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THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY
THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR Over the course of the century, the line between art and politics has become significantly blurred despite their apparent differences. Art has historically been seen as a tool to express human creativity and emotion, while politics has been seen as cold, rigid, and authoritarian. Never would humanity have expected politics to coincide with creativity or art in the way it does today. Artists are the new critics of our society.1 The complexity of our developing society requires creative solutions– new perspectives that see past the situation at hand and are capable of launching communities beyond their presumed capabilities.
1 West, Cornel. “The New Cultural Politics of Difference.” October 53 (1990): 93–109. https://doi.org/10.2307/778917. Whether it is creating technological advancements, being the driving force behind social movements, or inspiring millions of people, artists are the foundation of the future. Kendrick Lamar is a prime modern-day example of the influence an artist has on politics and society. Without art, there is no society. Kendrick Lamar’s masterful use of visual elements in his music videos supports his desire to push political messages to society. Through his choice of visuals and work as a creative director for his music videos, he meticulously constructs narratives and opens up a deconstructive conversation on American social justice, systemic racism, police brutality, representation of black individuals and communities in the media, gang violence, substance abuse, and much more. He recognizes the origins of rap as a controversial topic– mainly depicting scenes of drugs, sexual objectification, and violence, and transcends rap history past these harmful representations to create a more constructive and positive platform within the rap community. Kate Conrad, Dr. Travis L. Dixon, and Dr. Yuanyuan Zhang categorized and discussed three main themes in rap music videos in the late 90s and early 2000s; controversial rap themes, gender portrayals, and skin tone distortion.2
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2 Conrad, Kate, Travis L. Dixon, and Yuanyuan Zhang. 2009. “Controversial Rap Themes, Gender Portrayals and Skin Tone Distortion: A Content Analysis of Rap Music Videos.” Taylor & Francis Online.
Their research refers to “controversial rap themes” as the primary focus on gangs, violence, drug dealing, and the over-sexualization of women. They argue that the “social order” fostered within rap videos birthed the idea that to gain material and sexual wealth, one needed to follow the path portrayed in these videos and indulge in these themes. Nonetheless, the main argument of this article (rap is controversial and harmful), is outdated as rap is synonymous with popular culture, therefore, the themes and genre seen within rap music change with society. This, however, suggests that rap has fundamentally shifted its focus and changed its imagery.
“ALRIGHT” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 JUNE 2015
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THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR The music video for the track “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar was released on June 30, 2015, on YouTube and various streaming platforms. The video begins with different scenes of Los Angeles, California, (Oakland and Treasure Island). As the scenes flash across the scene we hear Kendrick screaming. The camera is looking down at a man handcuffed spitting out a liquid to the camera. On his side, another man is aggressively shaking money at the camera, and in the background, we see a car on fire. As the music begins we see Kendrick flying overhead streets of a neighborhood and across the sky and kids chasing after him. Another scene cuts in and we see Kendrick and other men while rapping in a moving car. As the camera pans out, it reveals the car is being carried by four white cops armed and in uniform. Throughout the music video, there are scenes of cars doing donuts and throwing cash out the window, people break dancing. As Kendrick flies through the city and people parade behind him, he lands on top of a street lamp. A cop car makes its way to the scene and gets out of the car, looks up, and points a finger gun at Kendrick. A loud bang plays and we see Kendrick slowly falling down the sky. He begins to narrate a poem.
