Lamar’s song is a continuation of Brown’s poem. In Strong Men, Brown talks about different aspects of black oppression throughout history. Each stanza represents a pivotal moment in black history and blacks’ response to it. Brown stops the poem in racial segregation. Lamar’s song is for the new era of black oppression that is happening in 2015. Much like Brown, Lamar starts by explaining the oppression, and blacks’ response to it, “Nigga, and we hate po-po. Wanna kill us in the street fo sho”. He then ends by saying “we gon’ be alright”. This mirrors how Brown says the strong men keep going. It’s assurance for the victims. They are telling them there is nothing to fear, and we are going to be alright because the strong men keep going. Both
