Kendrick rips into the second verse with lines like, “I got the world’s attention…so I’mma (sic) say somethin’ that’s vital and critical for survival…” illustrating his intention to bring a political consciousness to his rap lyrics. Kendrick ultimately highlights the ignorance in not only highlighting the trivial nature of racial lines but he also points out the home-grown nihilistic side-effects of fighting over space. He eloquently moves from the “racial colors” that affect us onto the gang colors that continuously affect our own communities while suggesting that we need to overcome both. The politics of rap lyrics have taken a beating for years. This is a shining example of the positive.

Since hip hop music has seemed to move beyond a creative art form into speaking for the possibilities of black identities, a song like this is here at a most critical time. Teaching people about “life in the ghetto” is more than talking about violent experiences of crime and money. Music should speak on not only life in the ghetto but on how to grow up and realize the traps of the institutionalized surrounding that the ghetto perpetuates. Kendrick is speaking on this through a track like “Complexion”. He is illustrating a story that is beyond a person standing on the corner slanging dope. He is “preaching” about causes, he is speaking on the life plight of black culture. This is needed and appreciated.

Simply put, the intrinsic allegory Lamar spits on “Complexion” is indeed complex in its assertion about complexion. Whether it is about the white or black thing, or the internal rife between light-skinned and dark-skinned African Americans, or about the perpetual battle between gangs, Kendrick once again exposed a vulnerability within our collective urban mood while also suggesting a direction for a utopian collectiveness. And he does this all through his language – the language of hip-hop music. It goes to show that even his filler tracks (which are not the least bit fillers) on To Pimp a Butterfly are not too complex to be put into context.

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The post The Politics of Rap Lyrics – Part III appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.

No generation has ever come as close to associating itself with an art form as the hip hop generation has. Hip hop has split classes, ages, and colors all equally. As much as hip hop has provided a platform for critical self reflection, it has spent many days dividing our culture. Ironically, this is what Willie Lynch articulated through his infamous “The Making of a Slave” speech. Kanye West was right in suggesting that black culture and the individuals within are indeed new slaves. However Kendrick Lamar, choosing the route of exposing and providing a model for improvement, goes beyond simply narrating a flaw in our culture. His track, “Complexion” strives to break through the barriers that presently exist not only in greater society but that have perpetuated their insidious ways into black culture.

Through hip hop we feel the manifestation of the divide and conquer mentality. The divide between male vs. female, between young vs. old, and between dark skinned vs. light skinned. All voiced through the capacitating grip of white supremacy that is subconsciously voiced through the innocuous echoes of our music. The critical acclaim of the album TPAB is warranted. But on a deeper note, listening to the lyrics on the album, and in specific tracks like “Complexion” reveals the true travesty that our “democratic” society has fostered. Maybe I am overstepping and reading too much into Kendrick Lamar’s word. But maybe that is why he put these words on wax in the first place.

The fact that Kendrick Lamar would include a track like this on his album reveals an ever-growing consciousness and vulnerability of his music, in light of the travesties that have re-birthed the racial schism that were laying dormant in America for a few years. The lyrics he spits reveal how he is situated within it all. A close read of his poetic verses on “Complexion” reveal the complexity of his artistic mentality.

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The post On Complexion and Kendrick Lamar – Part II appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.