This week was all about Drake vs. Meek Mill, but while everyone was trying to decide whether to side with "Back To Back" (which, let's face it, most probably have) or "Wanna Know," Kendrick Lamar was out making moves. We're not going to go deep into why you should like K-Dot, but it's worth noting that through a week of "Drake this" and "Meek Mill that," there was a rapper making history without making headlines.
The thing with Kendrick Lamar is that his music actually means something. Now, I realize what I just said is like a catchphrase used by die-hard Justin Bieber fans worldwide, but this is one of the few times it's actually reasonable to say, "Like, oh my god, his music means so much more than just music." The video above highlights this; after witnessing what they believed to be the wrongful arrest of a 14-year-old, protestors started chanting the chorus of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," which features a music video highlighting the dynamics between racial inequality and the police.
You know why this is insane? It's not because it's a bunch of people chanting a dude's lyrics because they're catchy or because it makes them feel a certain emotion. It's because these are protestors, chanting choice words for the purpose of making a stance to authority. It's one thing to yell out lyrics because you like them or because you want to support an artist--it's a different ball game when you choose to use lyrics over other meaningful words that could be used in a protest. In a moment where you declare your voice to be heard, it means a lot when you use an artist's voice to defend your own.
What other rapper is having their lyrics chanted during protests? When's the last time you heard protestors chanting words from 2 Chainz or Drake? I'm not saying those guys can't do it, but it's not like they have. What protest would entitle a large group to chant variations of "Truuuu?" Or maybe marching through city streets, chanting, "I was runnin' through the six with my woes," sounds more reasonable.
This isn't a knock on any of those guys, but a highlight of how powerful one rapper's song was. Not only is "Alright" a banger, it has an obvious and significant effect on the world outside of hip-hop. You know, the real one.
It's the closest thing to a crime to compare anyone to Tupac, but Kendrick Lamar isn't far behind. Without going off and shifting this entire article's topic, what set Tupac Shakur historically apart from his peers was the tremendous impact he had on his community and the world around him. On a smaller scale, Tupac's words were like gospel, perfectly enveloping a time period where more residents of Los Angeles paid greater attention to police brutality and racial inequality. Kendrick Lamar has the potential to play a similar role today--it looks like he's already started.
