The Music Industry: Kendrick Lamar

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Recommended: The evolution of the music industry

The music industry is often thought of as an outlet for creative energy. A place where you can express the emotions and thoughts that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Yet, the music industry has dramatically taken a turn. Today we have several genres and artists, but it seems that we’re loosing our depth. Our lyrics no longer have meaning. Rather, there’s more emphasis on the “catchiness”, or sound of each track. However, on September 15th, 2016 at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Kendrick Lamar took stage for what was said to be “A Legendary Performance” (Singleton 2016). Lamar preformed alongside his jazz band and several dancers, to two of the songs from his album To Pimp a Butterfly. Through this performance he was able to bring universal …show more content…

He walked onstage with his jazz band, all of them shackled in chains in front of a prison set. The song The Blacker the Berry represents Lamar’s personal experiences growing up in Compton, and the events he witnessed growing up. Once Lamar preformed the first song, he moved across the stage and began rapping the song Alright. On stage there was an African Motif with drummers and dancers in front of a large bonfire. Alright is known to be the unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement. By singing this song Kendrick was making a statement of support to the cause of BLM. The final freestyle/verse had never been heard before, and paid tribute to the death of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon was a 17-year-old boy who was shot by George Zimmerman in 2012. (Bixby 2016) His death brought uproar and anger within the Black community. The performance ended with the continent of Africa lit up behind him on stage, with the word Compton inside. His performance was truly iconic. The show had a real message, and spoke to the hearts of many. As I watched Kendrick Lamar’s performance this past February, I felt it sit with me in a memorable way. The message within Larmar’s performance was one that some may not have agreed with. Due to the forces within media ownership and media power, I was shocked that the performance was approved to be broadcasted. I believe that TV as a public sphere, is commonly manipulated by the state/those who own it, and so personal expression isn’t always accepted. And so, when I had to choose a form of public communication, Kendrick Lamar’s performance came to my mind immediately. Lamar’s performance went viral over several social media platforms: Facebook, twitter, and Instagram being the main outlets. Video footage of the performance was accessible to virtually everyone. Due to the widespread broadcasting of the Grammy’s, publicity is guaranteed for each performance.

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