We live in a culture which reveres the works of poets like Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe, but if there was music behind their lines would our opinions differ? Born and raised in Compton, California, Kendrick Lamar is an artist who uses his experiences to reach listeners of all backgrounds and unite them through hip-hop/rap. And before some dismiss his songs simply because they think rap is for thugs and ganbangers, I would encourage you to simply read the lyrics of songs such as “u”, “Keisha’s Song (Her Pain)”, “Mortal Man”, and “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” and then make the case that there is no substance behind his words.

Lamar, 28, is not the stereotypical rapper who only raps about getting wasted at strip clubs without delivering a message or a story. There are two ways that a person can listen to his songs: glossing over the lyrics or absorbing the thoughts being conveyed. Either way you listen to him, Kendrick’s music is at the top of the charts. He is compared with Tupac and other founders of hip-hop but still remains true to his own non confrontational and respectful style.

In To Pimp a Butterfly, his second most recent album, Kendrick’s songs show battles between his own ego and the lives of his loved ones. “u” takes the listener through his emotional state of depression and suicidal thoughts. Between the feeling of anger that his words were unable to reach his sister, his self hatred when he neglected to be with his friend in the hospital as he died, and the pure emotion when Kendrick is literally in tears at the end of the song does more than send chills up your spine. However, “i” later in the album is uplifting with the opposite tone. 
Most of all, Kendrick raps about race. He blatantly speaks his mind about the racial profiling done by police, reminds the listener that racism is nowhere near being ended, and acknowledges the history of slavery and segregation in our country.  Kendrick’s 2016 Grammy performance is seen as controversial (as is most everything in the media these days) as it forces people of all colors to come face to face with the fact that racial inequalities still exist. It is an uncomfortable topic for some, but that is why it is even more important for rappers who are given such a huge platform to bring it up.

Many imply that artists should not be “controversial” in their songs by promoting a political viewpoint or referencing drugs, gangs, etc. On mainstream news networks singers are torn to pieces based on a symbol used in their performances or a debatable line. Kendrick is doing more than impacting the people who understand his lyrics, but he forces a dialogue to open and inspires his listeners. Artists such as Kendrick Lamar prove that music is more than a series of words, pitches, and rhythms; it unites and helps us overcome.