RootsofViolence:
KendrickLamar'sEthnicStudiesLensonBlackLifeinAmerica
Thisessaycontributestomusicologyandhip-hopstudiesbydemonstratinghowacontemporary hip-hopartist,throughhismusic,envisionsaspaceofresistanceagainstsystemicracismand othersocio-politicalstructuresthatcanbeanalyzedviaanethnicstudiesmethodology Scholars likeDerrickP Alridgecredithip-hopthatissociallyandpoliticallyconsciousforaddressing liberationstrugglesnotonlywithintheAfricanAmericancommunitybutalsowithinother historicallyoppressedcommunities.1Thus,engagingsocialissuesrappedaboutbyoneartistin particular,KendrickLamar,withideasstudiedinethnicstudiesofferstheopportunitytothink morecriticallyabouthowtheseissuesaffectAmericansocietymorebroadlyandnotjustthose mentionedinthemusic.Inparticular,Iaminterestedinanti-blacknessandradicallove,which arethoughtaboutinethnicstudies.ChristinaSharpe,aBlackStudiesProfessoratYork University,describesanti-blacknessasclimate,changingandimprovisingtoproducenew ecologiesthatkeepAmericansocietyinasingularitywhereblacklifeisdevalued.2Thisethnic studiesanalysisapproachwillalsodrawfromtheworkofW.E.B.DuBois,whohelpsconvey whatLamarrapsaboutregardingtheAfricanAmericanexperienceintheUnitedStatesasa constantstateofquestioningandsuppressingone’srighttoshowupintheirAfricanidentity In thechapter“TheSocialBodyofLove:CraftingDecolonialMethodologies”fromherbook Eros Ideologies,LauraE.Pérezproposestheconceptofradicallovetodeconstructcolonialwaysof thinkingwithinourselves,whicharereinforcedbyoppressiveforceslikeanti-blacknessand racism,byallowingourselvesthecreativitytoenvisionsocietybeyondstructuralformsof
1Alridge, DerrickP,andJamesB Stewart “Introduction:HipHopinHistory:Past,Present,andFuture” The Journal of African American History 90, no 3 (July 2005): 190–95 https://doiorg/101086/JAAHv90n3p190 2Christina Sharpe,“TheWeather,”TheNewInquiry,April18,2017,
oppression.3ThisapproachisdescribedasadecolonialmethodologybyPérezbecause,asis discussedinethnicstudies,theprojectofcolonizationnecessitatestheextractiveandexploitative laborofapeopleandresources,harmingone’sphysicalandemotionalwell-being.4Theparticular songIchosetodiscussethnicstudiesmethodologyisLamar’s“TheBlackertheBerry”because itdirectlymentionsraceissuesandinternalviolencewithinhiscommunity.Engagingsuchethnic studiesapproacheswithoneofKendrickLamar’smostacclaimedalbums5,particularlyforits politicalandsocialimportance,providesanenrichingopportunitytounderstandtheprofound spaceofresistanceagainstinequalitycreatedwithinthehip-hopgenrethattranscendsethnicand raciallines.
Ina2014interviewwithBillboard,Compton-raisedandrenownedhip-hopartist KendrickLamarsharedthisaboutthe2014deathsofblackmen,includingMichaelBrownand EricGarner,atthehandsofthepolice:
“Iwishsomebodywouldlookinourneighborhoodknowingthatit’salreadyasituation, mentally,whereit’sf—kedup.Whathappenedto[MichaelBrown]should’veneverhappened. Never.Butwhenwedon’thaverespectforourselves,howdoweexpectthemtorespectus?It startsfromwithin.Don’tstartwithjustarally,don’tstartfromlooting itstartsfromwithin.”6 Thefollowingyear,Lamarreleased To Pimp a Butterfly,arace-politicalalbumwhichincluded trackslike“KingKunta”and“HoodPolitics”.Inthe13thtrackofhisalbum,“TheBlackerthe Berry”,Lamarreferstothemurdersofblackmenheseesinthepresentandrecallshis experienceswithviolenceinhiscommunity.Hearguesthatblacklifeisdevaluedbywhite
3Rodríguez,CeliaHerrera,andLauraE Pérez “THESOCIALBODYOFLOVE:CraftingDecolonial Methodologies”In Eros Ideologies: Writings on Art, Spirituality, and the Decolonial,1–16 DukeUniversityPress, 2019,9.https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11sn1n9.6.
