It wasn't his best performance, especially during Alright, but the visual elements were great, his energy was as always through the roof, and then as he always seems to do he saved the best for last with that last verse after Alright. I usually find live hip-hop to be somewhere between terrible and meh, but man this guy is such a great performer live.

You keep acting like my tastes come from a place of ignorance, like I don't listen to so-called "real shit," which is just flat-out untrue. I've been listening to hip-hop since I was a kid and I've heard all the "real shit." I love a lot of it. And I listen to a diverse roster of modern rap too. If you have an actual insight about what makes him so interesting, I'm all ears. But when you just say that I don't get Lamar because it's "real shit," you come off like hipster douchebag.

It was certainly a striking, energetic performance. And the visual component was very flashy and arresting. But, again, I'm not sure what it's really saying that's new?

This was actually just me being drunk at 2am, carry on.

Alright, Kendrick.... I'm listening.

I'm not sure why "new" matters here. To Pimp a Butterfly, and especially "Alright," is a celebration of, and testament to, the resiliency of the (black) human spirit in the face of constant adversity. His coming out in chains and then doing a set that conveyed the depths of perseverance and optimism in his culture is not "new," but it bears repeating...

Kanye's not doing anything new either, LV. While his production is bordering on cutting-edge for popular music, it's been done before. And his megalomaniacal ranting has also been done before. As someone else mentioned, the power of his performance of the terrific Ultralight Beam on SNL the other night was severely diminished by both the ending shoutout to his website, and his antics over the last couple weeks.

When Kendrick performs a song about the resiliency of the black spirit, I see it as a conduit for the feelings of an entire group of people.
When Kanye does something similar, I see it as a promotional onslaught for Brand Kanye.

Does a message have to be "new" to be meaningful or impactful? Is saying something "new" really the metric for judging art?

To Pimp a Butterfly is a beautiful and haunting tour of the aftermath of fame and expectations associated with being The Best Rapper in the Game, returning home, feelings of guilt, hypocrisy, depression, alongside the social pressures of being a leader in the black community during an especially turbulent era in modern race relations and giving voice to the frustration, fear, resentment, disenfranchisement, and faith that make up that experience.

He isn't the first artist or rapper or human to address any of these issues, but that doesn't make his lesson any less important and it doesn't take away from the compelling narrative he tells or diminish the skill he displays in telling his story.

I don't think his greatness stems from the originality of his message it comes from how masterfully he tells it.

Well said tragabigzanda....that's what happens when you start a reply and then get distracted: somebody comes in and replies before you and better than you.

Now my comment isn't even new. Crap.

But you tell it masterfully!

I think "new" definitely matters if we're talking about sociopolitical statements. If you're making a statement that's already been made, why are you making it? It's been said. It's been done. We know it already. Breaking free of chains is on-the-nose and trite at this point. It's become a cliché. Nothing about how Kendrick delivered that made it seem fresh or insightful.

I'm not sure what he did was "a celebration of resiliency," since I don't think that really matches up with his lyrical content.


First of all, his production has not been done before. Show me another artist who sounds like him, and I'll shut up. But you won't, because there aren't any. He has influences, and has influenced many, but no one truly sounds like him.

What he's saying through his music is definitely new and insightful. The connections he makes between contemporary black experience, black history, white oppression, consumerism, corporate culture, hip-hop bravado, personal identity, religion, sexuality, and artistic expression are dazzling, profound, and fiercely modern. He is doing things no one else has ever done, because no one else could have - they are of and about modern times.

lol wut?

Because if an issue needs to be addressed, it needs more than one voice, it needs thousands of voices. Just because someone already said it, doesn't make it stale.

Well then that's that.

That's politics, though. Political statements through art aren't very interesting to me if they aren't saying anything different from hordes of others.

BECAUSE NOTHING'S FUCKING CHANGED AND IT NEEDS TO.

Jesus Christ. I can't even...

Ha, not at all -- I think you comment was great, because you mentioned the personal aspect of Kendrick's journey (blowing up, returning home, experiencing guilt at this success, and accepting his role as the voice for his community). I couldn't have said that, because I didn't even see that narrative on TPAB so clearly until I read your post. But of course it's there -- it's all over that record. And it's another thing that sets him apart from Kanye...

Kanye's journey has been one of hard work, for sure -- but also one of privilege, of questionable creative merit (I'm thinking specifically about his "jeans and t-shirt" fashion line, plus the whole Kardashian thing), and of self-promotional hype.

Kendrick's has been one of authenticity, of humbleness, of a desire to inspire. He's still with his highschool sweetheart, he doesn't smoke weed, yet he never looks down at his fellow comrades who have less willpower. I believe he sees himself as setting an example for the people around him, and his journey to fame, and then back home -- the one of which you spoke -- is part of what makes him such a compelling artist.

Kendrick said he was the biggest hypocrite of 2015--nobody said that before because no one else could have - [it is] of and about modern times.

Ugh. Humility is so fucking overrated.

I don't doubt Kendrick's authenticity. But I don't doubt Kanye's either. I'm sure both of them want to make the world a better place. Kanye's vision just resonates with me in a way Kendrick's doesn't. Kanye is so defiantly millennial and confident, while Kendrick is so...like a lot of other people. Kanye is big and loud and extreme and crazy and I love it. He lives his art.

I've barely explored Kendrick Lamar's work. I gave one very casual listen to TPAB several months ago and I enjoyed it but I didn't really sit down and listen to it. It was background music while I did chores and worked on some projects.

That performances was powerful and compelling. It genuinely moved me. It affected me. It caught my attention. This guy is clearly a force. I'm going to give him my full attention.

An "important" political statement doesn't inherently make for good art.

Joey DGAF