Thursday, November 5, 2015

Kendrick's Cocoon and the Pressure Against It


Kendrick Lamar drew in the teenage crowd with his release of GKMC in 2012....I remember walking down the halls at work hearing YAWK! YAWK! YAWK! YAWK! blaring out of speakers and mouths even while class was in session! Lamar definitely connected with the majority of rowdy kids with that release but that project introduced
the hyper teenage crowd to a changed life through God and prayer and the importance of repentance...

Now fast forward to TPAB and Kendrick takes those minds he opened and fills them with new messages of self love , awareness of greed, guilt, and consciousness... Now I walk through the halls and hear "Alright" sneaking out of headphones worn by a now calmer student lost in his thoughts....

With that being said, Several articles have recently been released speaking on Kendrick and his music in negative undertones...focused on a disconnect between the music and the listeners and the change of Kendrick Lamar overall... Neither of these things should be spoke about negatively but rather analyzed openly... Resistance to a positive message is nothing new...Resistance to a new sound is also something normally seen in the music industry... But this positive message and new sound represent a growth in Kendrick Lamar not only as an artist but as a man...

Rewind back to a couple years back when Lamar and Schoolboy Q were vlogging showing themselves with stacks and stacks of cash ,coining the term "eat", and throwing money around. Fast forward to now with more modest purchases and demeanors coming from both of the T.D.E artist are being publicized. The title of Lamar's newest album makes a lot of sense if you relate it to his current situation .... Kendrick is transforming into a positive influential icon for the youth across America but it seems that the industry and the media will not be comfortable with him and put him back in that positive light unless he starts pushing out those spend money ...get money...gangbang ... Drink liquor themes again.... They want to Pimp a butterfly!

But Kendrick Lamar hasn't grown his wings quite yet! It seems like K. Dot is still wiggling around in his cocoon, leaving us to see , in his future releases, if he will emerge as something greater for the people or if big business' opinions and influence will stunt his growth.

How do you feel about Kendricks newest release? Let us know in the comment section below!

Written by Connie "Yung Miss" Clark
Image courtesy of Rolling Stone

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