Author: Max Hill

In this blog post, I just wanted to express my thoughts and revelations from listening to, reading, and analyzing Kendrick Lamar’s music. For anyone who doesn’t listen to hip-hop/rap, Kendrick is a Compton, CA-born famous rapper who is known for his incredible lyricism, flow, well produced tracks and powerful messages. Listening to his music is not an easy task, packed full of complex word play and metaphors, so I usually have to look up his lyrics and interpret (with Internet help usually) their meaning.

Anyways, what I wanted to express is the amount of current black issues and black history I have learned from listening to his music (in combination with the History of Black America class) But even before the class, I was able to learn about a perspective completely different from mine, with being able to hear emotional and articulate expressions that had me reflect on issues regarding America and blacks. You could say that I became more socially aware through the help of Kendrick Lamar’s music, and along with the help of this class. I wish I could do some in depth discussion of his songs, but I believe it would be too long a post.

In conclusion, I just think it is cool how powerfully music can influence social, political, economic and cultural views and thoughts in respect to black history and issues, and am curious if anyone has had a similar experience with a black artist?

Note: I am not saying other rappers/artists don’t express similar ideas as Kendrick, he is just one in particular who has influenced me more than others (due to his sound, flow, etc.)

http://http://https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/rzvbwe/the-narrative-guide-to-kendrick-lamars-to-pimp-a-butterfly-2015

Here is an article link analyzing one of his albums for those curious about his music.

 

I recently read an article regarding an investigation involving the FBI and the black lives matter movement. Specifically, two members of the New Black Panther Party, a peaceful and non-violent organization, were accused of plotting to plant bombs and kill the Ferguson police chief and the county prosecutor. The event took place six months into Trumps’ administration. A court case took place and the defense claimed to not have plotted any such thing. Also, the evidence towards the defense seemed to be “fiction” and “irresponsible.” I won’t get into the rest of the details of the article but would like to discuss the implications of the whole event. The problem here seems to be that the ability for (peaceful) protesting is beginning to be challenged. As we discussed in class, there were different views back in the civil rights era as to how to deal with discrimination and racism. (I think) It is now commonly believed that peaceful protesting is a viable solution. However, if claims are made against these protesters, then how can there be the freedom to stand up for injustices? Even if the case against the two men turned out to be true, it is a deviation from the actual movement and can’t automatically be associated with it. “Black identity extremism” shouldn’t describe what organizations such as the NBBP and Black Lives Matter movement. Also, law enforcement can’t be the first ones to take action, of course, unless there is good evidence. This didn’t seem to be the case, and cases like these can either silence people more or create more violence. I can’t say anything about the innocence of this case, but I believe that assuming violence with peaceful movements does create problems.

Professor Shakes gave an interesting and eye opening lecture this past Thursday. I had seen Black Panther before and knew some of the themes that entailed from the movie, but not to the extent that she had shared. I have not seen Luke Cage so I will keep my focus on Black Panther. I would first like to mention how I thought it was interesting to see how the movie was made by white men, but then black writers took over the story. This changed the way the character and story looked, in order to fit themes regarding past and current issues.

In the movie, Shakes’ describes different characters desribing different ideas and peoples. King T’challa and Shuri  represented the peaceful abolitionist movement for freedom, Killmonger representing the “monster that imperlism and racism created, and Klaw representing the “colonist desire for domination.” After hearing the representations of each of these characters I began to understand why the movie was portrayed the way it was. I believe it was to show previous conflict and oppresion and how to deal with the problem at hand. This movie showed there are different ways of approaching the same issue. Professor Shakes mentioned how some audience wanted T’challa to have a Killmonger mindset. However, the authors took a different turn from that idea.

What this lecture showed me was how popular culture, such as a superhero film, can portray serious issues and the potential solutions to these issues.