like that. nikka is a pawn imho.

Protesting and looting wont change anything at this point. We have to change our state of mind for the better. As within, As without. As above, So below, but yall dont hear me tho.

Protesting will change something, but we need to be more organized, and work from a position of strength and stop trying to slut shame our oppressors for pity points. Hands Up, and I Can't Breathe are cool #Hashtag movements, but as protest goes they are merely memes to be exploited. Right idea, wrong delivery.

Plus I don't wanna hear no blacks yapping about "looting" either. that's a dog-whistle for racists to once again stereo-type us as lowlifes, but cacs riot over stupid shyt like soccer games, and pumpkin festivals. It really goes back to the fact that in a racist mind white folks property > black lives.

 

[George's Dilemma]

Most african-americans glorify & value all the wrong things. We love to revel in gossip, drugs, materialism, & "ratchetness" until a "blonde" comes in & monetizes the situation. But theyre the culture vulture?

Protesting and looting wont change anything at this point. We have to change our state of mind for the better. As within, As without. As above, So below, but yall dont hear me tho.

For the most part I agree with your post, except the bolded. You're living in a vacuum if you believe most Blacks glorify and value all the wrong things. That's a gross generalization, and ironically while your post touched on self hatred, I fear you may be a little tainted with the self hate yourself after reading the bolded. To be fair, I could be misreading you, and that's just you expressing your frustrration.

The rest of your post, I'm on the same page with you. There definately needs to be some deep soul searching and reflection from within certain Black communities. We're often way too tolerant with our own. It reminds me of the intro to Little Ghetto Boy, with the movie sample and one Brother talking about getting rid of the pimps, pushers, drug dealers, prostitution, etc.., and then RBX yells into the mic, "N!gga is you crazy?!?!?!?!?!" That's an apt illustration of just one of the problems at hand.

edit post: guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite myself too, with a picture of Eiht and Freeway as my avy.

 

[Ronnie Lott]

Kendrick is neither wrong nor right, its just his take on the situation. Ferguson is my neighborhood and I can tell you for a fact that the self hate is very real out here. Since the Mike Brown situation there has been at least 20 homocides(& thats being optimistic), but nobody marched or protested about it. But you better believe that nikkas was camped out for them Jays tho.

This article basically calls Kendricks point invalid because he's an entertainer & only has a high school education, but the writer swears that he wasnt being condescending. Kendrick Lamar can quadruple this guys salary in one night, so who's really the "smart" one here? People need to realize that education & money does not equal power, but Correct & true information equals power. People also underestimate the power & influence of the entertainer. Kanye taught a whole generation how to dress. He made it "cool" for us to actually wear clothes that fit. With that being said; Kdot has done more to shift the negro paradigm in a positive direction than the majority of the people bashing him just by making projects like section 80, GKMC, & "i".

Situations like Mike Brown will continue to happen until we start to love & respect ourselves. Have you ever seen a black cop kill an unarmed white person on the news? No? Me niether. & the reason is because white people wouldntt stand for it. Meanwhile, we use eachother for target practice, sell drugs to eachother, & attempt to "turn up" 24/7 & call it being "real". Most african-americans glorify & value all the wrong things. We love to revel in gossip, drugs, materialism, & "ratchetness" until a "blonde" comes in & monetizes the situation. But theyre the culture vulture?

Protesting and looting wont change anything at this point. We have to change our state of mind for the better. As within, As without. As above, So below, but yall dont hear me tho.

Get all the way the fukk outta here with this bullshyt

 

[Nuuko]

kendrick is right


but the dude who wrote this article usually never writes about music, he always talk about how artists shouldn't have opinions, hes corny.


and he said it again in that article: "

"he cant have an opinion cause he only went to high school" "cause he is just an artist"

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

You asked a rapper who has probably never taken serious academic inquiry into a sociological issue about a prescient condition of people in his perceived community and you're...shocked?

Let these dudes make music.

The only reason people are mad at Kendrick is because they have no one else to look up to or listen to to gain insight from.

 

[MaNu Minu]

You asked a rapper who has probably never taken serious academic inquiry into a sociological issue about a prescient condition of people in his perceived community and you're...shocked?

.

tbh he was probably talking about the experience he had in the hood. In Compton, people would agree that a lot of persons don't have any self respect. He was probably talking about his environment.

 

[Mike Otherz]

Kendrick is neither wrong nor right, its just his take on the situation. Ferguson is my neighborhood and I can tell you for a fact that the self hate is very real out here. Since the Mike Brown situation there has been at least 20 homocides(& thats being optimistic), but nobody marched or protested about it. But you better believe that nikkas was camped out for them Jays tho.

