The mainstream rapper is an 11 Grammy award winner and Rolling Stone has declared him the greatest rapper of our generation. Provided that, something as simple as an album cover can show his immense impact on the Hip-Hop community. A group of shirtless African Americans stand in front of the White House with bottles of alcohol, bombarding a judge, who lays on the ground (Source C). Not to mention, the title of the album is "To Pimp A Butterfly" which is a modified version of the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird." The album discusses poetically the oppression of African Americans through victims of police shootings, similar to how the novel is mainly about the wrongful accusation of rape on a victimized African American man. One would ponder, does this cover support the notion that the genre belongs to the criminal based musicians? How about the poetic, meaningful, and positive culturally based musicians? Or, more complex, did Kendrick Lamar establish such an album cover with the intent of wise ambiguity? This is what should come to mind when observing this work of art. Above all interpretations, is the idea that ultimately society has a say in what kind of content is presented in Hip-Hop, hence the location of the image which is in front of the White …show more content…
Staples is justified in asserting that "But it finds its most virulent expression in rap music, which started out with a broad palette of themes but has increasingly evolved into a medium for worshiping misogyny, materialism, and murder" (Source A). One cannot deny the dreadful evolution of a musical style, however, Staples fails to acknowledge his contradictory conclusion. The author ends off his article by stating why we as a society have not learned anything with the numerous killings that have occurred. In no way is an entire country responsible for individual killings, but our civilization can absolutely invoke a positive attitude on communities. As a result, the establishment of art can be reflected based upon a better