Kendrick Lamar as a Modern Day Prophet
Popular culture, in it’s many forms, depicts all aspects of humanity. From the powerful elite, to those living in poverty, it is evident in all cultures and lifestyles. Specifically, music is a category of popular culture that is universal, no matter where you come from. Music, as an art form, reaches individuals souls and displays powerful messages. A specific genre of music, rap, often gets overlooked and deemed meaningless and offensive, when it is in fact a meaningful and powerful source of music. Individuals in the rap community fought to make the public aware of what the music genre was really about. Michael Dyson worked to remove the stigma associated with rap and highlighted a connection to religious engagement and Jon Michael Spencer started a journal that investigated rap for its religious meaning. The journal, as well as other books published in the late 1990s and early 2000s signaled a push for rap culture and music as an important focus of study regarding religion [1].
Holt Parker’s theories of popular culture can be applied to the genre of rap: culture comes from the people and it is a site of defiance for the people to resist and challenge the power structures[2]. This is what rap artists do. They have created a culture from the people, for the people, that defies the world’s elite and addresses controversial topics that they themselves and/or people of their community and the world we live in have dealt with. The topic of discussion, Kendrick Lamar’s song “Faith”, is a strong example of the above theories relating to religion in popular culture.
The song is relevant to our culture today, with the main theme being that influential factors, people in our lives and issues within life itself can alter one’s views on religion and their religious practice. Rap music is filled with religious ideas such as creation, crucifixion, resurrection, and forgiveness. When the notion of God is found in struggling environments such as the ghetto, rap becomes a prophetic testimony for those living in such surroundings.
The Story Behind Faith
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, who goes by his first two names, born and raised in Compton, California, did not have an easy upbringing. Living in an area with daily gang violence and high crime and homicide rates, Kendrick Lamar channeled his energy into making music and spoke on this in an interview with Andrew Nosnitzsky for MTV:
“I speak from the standpoint of a young boy trying to escape the negative influences, whether it’s gang violence or police brutality and it was tough but I found a positive life that kept me away from [the streets] and that was music [3]”
Lamar holds a strong belief in the fact that we are all puppets and we have no control in what happens. There is a higher power that controls us all, and his music is an outlet to address this higher power and the injustices in life. Walsh stated, “The lyrics themselves…are described as bullets and so transform the gun violence of the streets into poetic violence,” [4] which is exactly what Lamar did. His lyrics have translated what goes on in the ghetto into a poetic form of expression. In terms of religious influence, Lamar would not label himself as a Christian, but religious themes are apparent in many of his songs with references to God, the Bible, prayer, and the Devil. He uses religion as a way to find answers and his belief in God is clear, but his view on the institution of religion as a societal form is a negative one:
“Believe in God, it’s only one God. Fuck all that religion shit. Believe in one God, and do right. Try your best to do right, we ain’t perfect” [5]
Lamar released the song “Faith” in 2009 on the Kendrick Lamar EP when a shift in his music occurred, resulting in a more personal tone. The track was produced by King Blue and released by Top Dawg Entertainment, which is an independent record label with only seven artists signed. Both the producer and record label align with Lamar’s viewpoints: staying away from mainstream media sources and embracing the independence to do as he pleases with no filters or changing his ways to please others. The free download EP premiered exclusively on the online mix tape distribution platform DatPiff and has been downloaded over 100,00 times, earning a gold certificate status, showing that Kendrick Lamar’s music has been well received. Lamar’s message has been spread throughout the rap community and, as Margarita Simon stated about rap music, can entail a representation of Christianity in ways that promote a new religious product and challenges our assumptions about religion [6]. Lamar has succeeded in challenging assumptions about not only religion, but the world itself.
Close Reading
Rap music offers testimony to the resilience in humans that scholars have neglected from a religious standpoint. Carey Walsh touches on four themes that are present in rap music and have been evident for over two decades, proving their staying power and growth within the genre. The themes are prophetic realism, redemption, incarnation and resurrection [7]. Although Lamar’s music touches on all themes, it strongly relates to the theme of prophetic realism, which relates to the prophetic component of spirituality and how by nature it is uncomfortable, painful and offensive.
In the first verse of the song “Faith”, Lamar raps
“I found myself losing focus at a Sunday service/Embarrassed so I started questioning God, what is my purpose?/He say to live the way he did, that’s all he want from me” [8]
This statement closely resembles Lamar as a prophet of God, as God spoke to him directly and told him to do as he does. It is also a truly relatable statement, as many individuals have trials and tribulations when it comes to religion and finding God. Looking deeper though, it could be pertaining to the vision Kendrick had of a silhouette of Tupac telling him to “keep doing what he’s doing and don’t let his music die” [9].
In the next few lines, Lamar raps:
“I opened my bible and searched to be a better Christian/and this from a person that never believed in religion/But shit, my life is so fucked up man, I can’t help but give in” [10]
This statement is relatable to people from all walks of life because there are times where life can get so bad that religion is the only place to go to. Robert Tinajero speaks on how Jesus is the most relatable in a religious sense to rappers because they identify with his suffering, which is what these lines in the song embody [11].