FO SHO.” “ALRIGHT” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 JUNE 2015
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“I REMEMBER YOU December Lookbook .032 WAS CONFLICTED. MISUSING YOUR INFLUENCE. SOMETIMES I DID THE SAME. ABUSING MY POWER, FULL OF RESENTMENT. RESENTMENT THAT TURNED INTO A DEEP DEPRESSION. FOUND MYSELF SCREAMING IN A HOTEL ROOM. I DIDN’T WANNA SELF DESTRUCT. THE EVILS OF LUCY WAS ALL AROUND ME. SO I WENT RUNNING FOR ANSWERS UNTIL I CAME HOME. BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP SURVIVOR’S GUILT. GOING BACK AND FORTH TRYING TO CONVINCE MYSELF THE STRIPES I EARNED, OR MAYBE HOW A-1 MY FOUNDATION WAS, BUT WHILE MY LOVED ONES WAS FIGHTING THE CONTINUOUS WAR BACK IN THE CITY, I WAS ENTERING A NEW ONE. A WAR THAT WAS BASED ON APARTHEID AND DISCRIMINATION MADE ME WANNA GO BACK TO THE CITY TO TELL THE HOMIES WHAT I LEARNED. THE WORD WAS RESPECT. JUST BECAUSE YOU WORE A DIFFERENTGANG COLOR THAN MINE’S DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T RESPECT YOU AS A BLACK MAN. FORGETTING ALL THE PAIN AND HURT WE CAUSED EACH OTHER IN THESE STREETS. IF I RESPECT YOU, WE UNIFY AND STOP THE ENEMY FROM KILLING US. BUT I DON’T KNOW, I’M NO MORTAL MAN, MAYBE I’M JUST ANOTHER N---A” - MORTAL MAN, KENDRICK LAMAR
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“ALRIGHT” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 JUNE 2015
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“ALRIGHT” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 JUNE 2015
12 “I’M AT THE PREACH - ER’S DOOR, MY KNEES GETTIN’ WEAK AND MY GUN MIGHT BLOW BUT BE AL RIGHT.” WE GON’
looks up, and points a finger gun at Kendrick. A loud bang plays and we see Kendrick slowly falling down the sky. He begins to narrate a poem. When he hits the ground, the camera closes in on his face. He then opens his eyes, glances at the camera, and smirks. These images of gangs, brute force, violence, money, and women seem to align with the controversial rap themes, yet, Kendrick places these in his videos with intention. This is not a form of degradation, but empowerment. Amidst the flashing images and fastpaced video, the hook of the song repeats “we ‘gon be alright!” As if he were assuring his audience and his community that despite it all, in the end, everything will turn out okay. Kendrick was successful as an artist in his desire to use his platform to empower and bring light to injustices in America. During many Black Lives Matter protests, protestors would often be heard chanting, “We ‘gon be alright!” which is the hook to ““Alright” from his album, “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City.” This grabbed the attention of many American news outlets, in which Kendrick was attacked for his influence. Geraldo Rivera from Fox News quoted one of Kendrick’s quotes from the song in which the chant was taken, stating it was inciting murder and violence against policemen and instilling distrust and hate towards officers in young viewers. Rivera goes as far as disputing that “hip-hop [or rap] has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.” Kendrick’s message about injustice and discrimination against black and brown bodies in America has finally been received by political America and simultaneously spread through the nation as it was televised and covered by more news outlets. Even though his message was misunderstood by Fox News, t the people to which it was televised saw the power
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THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR
“ALRIGHT” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 JUNE 2015
behind an artist’s influence and felt that very empowerment. This instance is proof of Kendrick’s political influence in America as an artist. That being said, Kendrick knew he needed to retaliate against the media’s misinterpretation. He was upset that they took his message as inciting murder against police officers when he was trying to highlight police brutality within his own community and American society. His response was through his track and music video, “DNA.” The video begins with Kendrick handcuffed to a table and being interrogated by an officer. He leans in and asks him, “you know what DNA stands for?” Kendrick sits in silence, “Dead N***a Association” the officer answers for him. In the background, we hear the audio of Geraldo Rivera quoting the line from Kendrick’s “Alright” which states, “Police Brutality with that line in the song, quote, we hate the popo, wanna kill us in the street for sure.” At the beginning of the video, Kendrick is laid back on his chair, seemingly unfazed, as the officer proceeds to aggressively rap the words of “DNA.” to Kendrick. Only when the officer states, “I know how you work, I know just who you are,” Kendrick’s composure instantly changed and he seems angered as he begins
