With the release of his third album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” many critics believe that Kendrick Lamar has raised the bar for popular music artist including other pop artists such as Kanye West and Taylor Swift (Miers). Specifically, “Alright” is a powerful song (practice) made into a popular hit (product) by hip-hop and R&B radio stations (media) for all people, especially the African American community (audience). The song and live performance highlights the struggle of being a black male in a prejudice society. Most of the targeted males are a part of the lowbrow culture in which Kendrick can relate to and serves as a practice of how police treat young and old African American men. This song was created to reach people that do not watch the
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In this performance he focuses more on his community by stating his independent stance, advocacy and compassion as a performing artist, presenting his work in such a way, and sampling jazz, rap, and a little funk to diversify the sound while spreading awareness to police brutality towards the African American community. For this reason, I would consider this a breakthrough performance for not only Kendrick Lamar but for the African American community as a whole. The sounds of the trumpet, beat of the drums and the flow of his lyrics all add to the authentic hip hop feel of the song. From start to finish he creatively displays his commitment to spread awareness on a reoccurring issue in today’s society and assurance to his community that “we gon be alright” through elaborate props, lighting effects, back up dancers, and overall liveness and hype body movements throughout the performance. The song itself volumes while casually listening to it; however, watching the live performance has a more profound message by intensifying the production. As the opening act for the BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar has had a major impact on the presentation of popular music and has gained the respect of many as a young African American performing artist. His song was not chosen as the most popular song at the time but the most impactful song to the
In this performance he focuses more on his community by stating his independent stance, advocacy and compassion as a performing artist, presenting his work in such a way, and sampling jazz, rap, and a little funk to diversify the sound while spreading awareness to police brutality towards the African American community. For this reason, I would consider this a breakthrough performance for not only Kendrick Lamar but for the African American community as a whole. The sounds of the trumpet, beat of the drums and the flow of his lyrics all add to the authentic hip hop feel of the song. From start to finish he creatively displays his commitment to spread awareness on a reoccurring issue in today’s society and assurance to his community that “we gon be alright” through elaborate props, lighting effects, back up dancers, and overall liveness and hype body movements throughout the performance. The song itself volumes while casually listening to it; however, watching the live performance has a more profound message by intensifying the production. As the opening act for the BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar has had a major impact on the presentation of popular music and has gained the respect of many as a young African American performing artist. His song was not chosen as the most popular song at the time but the most impactful song to the