The Black Identity in Kendrick Lamar's song lyrics (eBook)

Pre-University Paper from the year 2023 in the subject Musicology - Contemporary music, grade: 15 Punkte, , language: English, abstract: There is no doubting that hip hop has had a massive influence on today’s popular culture as it has risen to become the most popular music genre in the US in 2018. Hip hop can be categorized as an aspect of African American culture since it has its roots in the African American musical tradition and has been used as protest music by young African Americans in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, a lot of the most celebrated artists are African American. Many African Americans have now attained global prominence and popularity, even in other cultures. One could believe that the US has moved past its racist and slave-owning past. The claims that African Americans currently experience mass incarceration and police brutality, which are supported by data and movements like Black Lives Matter, stand in strong contrast to that. Many artists and celebrities have also become a part of this social movement and have spread aware-ness about this topic through social media to reach their range and a lot of other people.

Kendrick Lamar's third studio album, “To Pimp A Butterfly”, also addresses this situation. One song is even titled “Institutionalized” implying that Lamar is aware of the issue. Currently, Kendrick Lamar ranks among the most popular and influential hip-hop musicians. He frequently addresses interconnected social and personal concerns in his music. Particularly in the case of “To Pimp A Butterfly“, which is his album. Although there are other artists who have drawn attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, Kendrick Lamar has particularly become a symbol for this social movement.

Specific songs and lyrics from the album will be chosen and discussed in order to support or refute this concept. To prepare for this, this scientific work will first examine the black history of African Americans, institutional racism and especially elucidate the Black Lives Matter movement before giving a quick overview of Kendrick Lamar, his tight relationship to his home town of Compton, and the concept of his album “To Pimp A Butterfly“. The analysis of certain songs and phrases particularly from this album then gets more in-depth.