So, I fell into the rabbit hole of Kendrick Lamar's superbowl halftime show. (Disclaimer: I have never watched the superbowl - or the halftime show - ever before, and could not have named a single Lamar song before this. My interest is cultural rather than musical.)
That said, I have watched a number of Josh Johnson sets about the Lamar and Drake feud, so I had some background knowledge. However the performance itself turned out to be this dense and complex thing, full of symbolism, and well. That's my jam. ^_^
ETA: Outside the cut. Here is Josh Johnson talking about Kendrick, where he came from and why he does what he does. As always, starts as a fun set and then... digs into stuff far deeper than you would expect:
( Videos under the cut )Now the thing is that Kendrick Lamar is obviously coming from this from within his own culture, the struggle of his own community. And I think this is why it resonates? If you speak your own truth, others will recognise it.
And I think all of it ties in with this Black History Month thread about
The Black Panthers.
Snippet:
To this day, if you find a white trades person over the age of 50, and ask them what "It's not race, it's class" means, many can tell you. If you ask them "Who is Fred Hampton" many can tell you. If you ask them what a "rainbow coalition" was, many can tell you.
Why does an old, white, union steel worker in Detroit know who Fred Hampton is?'They not like us' the whole stadium chanted with Trump
right there.
If you want an anthem against the oligarchs and the 1%, there it is.
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