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THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR rapping back at him. One can see in this video through Kendrick’s choice to retaliate to that specific phrase that he felt injustice in someone telling him they see him for what he is and they implying they understand how he works because of who he is. It is hard to see this interaction without considering the hundreds if not thousands of times American minorities are assumed of their character, their actions, and way of life, simply based on their race. Listening to this song, one may find it hard to see the duality within Kendrick’s song as it is only his voice. When seeing the music video he constructed, we see a clear depiction of either side arguing with one another and even agreeing on certain words as they both mouth them to one another. The beat switches and we now see Kendrick roaming the streets with flashing scenes of women in speeding cars and men with flashy chains on the street. We continue to hear more of the Fox News sample as these scenes flash on the screen, “This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years”3 (Barajas 2017). Kendrick is blatantly playing into these stereotypes placed by others, especially the news media assuming he is inciting violence instead of analyzing
3 Barajas, Joshua. “Why Kendrick Lamar’s New Album Is Preoccupied with Fox News.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 14 Apr. (retrieved April 30, 2022).) and viewing his work for his true intentions. Kendrick continues to rap and in the end, the camera pans into his face as he states “Sex, money, murder: our DNA.” Lamar directly references other works of art within his music videos to further support his mission to fight for social and racial justice whether it is classical religious paintings or photographs by American civil rights activists. Lamar is very influenced and inspired by his Christian faith and mentions it countless times in multiple tracks throughout his career. But his religious inspiration was most notable in his music video for his track “HUMBLE.”
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MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR “DNA.” 18 APRIL 2017
THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR
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“IM WILLING TO DIE FOR THIS SHIT... PUT THE BIBLE DOWN AND GO EYE FOR AN EYE FOR THIS SHIT.
“HUMBLE.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 March 2017
THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR
“HUMBLE.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 30 March 2017
with scenes of him in a priest’s robe, him recreating a scene of the last supper with him posed as Jesus, and men with their heads wrapped with rope and lit on fire which is a biblical reference to repentance. By Kendrick placing himself in these scenes he is expressing to his audience how he feels in regard to his faith. His placement, as well as his wardrobe in the video portray him as a godly figure which can presumably be how he views himself in regard to the
“HUMBLE.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR Sunday Issue 30 March 2017
world around him: untouchable. This ties back to his message of empowerment for black and brown people in America. Historically, Christianity displaces minority representation only depicts Eurocentric bodies within its art. Here, we see a table full of black men recreating the last supper as Kendrick’s interpretation.
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“ELEMENT.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR Sunday Issue 27 JUNE 2017 (LEFT)
The influence of civil rights photographer Gordon Parks is seen through the entirety of the “ELEMENT.” music video through the recreation of images and scenes captured by Parks. “ELEMENT.” is a culmination of the peace, violence, pain, and beauty seen within Kendrick’s community, or ‘element.’4 In the first shot of this video, we see a hand reaching up from a body of water as if someone is drowning. Then the shadow of a man is seen standing over the reflection of the water. This is followed by violent scenes of a gang fight, a burning house, and a handcuffed bloodied man. Among the violent scenes of a gang fight,
4 Insider, director. Hidden Meanings In Kendrick Lamar’s ‘ELEMENT’ Video, YouTube, 30 June 2017
GORDON PARKS “ELIJAH MUHAMMAD’S DAUGHTER, ETHEL SHARIFF IN CHICAGO” 1963 (RIGHT)
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Kendrick Lamar- ELEMENT., Fighting Lessons, TDE Films, Iconclast, executive producer., Untitled screencapture, June 27, 2017. a burning house, and a handcuffed bloodied man. Among the violent scenes, we see identical recreations of Gordon Park’s work including three kids standing behind a barbed-wire fence with one looking in the distance holding a gun, a group of black nuns wearing all white, a man teaching a young boy how to fight, and more. As the video and track progress, Kendrick mentions troubling moments of his childhood, in turn, the screen shows a child looking down at himself as heavy rain pours over him. The next scene quickly changes to Kendrick in the same position as as the child. Here we see more of Kendrick’s faith as water is used as a form of spiritual cleansing in baptism. This scene serves as a representation of his purity as a child, although, the first scene with the hand drowning brings a question to the condition of his environment in his childhood: was he drowning? The video continues to depict numerous visuals:
