Kendrick Lamar gave the performance of the year with his Grammy performance of his two hits, "The Blacker the Berry" and "Alright". His performance evoked many emotions from the audience especially pride and a sense of belonging/connection. He touched on different issues such as mass incarceration, coming out handcuffs and having the jail cells in the background. This opening and him breaking his handcuffs reminds people of the unfairness we face with the criminal justice system. Also, the breaking of his handcuffs could be seen as him showing the freedom desired from his fellow black brothers. The next setting has shows a fire and people dancing in what seemed to me, an African traditional dance. This gesture reminds the African American people of their roots. To end his performance, a map of Africa is shown with 'Compton' written on it (seen in our post on Ethos). I believe this showed that we all, come from Africa and we are all united and there's no difference whether you're, let's say, a first generation African or an African American.
You can also feel the passion he feels about the different issues we have in the black society. I believe that Lamar wanted to not only display issues we face as an African American in society, but also make people feel a sense of pride.
One thing that was really interesting is that one of his lines from his song was muted. I believe the line was: And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure. This was a shocker, because usually things are muted if there's explicit language, and clearly there was none in this line. Silence shows that there is something to hide. This makes me, personally, makes me a bit irritated. What are the Grammy producers trying to hide? Lamar shows no shame in his lyrics nor his performance, he wasn't scared, but proud. They should also should let him be himself, uncensored and unapologetic.
-Kumam B. Khasar
Your thoughts about Kendrick Lamar's performance were very interesting and enjoyable to read. I also noticed the line you pointed out and was curious about it. It was very shocking to me that they didn't mute some words in the line. I completely agree with you: What are Grammy producers hiding?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that they muted that line from his performance. I feel like that should have been big news and Kendrick should have spoke out about it. It's another example of African Americans being silenced or ignored just like they used to be during the 1960s. I love your explanation of his performance and how it appeals to pathos. His lyrics are not only powerful but his performances are too.
ReplyDelete- Jack Vigneron
I watched this performance live and was very shocked when I heard the line muted. I'm a huge Kendrick fan and love everything he is doing for his community and society as a whole, and it is very cool to read your explanation of his performance.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Lamar's performance was the performance of the year. To me, the handcuffs and references to mass incarnation of blacks were portrayed as a form of modern slavery, especially when the handcuffs were broken.
ReplyDelete