Kendrick Lamar Essay

Before becoming famous Kendrick was writing stories as a child, he put to music some lyrics about the rough Compton streets he grew up on. He rapped under the name K Dot. Lamar didn’t just stop there the excite lyrics on his debut album, caught and had the attention of hip-hop critics. As well, with MTV naming, him the "Hottest MC" of 2012 also putting him in the company of other rappers. Who have earned the title, including Lil Wayne,

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, who is also known as Kendrick Lamar, was born in Compton, California, on June 17, 1987. After writing stories as a child, he put to music some lyrics about the rough Compton streets he grew up on. His stage name was K-Dot when he first started to get the lime light, releasing a series of popular mix tapes, which brought him to the attention of hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. Lamar 's debut major-label recording, good kid, m.A.A.d City, was released to great sales for an up-and-coming recording artist. He continued to receive accolades for his 2015 Grammy-winning album “To Pimp a Butterfly”.

There may be no bigger name in rap music right now than Chicago's own Chance the Rapper. His third mixtape Coloring Book is now available on all major music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Soundcloud, Spotify, Tidal, etc.) and he is also the first artist EVER to break The Billboard Top 10 Albums chart with streams only. He has burst onto the scene as a "lone wolf" of sorts; refusing to sign to a record label, releasing all of his music for free, and combining rap, jazz, and gospel music more beautifully than anyone we've ever seen in the music industry. To celebrate Lil Chano's recent success let's check out his ten best songs.

Sean "Puffy" Combs has established himself as one of the biggest names in hip-hop (Heal). Combs a Harlem native whose father was killed when he was only 3 years old, rose from the mean streets to the top of the music business (AP wire, March 18). "It is true that he started from scratch, and I don't think that because he was arrested, people will stop buying his albums (AP wire, March 18). Before pursuing his career as a vocalist, Combs was a business-minded Howard University student and an intern at Andre Harrell's Uptown Records. Combs soon became the A&R representative for Uptown. He then began producing for soon to be mega-stars Mary J. Blige, Heavy D., and Jodeci to name a few. After being let go

When I was younger my mom always played music loud around the house while cleaning up. She kept stacks of cds in the car. Majority of the time we listened to female r&b artist. Growing up I was exposed to female singers like Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu ect. The song I always enjoyed singing was “Tyrone” because it’s funny. The live performance for this song is very entertaining too because she’s a great performer and the band is great. Badu is very lyrical and some of her songs can be described as poetry. Her amazing creativity really stands out in the Def Jam Poetry. This is a performance I’ll always enjoy watching.

In the concept album, good kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar creates an autobiographical narrative that describes the societal pressures of growing up as a black teenager in Compton, and how his self-awareness and musical passion allowed him to escape from the city’s cycle of violence. Through the album’s storyline Kendrick makes the case that, despite coming from a hedonistic, gang infested city, he is able to transform into a puritan. Kendrick narrates this story through several different perspectives, including actual people from his life as well as his own psyche. Kendrick Lamar mainly invokes the persona of K.Dot, who is based on Kendrick’s actual seventeen year old self. This story begins from the first person perspective of naive K.Dot, who is characterized by a raspy, inflicted voice. The lyrics of this character show the ignorance and lack of direction in his life, as well his self-doubts and impressionability. It is eventually revealed that K.Dot has a passion for music. While K.Dot is a good kid at heart who is not gang affiliated, his innocence is tainted by the desires of the Compton lifestyle. After a violent encounter, a transformation begins to occurs from within K.Dot. He realizes that the negative influences of gang culture have corrupted him,

Tupac Shakur was born on June 16th, 1971, with the name Lesane Crooks. His name was switched to Tupac Amaru II almost a year later. He was born in New York and lived primarily in Harlem till he was 13. In 1984 he moved to Baltimore where he lived for four years until he moved to Oakland. When he was younger he struggled in life because his family was poor and had to move. Mostly Everyone in Tupac’s life was part of the Black Panther

The Motown Museum in Detroit is truly a motivational part of America’s history; it stood for another way for African American voices to be heard on a much greater scale both national and even world wide. Motown has become America’s pop soul music for anyone and everyone.

Trap Music has gained a humungous following in the past few years based on its popularity in today’s youth. Chief Keef is a rapper from Chicago, Illinois, he is widely known for involvement in the famous trap songs that were featured on his album Finally Rich that was released in 2012. Those critically acclaimed songs where known as, “Love Sosa”, and “Don’t Like”, which catapulted his career into the limelight. Chief Keef’s Love Sosa is an accurate example of Trap Music that shows the true meaning and purpose behind the music genre.

Kendrick Lamar grew up in the city of Compton. Lamar’s father was a member of a gang in Chicago before they moved to Compton. His mother’s brothers had ties to the notorious gang the Compton Crips. When Lamar was eight

When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family later relocated to Oakland, California, where he spent much of his time on the street. As a kid, he was always getting himself into trouble, and he was very lonely. He started writing songs to keep himself out of trouble. An article from VIBE magazine "Troubled Times for Tupac Shakur" quotes Tupac. "'I was lonely, I didn't have no big brothers, no big cousins until later. I could remember writing songs.... I remember writing poetry.' " 1 Tupac was talented in the areas of

I do believe that Kendrick targeted the African American population with the song but the song could be for all races and minorities. I don’t think the song excluded anyone. Police brutality can happen to any race and it has happened to just about every race. African Americans just have been the most talked about and more frequently abused lately. Kendrick doesn’t put himself upon a pedestal or imply that he’s above

Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in Brooklyn, NY, on June 16, 1971. His mother Afen Shakur changed his name when he was a small child to Tupac Amura after an Inca-Indian revolutionary, "Tupac Amura," meaning

     Michael Jackson is arguably the most well know celebrity figure in the world today. Michael Joseph Jackson was born in August 1958, in Gary, Indiana. Jackson has spent almost his entire life as a public performer. He was a member of the Jackson Five at the age of four, soon becoming the group's lead vocalist and front man. Onstage, he modeled his dance moves and vocal styling on James Brown, and portrayed an absolute self-confidence on stage that belied his shy, private personality. Throughout his life the media has dissected his personality and projected his image on a worldwide screen. The progression of his image has been a fascinating phenomenon, and his current taboo

Social Justice is a huge topic in our society. Its touches on important subjects such as labor laws, environmental rights (racism), poverty, etc. These topics are things that many people have views on whether they agree or disagree. Many artist took note of this and made songs about this and voiced what they thought was right or how they saw the act.