The Carolina MC duly steps up, offering a personal recollection of her own wrestles with self-image, gently venting on how the stigmas surrounding colourism tempered with her own personal confidence and sense of self. To round out the dialogue and to add depth to the songs intentions, “Complexion” includes a guest verse from Rapsody. It’s a bold and honest depiction of the lingering constructs that still fuel colourism today. In a frank discussion of prejudice by shade, we hear him speak on the ignorant ideals he inherited as a teenager, how, “ I used to be so mistaken by different shades of faces,” and how he has slowly come to resolve those internal disdains, loving black in any shade it appears. “Complexion” sees Lamar tackle colourism. Throughout, he purges the personal and generational traumas delivered to black communities by police brutality and systemic racism and finds a resolute optimism in a future brighter than the present moment. That tone of liberation is captured on “Alright”, an anthemic rallying call that became a symbol for black protest across the world. The message was clear: it was a portrait of defiance and empowerment for those the country had left behind. At their feet lies a judge sprawled across the floor, eyes crossed out and presumed dead, gavel loosely held in his fingers. The album cover depicts a powerful photograph of Lamar and his childhood friends posted up on the White House lawn, bare chested with bills and alcohol bottles in their fingers. It was an extended gaze at race and class in America, as well as the candid journaling of his own internal battles with depression and his wavering mental health. To Pimp A Butterfly presented new themes and new sounds. While many listeners pined for the guttural, long winding raps of the previous album, Lamar was ready to steer in a new direction. In 2015, after the acclaim and accolades of Good Kid, MAAD City, Lamar released a long-awaited follow-up. Then freeze that verse when we see dollar signs.” ‘Untitled 02 | ’ (From Untitled Unmastered) “ Park the car, then we start rhymin', ya bish,” he says, “The only thing we had to free our mind. While they weigh up home invasions and a dream of money trees to diffuse their financial pressures, the mirage and fantasies of farfetched rap dreams glint vaguely in the distance. The undercurrent that pulls its tide is the unrelenting yearn for income, the hunger to go beyond their circumstances, a fervour that, when misdirected, can foster the kind of reckless spirit that sees young men risk their lives and freedom. Throughout, Lamar and Jay Rock glance back and forth between the perils of poverty and the instant rewards, yet high risks of life on the streets. With production from DJ Dahi it sees Lamar document the faint imaginings he and friends had growing up of a life beyond the confines of their neighbourhood. Armed with a stellar verse from TDE stablemate Jay Rock, the song is a wider glance at the relentless pursuit of the American Dream. On an album revered as one of the finest rap records of its era, “Money Trees” is among its crown jewels. “Dreams of living life like rappers do,” Lamar slurs on “Money Trees”, another standout moment from Good Kid, MAAD City. The screenplay-level detail of Lamar's writing has been enriched by a collective of producers, instrumentalists, singers, and rappers, a high percentage of whom - including inspirations Dr. (2017), his three proper major-label albums, have displayed an unmatched mix of inventive wordplay and compelling conceptual narratives, examining internal conflict, flaunting success, and uplifting his community. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), the Grammy-winning To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and the Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. After several years of development, Lamar hit his creative and chart-topping stride in the 2010s. Indisputably the most acclaimed rap artist of his generation, Kendrick Lamar is one of those rare MCs who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him.
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