Kendrick Lamar Reminds Everyone, Including Himself, To Be Humble With His New Song
Kendrick is a king. In this track he uses his talent to remind people of issues that should bother us all. The music video is matched with visuals that are symbolic and creative.
There are many lines that stand out. Kendrick dedicates a short part of this song to natural beauty. The lyrics “I’m so fuckin’ sick and tired of the photoshop / Show me somethin’ natural like afro on Richard Pryor / Show me somethin’ natural like ass with some stretch marks” matched with the visuals below are encouraging women to embrace their own beauty that isn’t “mainstream” or is usually photoshopped. Stretch marks are a part of the body that are always photoshopped. Kendrick raps about them and praise them as a desirable part of a women’s body, something we have needed and hopefully will hear more often. He also praises black women that wear their hair natural and encourages them to. Black women often face racism by wearing their hair natural but Kendrick wants them to embrace it and the rest of the world to let them embrace it.
This small part of the song means so much to the current state of the portrayal of women in hip hop. This is Kendrick Lamar, one of the top rappers in the industry, rapping about how sick he is of women trying to live up to the unrealistic standards of beauty that are set for us.
The rest of the song brings up issues the Kendrick has faced himself like gang crime and violence and growing up poor. Although Kendrick was never in a gang himself, he had friends that were members of the bloods and uncles that were members of the crips so he was surrounded by the danger of this lifestyle.
The repetition of “sit down, be humble” in the chorus can be seen in two lights. For one Kendrick is reminding other rappers that he is at that top and that they need to respect him. The lyrics in the rest of the song prove just how talented he is with his words. But it also appears that he is reminding himself to be humble, to remember where he came from and not take too much of his new lifestyle for granted. In the music video part of the chorus is set in a replica setting as the last supper, where Kendrick is sitting in the same spot as Jesus. He has often be referred to as the “savior of rap” and he knows he has to stay humble despite given such a title. He is still in command though and when he tells his friend to sit down in this same scene, his friend does so immediately.
This song became a hit before anyone had even heard it. Kendrick grows as an artist and a rapper with everything he does. He brags about his skills in this song because he knows he can. He also knows with everything he does he has to work hard, his talent isn’t going to keep him on top if he doesn’t constantly work at creating new ways to push the industry. Having a man like him on top, someone rapping about true issues rather than weed and parties, is what the industry needed.
Even Snoop Dogg took time away from his Oscar worthy snap stories to let the world know this track is important. In the words of Snoop, lets all “humble thy self” and play close attention to Kendrick’s next move.