4Byrd,JodiA “WeatherwithYou:SettlerColonialism,Antiblackness,andtheGroundedRelationalitiesof Resistance.” Critical Ethnic Studies 5,no.1–2(2019):207–14.https://doi.org/10.5749/jcritethnstud.5.1-2.0207.
5CharlesAaronetal,“The200GreatestHip-HopAlbumsofAllTime,”RollingStone,January4,2022, https://wwwrollingstonecom/music/music-lists/best-hip-hop-albums-1323916/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-2 015-1346604/
6GavinEdwards,“BillboardCover:KendrickLamaronFerguson,LeavingIggyAzaleaAloneandWhy‘We’rein theLastDays,’”Billboard,February28,2015,
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kendrick-lamar-billboard-cover-story-on-new-album-iggy-azalea-poli ce-violence-the-rapture-6436268/
Americansocietybutalsocriticizestheviolenceheandotherblackindividualshaveperpetuated againsteachother ContrarytodifferentanalysesofLamar’ssong,theviolenceLamarrapsabout isnot“sampledtopointoutthemistakesBlackpeoplecanmake,inthesamewaythatwhite peoplecan”.7AlthoughthesongmayappeartocritiqueblackindividualsonLamar’spart,itis worthanalyzingthesong’slyricsthroughanethnicstudieslensthatacknowledgesentrenched anti-blacknessinAmericaandhowitisarootcauseofviolenceagainstblacklife,evenamongst eachother.Thisanalysiswillrequireengagementwithstudiesofself-loveasadecolonial practice,asdiscussedbyPérez,forwhichLamarprovidespotentialdirectioninhisBillboard statementandlyrics.
Thebeginningofthesongisamonologue,inwhichwehearLamarrapping,“Everythingblack,I don'twantblack(theywantustobow)/Iwanteverythingblack/Iain’tneedblack(Downtoour knees)/Somewhite,someblack,Iain’tmeanblack(AndpraytotheGod)”.8Thisuncomfortable, almosteeriebinaryofblackandwhitereflectscenturiesofsystemicracismandstrugglesof blackindividualstoresistracistideasofblacknessasinferiorandwhitenessassuperior,both externallyandinternally Inthefirstchapterof The Souls of Black Folk,titled“OfOurSpiritual Strivings”,intellectualandscholarW.E.B.DuBoisprovidesfoundationalliteraturedepictingthe African-Americanstruggleasanidentityandasamindandsoulagainstthe“NegroProblem”.
Hedescribesthisphenomenon–“double-consciousness”–asa“...senseofalwayslookingatone’s selfthroughtheeyesofothers,ofmeasuringone’ssoulbythetapeofaworldthatlooksonin amusedcontemptandpity”.9By“others”,DuBoisreferstowhiteAmerican
7NEM vanAbeelen,“KendrickLamar’sHypocrisy:ARacialIdentitywithin‘TheBlackertheBerry’(2015)” (bachelor’sthesis,UtrechtUniversity,January1,2021),UtrechtUniversityStudentThesesRepositoryHome,12, https://studentthesesuunl/handle/2050012932/39645
8KendrickLamar,“TheBlackertheBerry,”Genius,ca.2015,00:00-09, https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-the-blacker-the-berry-lyrics.
