Kendrick Lamar – The Rapper We Deserve… and the One We Need Right Now

Widely regarded as the best rapper beholden to us, he continues to stake his claim in a widely diverse fashion. A transcendent artist at his creative peak, demonstrative of his religious certitude, and perpetually distinguishing himself while asserting dominance over a relatively stale contemporary genre.

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Prior to the release of the Kendrick Lamar’s celebrated DAMN., he released the pre-album teaser track “The Heart Part 4”. “I am… the grea-test rap-per alive. So damn great, mother*cker, I’ve died” was ferociously declared by the king himself. Lines were drawn, and bold statements were made. The thing is… he just might be right.

There is no prevaricating words about it. Judging by the 2017 that Kendrick experienced, he is at the top of his game right now. Bolstered by all of the “technical” criteria that makes a rapper elite (energy, flow, influence, possession of a meaningful story to tell, etc.), Lamar just capped off a five year, four album run that isn’t showing any signs of diminishing.

The Compton-originated rapper released two commercially and critically successful albums prior to DAMN. with both To Pimp a Butterfly as well as good kid, m.A.A.d city receiving universal acclaim. Although critical praise isn’t exactly a necessary benchmark to comprise “the greatest rapper alive”, with To Pimp a Butterfly receiving a level of respect as potentially the best rap album of the last decade, it is hard to ignore that Kendrick is at least in the conversation.

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To say that Kendrick Lamar is an indispensable thread holding together hip-hop’s presently delicate tapestry may be a bit hyperbolic. However, he does play an essential role as one of the few remaining torchbearers standing between an old guard and the current state of rap’s bourgeoisie. This is evidenced by Lamar’s songwriting roots, centralized on the violence he experienced as a child, in addition to what he is fortunately absolved from today as one of rap’s elite.

The conscience of Kendrick Lamar is ingrained in the nation’s present footing. It should additionally come as no surprise that 2017’s DAMN. featured verses concerning President Donald Trump, as well as an appearance from rock mainstays U2. After all, Kendrick has spent the last six years reinventing himself from album to album and redefining what a great west-coast rap album really is. To Pimp a Butterfly is as much intrinsically entwined with avant-garde jazz as it is with demonstrating its Compton pedigree, further cementing Lamar’s appreciation and link to the past with his eye ever on hip-hop’s future.

Lamar’s canon of black storytelling may reside in the epics of his hometown of Compton, however, he fearlessly and unapologetically turns attention to himself. Lamar is a Christian, preoccupied with God and the difficulties of living a godly life in a world seemingly devoid of omnipotent or benevolent presence. These themes are consistent throughout his work. Lamar also speaks about generational sin through a wide lens, focusing on the entirety of American History. The ultimate American “original sin”? Racism.

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Kendrick continues to wrestle with complex ideas regarding sin, chance, racism, and how to live life, while simultaneously making some of the best, and sleek music of his entire career. This isn’t a premature case of conclusion jumping millennialism. Lamar’s catalog stacks favorably against many of the faces on the Mount Rushmore of raps greats in their prime.

Where K-Dot began with an impressive freshman foundation in Section.80, he then polished and built on this work with 2013’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, an album generously compared to Nas’ Illmatic. Kendrick then entered the next stage of his metamorphosis, exiting the cocoon and providing us with 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly one of the proudest, pro-black albums of all time, and winner of six Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album.

The “Good Kid” could certainly fall off like many of his predecessors. However, this is typically an affliction of those unwilling or unable to reinvent themselves, a talent that Kendrick has shown with each one of his releases including DAMN. As hip-hop, rap, or whatever nomenclature we utilize approaches a 50-year existence, the standards for what embodies a GOAT status artist become increasingly blurred. Hip-hop is an art form, and as an art form, sound, constitution, and even distribution are perpetually evolving. This variance creates a substantial degree of difficulty when attempting to compare icons across eras, similar to the way football fans argue about the differences between modern-day pocket passers and the Dan Marino’s, John Elway’s and Joe Montana’s of yesteryear.

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Kendrick Lamar is officially on board to write, produce, and arrange the soundtrack for the upcoming Marvel Studios film Black Panther, premiering in theaters February 16th, 2018. Obviously Lamar is not unfamiliar with producing music, however, a film soundtrack is undeniably new territory for the Compton rapper.

The Black Panther film is a superhero movie about imperialism, and is equipped with a black director, a predominantly black cast, drops during Black History Month, and is a showcase of a melding between artistic vision and culture. Though production of an entire film soundtrack may be uncharted for Kendrick Lamar, he was a natural fit, handpicked by director Ryan Coogler for the task.

If nothing else, DAMN., To Pimp a Butterfly, and good kid, m.A.A.d city, cemented Kendrick Lamar as one of the most important voices of our generation, and the upcoming work for Black Panther by rap’s finest indicates hip-hop is alive and well in good hands. Is Kendrick rap’s savior? I don’t know, but if we know nothing else, there are more verses to be written and more legacy for KL to assemble. He may not yet be hip-hop’s GOAT, but if one thing is for sure, Kendrick is the rapper we deserve, if not authoritatively need right now.