#also my condolences to your fave popular artist who at best will ever be number 2

[freightertonowhere]

ok I know the common thing said about kendrick lamar (especially on this site) is that he's a generational hater. sure that’s true, but his legacy should be way more than that. kendrick lamar is the greatest storyteller and possibly the greatest Artist of our generation.

yeah yeah that's a big statement. but no one in pop culture is doing it like him. it's not even close. people often say that he's the only rapper to win a Pulitzer, but really he's the only artist in ANY non-classical genre to win it. and it's so deserved!

his discography feels like an ongoing novel with a consistent core theme: navigating the duality of human nature while searching for salvation (which assumes different meanings and forms across each album). and in this novelistic discography, kendrick has the classic character flaw of pride. at best, this trait allows him to pursue ambitious creative endeavors, and at worst, it fuels a self-destructive savior complex. the dualities he navigates range from overt good/evil war/peace dichotomies to subtextual competing motivations

along the way, he addresses complex topics of institutional racism, survivors guilt, generational trauma, self esteem, and much more- all while making bangers and talking his shit. he strikes a complicated balance of addressing these issues without seeming too preachy because he filters the sociopolitical thought the personal. any commentary is delicately woven into his character and his search for salvation. you get the sense that he's absorbing the world around him with eyes wide open, even if you don't fully agree with his conclusions or how he conveys what he sees

and gnx represents an interesting point in the novel of his discography where he DID finally find salvation- in himself and his pen- and unflinchingly declared 'I deserve it all.' from a narrative perspective, I wonder if the core theme will shift moving forward as his salvation brings him dangerously close to his self-described weaknesses, or if the lessons he’s learned along the way will lead him elsewhere

other point's I can't figure out how to integrate into this essay:

we often view vulnerability in songwriting as telling a really personal and often difficult story, which kendrick does but then takes a step further. he's not afraid to show the worst parts of himself or use his own hypocrisy as a muse. it's really hard to apply modern social media-driven morality tests to him bc he'll often get to the point first

his fans try to decode his his art like he’s the zodiac killer, but the reason they feel like there’s more than meets the eye is because there is. he DOES use layers of subtle storytelling and imagery to convey an idea

people can and do interpret his work in many ways and still be correct because great art is subjective and we process it individually. that’s why scholars can analyze a great novel or composition for a century

he’s very very good at rapping. like that halftime performance was not normal

tldr: if you're just finding out about kendrick through the beef then please go check out his music! you're in for some great generational art!