9DuBois,William,EdwardBurghardt. The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches.Chicago,IL:A.C.McClurg&
Co,9,https://searchalexanderstreetcom/view/work/bibliographic
society.Lamar,likeDuBois,wasawareatayoungagethathisblacknesswasthereasonhe receiveddifferenttreatmentandwhyheexperiencedviolenceandpovertygrowingupin Compton.Healsoviewshisexperiencesasasystemic,institutionalizedissue,ashegoesonto rap“...it’sevidentthatI'mirrelevanttosociety/That’swhatyou’retellin’me,penitentiarywould onlyhireme/Curseme‘tilI’mdead/churchmewithyourfakeprophesizing/ThatI’majustbe anotherslaveinmyhead”.10Utilizinganethnicstudiesmethodology,Lamarcallsattentiontothe raciststructureofthecarceralstateandotherinstitutions,includingcolonialreligion,wherethe racializedandcolonizedotherisseenasirredeemableandmustbepunished.Theideasof consciousnessbetweenDuBoisandLamarintersectbyacknowledgingthatthesestructuresof Americansocietyshapeandimpacttheirhumanpsyche.
Furtherparallelsintheanalysisofanti-blackAmericabetweenLamar’slyricsandDuBoisisthe internalizedfrustrationtheybothfaceinawhitesupremacistsociety.Thesong’schorusrapsin anassertivetone,“IsaidtheytreatmelikeaslavecahmeBlack/Woi,wefeelawholeheapof paincahweBlack/…AllthemsaywedoomedfromthestartcahweBlack”.11DuBoissharesthe samefrustrationwhenhesays“...insteadofsayingdirectly,Howdoesitfeeltobeaproblem?
Theysay,Iknowanexcellentcoloredmaninmytown;...or,DonottheseSouthernoutrages makeyourbloodboil?AttheseIsmile,oraminterested,orreducetheboilingtoasimmer,as theoccasionmayrequire”.12Whatisevidentinbothpoets’statementsistheprogressionof anti-blacknessinAmericansocietycontinuingtoplagueAmericansandviolateblacklife.In Lamar’slyrics,particularly,hedenouncesthecontinuationofacycleoftraumapersistingin AmericansocietyandhowitshapesthewayheandotherblackAmericansfeellivinginthis country.Asstudiedinethnicstudies,violenceispasseddowngenerationally
10Lamar,“TheBlackertheBerry,”2:15-27
11Ibid,1:49-2:07
throughoppressivesystemslikecolonization,andracialconstructionupholdssuchsystems, whichinturnshapethesentimentstowardscertaingroupswithinsociety Itisimportantto understandLamar’slyricsasacritiqueofanideologyandsystembecause,laterinhislyrics, Lamarspeaksoutonhisexperienceswithblack-on-blackcrime.
Lamarfurtherdenouncesanti-blacknessandothersystemsofoppressionbyrecollecting theviolenceheandotherblackindividualscommittedagainstblacklife.Asalreadyestablished, LamarconveysthatblacklifeisdevaluedinAmericansociety,or,asheputsit,“Theblackerthe berry,thesweeterthejuice/Theblackertheberry,thebiggerIshoot”13becausethedarkeryour skincoloris,themorelikelyyouaretobeatargetofdirectviolenceinAmerica.Hence,thereis alottounpackwhenLamarexpresses,“Sodon'tmatterhowmuchIsayIliketopreachwiththe Panthers/OrtellGeorgiaState‘MarcusGarveygotalltheanswers’/…SowhydidIweepwhen TrayvonMartinwasinthestreet/Whengang-bangingmakemekillaniggablackerthanme?/ Hypocrite!”.14TheseventhdemandoftheBlackPantherParty’sTen-PointProgramis“WeWant AnImmediateEndtoPoliceBrutalityandtheMurderofBlackPeople”.15Ataglance,thelyrics seemtospeaktofeelingsofguiltandhypocrisythatLamarfeelsforcondemningviolence againstblackAmericans,yethavingperpetuatedithimselfassomeoneinvolvedingang-street violence.However,byincorporatingstudiesofself-loveasatoolagainstdecolonization, particularlythroughtheworkofPérez,Lamar’slyricsandhisBillboardstatementprovide directiontoaclaimaboutracisminAmericathatdoesn’trequiretheblameofanindividualora group.
