Why Kendrick is the best poet

 

Blog's Music Piece: Prayer by Kendrick Lamar, switching it up with some rap music, which is relevant because this blog is about Kendrick being the best poet of the modern era.

    

Most people don't consider rap music art, and I agree with them on most accounts. When you have "artists who can sing," like NBA Youngboy, with lyrics like, "I got my green mask on. It's time to get active. What's happening?" I 100% agree that it is not art.


Artists who can sing

But on the other hand, you have Kendrick Lamar. This man has the most artful lyrics that can rival any poem that we read in English. Growing up in Compton, Lamar has a view of gang culture and African American culture as a whole that is so nuanced and interesting coming from an outsider.

One of my favorite of Kendrick's songs is Prayer, in which he personifies himself as Michael Jackson and Martin Luther King Junior and explains their accomplishments and their controversies. The overall message is that art should not be dismissed out of hand because of the artist's shortcomings. 

The lyric "See, if Daniel Hale was a killer, would you not want a heart? If Carl Benz was a racist, would you stop driving cars?" sums this point up perfectly because we as a society are quick to throw away useful or good things if their creator is not perfect.

I don't know any artist who can communicate messages like this in a coherent way and still be able to drop bangers as well. I am hopeful that for every "artist" like NBA Youngboy or King Von there is at least one real artist like Kendrick Lamar making music.



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