“ELEMENT.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 27 JUNE 2017
a close-up of two black men’s hands handcuffed to one another, black nuns wearing all white looking down, men piled on top of a car throwing up gang signs, a man being submerged underwater, and a boy running in the dark with flashing red and blue lights behind him. Within the video, there is a consistent back and forth between violence and peace. Kendrick dives deeper
“ELEMENT.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 27 JUNE 2017
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Muhammad Ali with a young fan. Miami. 1966. Gordon Parks, courtesy of The Gordon Parks Foundation into this imagery and he is seen amongst a gang directing to a group off-screen that he is “willing to die for this shit… I’ll take your fuckin’ life for this shit.” Kendrick is then seen standing above a man on the ground menacingly, which is quickly cut to a scene of a The father is on his knees, level with his son, and the son is standing in front of him with his fists up in a fighting stance. The father repeatedly taps himself in the cheek and grabs the son’s arm, signaling him to punch him there. This is yet another moment
THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR
Kendrick Lamar- ELEMENT., Child Holding Gun, TDE Films, Iconclast, executive producer., Untitled screencapture, June 27, 2017.
captured by photographer Park and translated by Lamar, however, it seems like a memory many young black and brown boys face; including Kendrick Lamar. With the scenes of the children holding up guns and being taught how to fight amongst grown men in the gangs, men being beaten and running from flashing lights, Kendrick states “They won’t take me out my element…” Kendrick is purposefully contradicting his words with his imagery and playing into these “controversial themes” of rap and stereotypes. The “they” he is referring to in his lyrics are the people that place these stereotypes into minority communities in America: dangerous, gang-ridden, and inherently violent. Kendrick claims all of these scenes are a part of his “element” and who he is fundamental, playing onto that very ideology placed by his counterparts. Seeing as we live in a country where minorities have fought so hard to live freely, yet it is hard to escape these stereotypes placed against a group. Kendrick almost seems to retaliate by saying he might as well play into it fully and do it his own way: “If I gotta slap a… Imma make it look sexy.” Kendrick’s choice to use works by Gordon Park was
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extremely beneficial to his ultimate goal as an artist. Gordon Parks is recognized for “fighting prejudice through his [art]work during the civil rights era” (Insider 2017). Parks was a pioneer in the blaxploitation genre in film which some viewed as perpetuating racial stereotypes. However, others viewed it as a form of black empowerment. That controversy mirrors Kendrick and the themes in his music video, ultimately revealing his true intention with his work– empowering his community.
Gordon Parks, Untitled, Alabama, 1956., New York and Alison Jacques Gallery, London © The Gordon Parks Foundation
- GORDON PARKS, 1999
THE REVOLUTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY December Lookbook .032 THROUGH ART: A FOCUS ON KENDRICK LAMAR
Kendrick Lamar carefully curates and creates his music videos to voice his opinion to society. His work as an artist is him critiquing the injustices he sees within his life and the life of those around him whether it is his community or America as a society. Whether it is empowering minorities across America, being the voice to social justice movements, or representing his community back home, he is deliberate and successful in his role as an artist. In 2017 Lamar was recognized for his influence and won numerous Grammy titles for his newest album release, DAMN., including best rap album, best rap song, best rap performance , as well as being the first nonclassical or jazz album to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for music.5 All his success is a product of him utilizing his platform as an artist to address American issues with politics, inequality, and injustice.
5 Bauer, Patricia, and Michael Ray. 2022. “Kendrick Lamar | Biography, Albums, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
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“ELEMENT.” MUSIC VIDEO BY KENDRICK LAMAR 27 JUNE 2017
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GORDON PARKS
Parks, Gordon., Self Portrait, 1941, Gelatin Silver Print, 20 x 16 in., Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon ParksFoundation.