13Lamar,“TheBlackertheBerry,”1:43-49
14Ibid.,4:10-32.
15BlackPast.“(1966)TheBlackPantherPartyTen-PointProgram.”BlackPast.org,April5,2018.
Inhisverses,Lamartiesanti-blacknesstoviolencewithinthecommunity.Hedirectshis attentiontotheanti-blackstate,rapping“HowcanItellyouI’mmakingakillin’?/Youmademe akiller,emancipationofarealnigga”.16Lamarstrategicallyproducedanewmeaningforthe EmancipationProclamation,whichabolishedslaveryandupheldthatallblackindividualswithin thecountrywerenow“free”fromenslavement.However,thefreedomgrantedtoAfrican AmericanswasnotthesamefreedomgrantedtowhiteAmericans,whichisevidentinmoments fromhistory,includingtheReconstructioneraandtheCivilRightsMovement,inwhichAfrican Americanswerevictimsoflynchingandotheratrociousactsofviolencemadeagainstthem. AccordingtoPérez,self-loveis“...counterculturalinapositivecreativewayifitinvolves constructingourownsenseofwhatisdecent,ethical,andcorrectagainstnormsofso-called appropriatebehaviorthathaveensuredthehierarchicaldominationofgroupsofpeopleagainst othersandpartsofthehumanpsyche…”.
17ThisgoeshandinhandwithLamar’sinterview statementthatitallstartsfromwithinbecauseAmericansneedtodeconstructbeliefsandideas thatupholdblacknessasinferioranddisposable;recognizingthecrimewithinblackAmericans towardeachotherasaresultofcentury-longingrainedstructuresofanti-blacknessopensthe opportunitytodeconstructthemwithself-lovebecauseinternalizedracialhierarchiestowards oneselfandothersarechippedaway.
KendrickLamar’strack“TheBlackertheBerry”isasignificanttrackthatanalyzes anti-blacknessinAmericafromacontemporaryblackartist’sperspective.Lamardoesan importantthingbyrecollectingtheviolenceheandotherblackindividualshavecommitted againstotherblackfolks,andit'snotbecauseitisawaytoplacetheblameonbothwhiteand blackindividualswhocommitviolenceagainstblacklife.Instead,throughanethnicstudies
16Lamar,“TheBlackertheBerry,”2:49-54.
17Rodríguez,CeliaHerrera,andLauraE Pérez “THESOCIALBODYOFLOVE:CraftingDecolonial
methodology,itisclearhowitistocriticizethedeeplytraumatized,anti-blackforceinAmerica embeddedineveryindividualasacauseofitsmorethancentury-longdevelopment.Lamar’s sentimentsabouthisandothers’experiencesasablackmaninAmericamirrorsimilarstruggles andexperiencesDuBoiswritesaboutinhisbook, The Souls of Black Folk.The double-consciousnessofbeingAmericanandblackmakesbothpoetsfeelexcludedfromthe white-dominantsocietyinAmericabecausetheyaretreatedinawaythatmakesthemfeel inferior.LamaratteststohispersonalexperienceswithviolenceinhisComptoncommunityand asablackindividualingeneralinhismusicandinterviews.18Inbothhisinterviewstatementand lyrics,Lamarrecognizesthedeeplystructuralanti-blackandracialconstructthathindersblack Americansfromprospering.HeissuggestingwhatPérezdiscussesaboutself-loveasatoolfor decolonizingourmindsandsouls:todeconstructtheforcesthatarefoundedonthebeliefthat onegroupisdominantoveranother,wemustfirstchallengeourselvestoenvisionourworld outsideofthenormativebeliefsthatrestrictandthreatentodestroyus.19KendrickLamarspeaks toself-loveandtowardsanacceptanceandunderstandingwegainfromeachother’swantsand desires,outsideofacolonialandracial-capitalistsocietythatresultsinblamingonegroupor individual,tochipawayatthestructuralforcesthatkeepusoppressed.
18Edwards,“BillboardCover:KendrickLamaronFerguson,”Billboard
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