Kendrick Lamar

I've known about Kendrick Lamar for about as long as anyone else, but I could not understand the appeal of his music. Rap was abbrasive to me. This changed in my brain in 2023 when I started Doordashing and I needed new music to cruise to. This is how I ended up listening to Kendricks entire discography. And after about 50+ listens across his portfolio, I feel like I understand the appeal now.

My favorite thing about Kendrick as an artist is how you can see his change, growth, and shortcomings across all of his albums. They each tell a story, either of his writing journey or an actual story (good kid, mad city). He's a modern day poet. A bard, if you will. Once I started thinking about rap like this, I found a lot more enjoyment in the genre. (I feel like this is a very white thing to say XD).

Kendrick came at a point in my life when I had moved across the country to live in Ohio. I was born in raised in Cali, and many people I knew growing up were die hard Kendrick fans. And for some reason, only after leaving California, the state that Kendrick hails from, I finally started paying attention. I don't know how much that has to do with it, but hey, I think it's an interesting coincidence.

If you are interested in listening to his work, I recommend starting with Good Kid, Mad city, as it's short, sweet, and has objectively some of his most "banger" songs. Highly recommend giving him a listen.

Super Bowl LIX

This performance was incredible. You can watch it right here

This performance is a protest of modern American issues. Uncle Sam, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is the American ideology, there to criticize the type of music that Kendrick makes and all that Kendrick is. This works to beat nay-sayers to the punch, & Kendrick uses this to just say he really do not care. "You can't fake influence :)"