Has Kendrick ever in his over 12 year career come out and said or implied he was a “black messiah” or freedom fighter or are folks just going off of publications insisting that he is? I’ve been listening since the Kendrick Lamar EP, and never got the sense that he thinks he is.
It makes me so sad that the only take away from this interview on twitter is it’s one silver of discussion on Drake—when he says so many other great things RE: Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and a general need for an anti-imperialist politic 😢
If you are 30 and over, be weary of how you speak to those younger than you. Do not allow your pessimism in the world to pollute the imagination of those that come after you. Allow the youth to dream big and fight for things that you will not see in your lifetime.
If I tried to close read Kendrick’s use of the American flag juxtaposed with his use of Sam Jackson as Uncle Sam, it seems like he is trying to offer a critique of living in the US
But it stands frail in comparison to the brave dancer who carried the 🇵🇸 🇸🇩 flags
Lots of surface level/vibe generalizations going on with interpretations of Kendrick’s music that has always concretized to me that a lot of folks who speak on rap don’t like rap but love its ability to produce spectacle or narratives that generate revenue
Context behind the image:
He was speaking and rapping at Union square Protest for Amadou Diallo 1999. It also seems by a flyer in the back, that it was also a celebration of the release of the anti-carceral hip-hop compilation album, No More Prisons too.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=yLMUxj…