“I’m giving testimonies to strangers I never met” [12]
This is another example of a prophetic relation, as Lamar uses the term “testimony” to describe conversation. Throughout the song, Lamar asserts God’s presence in daily life and is similar to a biblical prophet because he is known to address social, political and overall world issues in his music and is a cause of moral outrage to the world’s elite.
“Walked out the church, then got a call that my homie was murdered/and lost my faith again” [12]
All of Lamar’s faith was lost because of a negative event that occurred in his life. In the Church, his faith is and belief in a higher power is strong, yet when he gets back into the real world, said faith has crumbled. For many, it is hard to believe there is a God when unwanted, unforeseen circumstances occur that take a large toll on one’s life. Lamar’s music is so successful because it is relatable on a deeper level.
Lamar goes on to talk about a single mother raising four children who is having trouble earning money and does not have help from the father. She wants to go back to school to get a better job to be able to take care of her children, and a reference to the Devil is made in regards to partaking in an illegal action that would hinder her rather than help her. This message could be inferred that it came from God.
“She thought about credit card scams till she heard a voice/that said the Devil is a lie, make a better choice” [12]
While on the right track to get her life together, Lamar then raps,
“Looked to the heavens and asked ’em to make a better way/Then got a letter in the mail, lost her section 8/Then lost her faith again” [12]
Which captures the essence of what the song is about. The woman lost her government aid and no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing and make a better life for her and her children, something goes wrong and she has lost her faith.
“It’s ill, to see my faith try and leave me/It’s so hard to get it, to get rid of it is easy/I’m tryna reach cloud nine, that’s what my niggas bout” [12]
In Punch’s verse, he states how hard it is to keep faith with you; yet how easy it is for it to be gone. It could take years to build up faith, yet all that can be destroyed in an instant when something bad happens. He goes on to say how he’s trying to reach cloud nine, which could mean heaven or just trying to get to a better place in life.
“This for my people that stressing whenever times is hard/Your mind’s slipping, wondering is there really a God?” [12]
This line reiterates the notion of questioning the presence of a higher power when going through tough times. In the next line, he states that you know it is not right to question God from a Christian perspective, but it is hard not to question it when something goes wrong. He goes on to talk about different scenarios that could lead to this, such as your son being born with cancer and living in urgent care,
Lamar ends the song with:
“I’d rather not live like there isn’t a God/than die and find out there really is, think about it” [12]
Lamar is hinting at the fact that if you die, there is a chance you may find out there really is a God and one would have to suffer the consequences. This concept is known as Pascal’s Wager, which essentially stated there is more to gain by believing in God and it is essentially betting your life on either the notion that God exists or He ceases to exist. [13]
Conclusion
Overall, Kendrick Lamar’s music has led him to be perceived in a prophetic nature. The words he preaches in his music, the God he believes in, and the way he overall lives his life is a religiosity he has defined himself. In an interview for Ebony, Lamar stated, “Whether we was inside a church or not, my mother always kept that faith inside of us. The more I started going through my own things in life, my faith got put to the test, and I had to believe that God is real in my heart, my lord and savior Jesus Christ, and I can’t run from that. I’ll always put that in my music or it just wouldn’t be right. People can take it or leave it, I really don’t care, because it’s for me to put it on records. And I will continue to put more of a spiritual nature in my music [14].” His music, similar to the Word of God in the Bible, will forever touch those who allow it into their lives.
WORD COUNT: 1973
1. Anthony B. Pinn, “Rap music, culture and religion: Concluding thoughts,” 98.
2. Holt N. Parker, “Toward A Definition Of Popular Culture,” 149
3. MTV News, “Kendrick Lamar talks rap, religion, and the Reagan Era.”
4. Carey Walsh, “Shout-Outs to the Creator: The Use of Biblical Themes in Rap Lyrics,” 231.
5. MTV News, “Kendrick Lamar talks rap, religion, and the Reagan Era.”
6. Anthony B. Pinn, “Rap music, culture and religion: Concluding thoughts,” 104.
7. Carey Walsh, “Shout-Outs to the Creator: The Use of Biblical Themes in Rap Lyrics.”
8. AZ Lyrics, “Kendrick Lamar-Faith.”
9. Youtube, “Kendrick Lamar defines HiiiPower & having a vision of 2pac.”
10. AZ Lyrics, “Kendrick Lamar-Faith.”
11. Robert Tinajero, “Hip Hop and Religion: Gangsta Rap’s Christian Rhetoric,” 317.
12. AZ Lyrics, “Kendrick Lamar-Faith.”
13. Ronald Wallace, “Pascal’s wager,” 684.
14. Ebony, “Kendrick Lamar Talks Politics, Spirituality, Music + More.”
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Wallace, Ronald. “Pascal’s wager.” Anglican Theological Review 89:4 (2007): 684.
Walsh, Carey. “Shout-Outs to the Creator: The Use of Biblical Themes in Rap Lyrics.” The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 25:2 (2013): 230–248. doi:10.3138/jrpc.25.2.230.
Youtube. “Kendrick Lamar defines HiiiPower & having a vision of 2pac.” Last modified July 13, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCGS25RXaDE
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YouTube. “Kendrick Lamar Says He Won’t Vote & The President Doesn’t Have Power.” Last modified August 26, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypknuX4DHZc