This article basically calls Kendricks point invalid because he's an entertainer & only has a high school education, but the writer swears that he wasnt being condescending. Kendrick Lamar can quadruple this guys salary in one night, so who's really the "smart" one here? People need to realize that education & money does not equal power, but Correct & true information equals power. People also underestimate the power & influence of the entertainer. Kanye taught a whole generation how to dress. He made it "cool" for us to actually wear clothes that fit. With that being said; Kdot has done more to shift the negro paradigm in a positive direction than the majority of the people bashing him just by making projects like section 80, GKMC, & "i".

Situations like Mike Brown will continue to happen until we start to love & respect ourselves. Have you ever seen a black cop kill an unarmed white person on the news? No? Me niether. & the reason is because white people wouldntt stand for it. Meanwhile, we use eachother for target practice, sell drugs to eachother, & attempt to "turn up" 24/7 & call it being "real". Most african-americans glorify & value all the wrong things. We love to revel in gossip, drugs, materialism, & "ratchetness" until a "blonde" comes in & monetizes the situation. But theyre the culture vulture?

Protesting and looting wont change anything at this point. We have to change our state of mind for the better. As within, As without. As above, So below, but yall dont hear me tho.

yeah that was strange. dude accuses academics/critics of being condescending to rappers, then proceeds to be condescending himself. rappers are not above criticism, but a lot of writers throw around their education accolades too much.

even the stuff about jay z was dumb, what he calls hyper capitalism to me is just a dude making sure he gets paid for the work he put in, which historically hasnt been the case with black people cause of racism.

 

[SunZoo]

I've typed a lot in regards to this so I won't go into extra detail, and I"m def not reading a cacplex article especially seeing how some people are already pointing out some key problems with the tone of it, but:

- The way his comment came off (the looting ect) sounded bad.

- We gotta remember we are reading what the journalist wanted to single out. There have been many a time where something will get plucked from an interview and made into a headline without the full context.

- The lead in to the excerpt had Kendrick remarking on his troubled past and run-ins with the cops and the kind of mentality that would have one gravitate toward destructive shyt... We don't get to read what was said between recounting his personal experiences and being asked about Mike Brown, but I would assume that he was relating the circumstances to his own.

- When he said what he said, I don't think he was addressing the entire black populace, but the kids who stood in his place at one point who clearly didn't value themselves enough due to their upbringing. Saying that starting at home and from "within" and getting right with how we see ourselves could prevent avoidable situations like Tamir Rice is something I agree with wholeheartedly. This doesn't negate racism, prejudice or disproportionate sentencing within the justice (if you can call it that) system but it is something that is far more within our control than the media, the cops or white peoples perceptions. I would think that should be a priority above all else in any legitimate effort to challenge white supremacy in a way that is sustainable.

 

[JXNZ]

In no way am I dismissing MB's murder as okay. However, only a fool deals in absoloutes. MB seemed to have had a chip on his shoulder per the surveillance video from the corner store. Did he strong arm the cigarello's? I dont know. But ask yourself, Why was he walkin in the middle of the street anyway? That neighborhood clearly has sidewalks. I know that somebody has experienced driving home from work or whatever and then all of a sudden u gotta stop to allow nikkas to move out the middle of the street & then they mean mug u, like u did somethin wrong. I think that the MB situation was a case of typical nikka shvt Vs. Typical Rascist shvt. But in this case, the rascist happened to be protected by the system of white supremacy.

Do I have a bit of self hate? Maybe, I dont know. I just hate the fact that my people refuse to unite and love one another regardless of complexion, sexual orientation, material assests, preferred drugs of choice, & the blocks that they grew up on. Look at the popular black music & what it represents. Look at the TV shows we watch. Look at the type of women we put on a pedestal. Scroll down your facebook timeline & look at all the messages thats out there. Lite skin vs Darkskin & all this other bullshvt. We being programmed and dont even know it. Yes, whites do they same thing, but here's the catch; black people only make up about 14% of the USA & Only 6% of that is black males. While the white "race" makes up about 72% of the USA making them the overwhelming majority and thus giving them control.

I quoted "race" because thats another illusion that they put infront of us and we dont even realize it. Genetically all humans are the same. Its a scientific fact that all people originated from black pigmented people. there is no difference between an african albino & a caucasion american. But they wont tell u that. The truth is that we're all slaves to this system. We need to open our minds and live in our purpose, thats the key to freedom. When we finally wake up, everything will change. The system has no love for either side only for Money & Power. They do white people even worse if u really look at it. Just think, Slaves had the right to vote before the white woman did. Bottom line, is we all need to unplug and love one another regardless of color or creed, because theres a big game being played here and we're all pawns until we remove ourselves from the board.

Just look at the subconscious effect that the word "black people" & "white people" has on the physce. I dont wanna keep rantin but I just wanted to respnd to the homies that had an intelligent rebuttle... Its all a game tho people. We gotta wake up.