I think the world would be surprised by how many writers enjoy rap music. We are expected to sit high up in our ivory towers all day, buried in books and pretentiousness. But, writing and rapping are oddly similar disciplines. Both rely on clever wordplay, storytelling, and vivid imagery. Thus, I am equally excited about the release of a new album as a new book. On the night of Sunday, March 16, 2015, while I slept peacefully, wrapped in blankets like a fat baby, Kendrick Lamar released his highly anticipated sophomore album, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. After my first listen, I had the cliche rap fan reaction. I thought of an another artist. I thought of Joey BadA$$, Brooklyn born rapper. After some soul searching and reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that my comparison, while predictable, was well deserved.
By Franceska Rouzard, AFROPUNK Contributor
.
.
I was introduced to the musical stylings of BadA$$ two years ago. ProEra, his group, inspired nostalgia with their witty, gritty New York in the early 90s swag. I enjoyed him but I feared he was two- dimensional, a gimmick. However, BadA$$ proved his versatility in B4.DA.$$, a cohesive amalgamation of reggae, jazzy instrumentation, and hard core rap. There is a lot of the usual bravado. However, BadA$$ is young at 20 years old. His music holds unique significance. “I’m just another black kid caught up in the mix, trying to make dollar out of 47 cents. Yo, the shit is intense”, declares BadA$$ on No. 99, one of several journal entry-like tracks on the album. Throughout the project, he puts words to the frustration of a generation burdened with the problems of its parents and wildly misunderstood. “I’m a child of the city, son of the streets. And its just a pity, they not tough like we. Things no look pretty when we got to eat. Things get much deeper. Deeper and deepers,” llaments Chronixx, a popular reggae artist whose Jamaican roots are not unlike those of Brooklyn, on the chorus of ‘Belly of the Beast’. In college, I wrote about the flash mobs that plagued Philadelphia, New York, DC, and Chicago in the spring and summer of 2012. They were comprised of students under the age of 18, predominantly black and poor. These mobs were not random social gatherings but rather a form of protest against the gentrification that forced them out of their homes and schools, alienated them. Each mob was a retaliation against a culture that ignored their desperation. BadA$$’ music is evidence of the frustration of a generation as much as the individual artist.
.
.
Where BadA$$ articulates the burdens of a misunderstood generation, Lamar speaks for the forgotten and feared race of people. These are not exclusive. Lamar’s discogograpy is historically brutally frank. “My hair is nappy, my dick is big, my nose is round and wide. You hate me don’t you? You hate my people. Your plan is to terminate my culture”, shouts Lamar on Blacker the Berry, the second single from his latest project. To Pimp a Butterfly is unrelenting. I am tickled by the thought of the collective uncomfortable squirm it will cause when popular culture delivers it to the doorsteps in the quiet suburban communities. The album’s introduction, Wesley’s Theory, begins with serenade over a simple sample. Every nigga is a starrrrr. That is only the beginning. Lamar provides a narrative to the so called savages. “Wouldn’t you know, we been hurt? We been down before. Nigga, when our pride was low, looking at the world like where do we go? Nigga, and we hate po-po. Wanna kill us dead in thestreet, for sure. Nigga, I’m at the preacher’s door. My knees get weak and my gun might blow. But, we gonna be alright!” A bridge Lamar repeats throughout Alright, a popular track on ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. The entire record can only be described as unapologetically authentic. During a time when attentions are drawn to unjust deaths by law enforcement, Lamar explains that is only part of the narrative of those who live in destitution.
.
.
There is a trend in hip hop, a formula to be hot. As a result, many artists sound alike. However, Kendrick Lamar with, To Pimp A Butterfly and Joey BadA$$’s B4.DA.$$, swim gracefully against the popular tides. Lamar and BadA$$ sound don’t sound like each other. More significantly, they don’t sound like any other. Anyone can fake the signature Drake or Big Sean cadence. No one can fake Kendrick Lamar’s outspokenness. No one can fake Joey BadA$$’ vulnerability. They come from the same place. Not geographically. Lamar is from Compton, while BadA$$ is more New Yorker than the Statue of Liberty. But, both consider the most terrifying, crime infested places home. Both understand squalor. Thus, they have similar messages. Fuck pigs. Fuck insecurity. Fuck disrespect. Fuck death. What is most astounding is the beauty that is the result of pain and anger. That is the alchemy of much art. That is the reason the title rap artist is significant.
.
