Introduction
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, (professionally known as Kendrick Lamar), is known by many to be one of the most successful and influential American rappers of the modern era. Whether it be from his numerous records that made it onto the Billboard Top Charts, or his astonishing collection of Grammy and other music awards, it is impossible to deny his massive success in the music industry. This doesn’t come as a surprise, either. His artistic take on hip-hop, with a focus on poetic and powerful lyrics, stand out in a genre currently dominated by more “crude” rap with a strong emphasis on sex and drugs. Through his amazing life and career, in this story, we will answer the question: what makes Kendrick Lamar a hero?
Early Life
Kendrick was born and raised in a high-crime area of Compton California. His mother, Paula Oliver, and father, Kenny Duckworth, ironically moved there from Chicago to escape the gang culture which lingered in the city (including the Gangsters Disciples gang which Kendrick’s father was associated with). Throughout much of his young life, Kendrick was regularly exposed to criminal activity with the rise of the 1980’s crack trade along with the presence of the West Coast gang. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be too affected by this. He showed himself to be a good student, receiving straight A’s in high school, as well as writing stories at a young age, which transformed into poems, and then into lyrics.
Career
Kendrick soon began performing his written lyrics under the alias of K-Dot. At age 16, he created a mixtape entitled Youngest Head Ni**a in Charge, which began picking up a lot of traction and was responsible for him landing a deal at the small independent label Top Dawg Records. After making more and more music, as well as being signed to Dr. Dre’s independent label Aftermath Records, it wasn’t long before he would begin gaining more success and start working with more major artists to really make a name for himself. Soon after, he would drop the alias K-Dot, and begin performing with his own name: Kendrick Lamar, dropping his surname in favor of his middle name.
From here, Kendrick would go on to make four studio albums under Aftermath Records, as well as the soundtrack for Marvel’s Black Panther, all of which became hugely successful. Many of the songs in these albums cover important social/political issues, often ignored or unheard of in modern American life (most commonly bringing awareness to the racism, oppression, and across-the-board hardships faced by black Americans). Each studio album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, except for good kid, m.A.A.d city which peaked at #2. On top of this, his latest studio album, DAMN., made history, as it became the first non-classical or jazz record to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, reason being (as quoted by The Pulitzer board):
“A virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”
Not only this, Kendrick has won and been nominated for numerous Grammy awards, overall making quite an impressive resume.
Heroism
Kendrick Lamar is a hero without a doubt to me and many others. As an aspiring musician, his unique and artistic take on the genre of hip-hop has by far been one of my biggest inspirations to this day. I believe strongly that any piece of music should sound great, but as far as lyrics go, I’ve always felt that they should be beautiful enough to read as if they were a poem. It wasn’t, however, until I began listening to Kendrick’s music that I realized how important this really was. I have never to this day heard a hip-hop artist consistently write lyrics as poetic, powerful, and beautiful as Kendrick does in his songs. In all the time I’ve spent listening to his music, and through every album, I’ve heard, I haven’t once come across a song of his that I felt didn’t share those three traits. Whether he’s bringing awareness to an important issue, or rapping about a common experience of modern life, the lyrics in his music always and consistently provoke thoughts or emotions.
I’m finding methodically and carefully written lyrics like his to be rare in modern hip-hop, and to hear it consistently done so well by Kendrick is hugely refreshing and inspiring. This ties in well to the other main thing that Kendrick does with his lyrics. Other than simply attempting to make a “good sounding” set of songs, Kendrick constantly uses his music as a platform to fight for the issues he believes in. He uses his music to empower those who, like him, have to face oppression and the still lingering systematic racism that affects black Americans to this day, as well as use them as a means to catch the attention of those who are ignorant or unaware of the problems. This, in turn, causes them to truly consider and think about them. And he does this in such a powerful and intelligent way that everything aforementioned can successfully be conveyed at the same time.
Conclusion
So in short, how Kendrick Lamar causes us to think, feel, and act, through the use of music and the English language, is nothing short of empowering, inspiring, and phenomenal. He has time and time again raised the bar of the musical and lyrical standards of modern hip-hop, as shown by his many accomplishments and awards. On top of all of this, his rise to success from a childhood of almost nothing, living in a place without any promise, serves as an amazing, and an incredibly important sign that no matter where or what a person has come from, they can find a way to come out of it. And through heart, determination, and true character, they can build themselves a better life. So, through all of this and much more, it is undeniable that to me and so many others, that Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is truly a hero.
