RELEASE: Kendrick Lamar’s new single demands respect from a society obsessed with reputation and awards.
By Joey Vangsness, Staff Writer
The day after the notoriously demographically-challenged Grammy Awards, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar released a single entitled “The Blacker the Berry.” The racially-charged song addresses racial identity and hypocrisy in today’s world. With the country still fuming over the recent killing of unarmed black men by police officers in Ferguson and New York City, Lamar’s song comes at an unbelievably appropriate time.
“The Blacker the Berry” is not subtle in the least, featuring lyrics like: “You hate me don’t you?/ You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture/ You’re f****** evil I want you to recognize that I’m a proud monkey/ You vandalize my perception but can’t take style from me.”
The hook, sung by Jamaican deejay Assassin, draws comparisons to how whips and chains were once used to punish slaves, but are now used as slang for cars and jewelry—both status symbols for rappers and gangsters alike. While whips once “left scars ‘pon me back,” now Black people can “have a big whip, parked ‘pon the block.” Lamar begins all three of his verses with the line, “I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015,” then ends the song explaining that no matter the message he tries to convey—whether it be celebrating Black History Month, praising black activist Marcus Garvey or embracing stereotypes—no one should listen to him. He justifies this with the lines, “why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street?/ When gang banging make me kill a n**** blacker than me?/ Hypocrite!” This final couplet exemplifies all of the conflicts, both internal and external, that Lamar and all other Black men grow up facing. Lamar’s previous albums have been full of messages to the public, and his upcoming album is shaping up to follow that pattern.
“The Blacker the Berry” is not the only single released from Lamar’s upcoming album. Lamar released the confident anthem “i” before “The Blacker the Berry.” At this year’s Grammys, Lamar won “Best Rap Song” and “Best Rap Performance” for “i.” Not one to bask in the spotlight, Lamar did not attend the award ceremony, which took place before the February 8 telecast. He had every reason to boycott the Grammys this year, since last year’s awards saw White rapper Macklemore beat out Lamar’s “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” for “Best Rap Album.” Following the Hip-Hop fan base’s outcry over Lamar’s loss, Macklemore later publicly expressed that Lamar was “robbed.”
Though Lamar beat out big-name nominees like Drake and Common, White rapper Eminem still went home with two Grammys, winning “Best Rap Album” over better-reviewed projects like Schoolboy Q’s “Oxymoron” and Common’s “Nobody’s Smiling.” Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Lamar released “The Blacker the Berry” the day after the Grammys, perhaps showing the Recording Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences what he really thinks of their awards and the remarkable lack of Black winners.
Kendrick Lamar is not the only Hip-Hop star speaking out about racial injustice today. Rapper J. Cole was seen attending a memorial for Mike Brown in Ferguson just days after Brown’s murder. Cole’s latest album touches on living and growing up in a post-racial society. He specifically references controversial White rapper Iggy Azalea and the Grammys and warns other Black rappers that “white people have snatched the sound.” Veteran rapper and producer Q-Tip was seen leading marches in New York City following the Grand Jury’s decision to not indict Brown’s killer, Officer Darren Wilson. Rapper Joey Bada$$, backed by BJ the Chicago Kid and The Roots, recently performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, asking in song to “pray there’s hope for a brother like me.” They ended the performance by raising their hands in the “hands up don’t shoot” gesture seen throughout the nation during the unrest over Ferguson. Rappers, athletes and performers of all races took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the recent killings and to offer their solidarity in coining the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” While nothing’s as revolutionary as the peaceful protests lead by Martin Luther King Jr., the months surrounding Ferguson brought debate over the existence of institutional racism back into the headlines.
The topic of racial equality did not begin during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and did not end with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1965; it continues today and will not cease. Hip-Hop began as a movement that allowed young Black men and women to express themselves and their ideas, and it is refreshing to see rappers and artists once again leading the charge against racism and sparking conversations about race in America.