This is kinda funny because Dr. Umar literally gets invited to speak at colleges. University of Minnesota hosted him in 2024, Edward Waters University had him in a speaker series, and he just spoke at Trinity Business School. So by your own logic, is Dr. Umar a sellout too? 😭 And ‘Kendrick works with the industry’ isn’t proof of anything. Being commercially successful doesn’t automatically cancel out what someone says or stands for.
that logic makes no sense tho 😭 being alive and getting awards isn’t proof someone is secretly working for the industry. plenty of people have spoken about racism and politics and are still alive. and now you’re saying kendrick worked with the industry to ‘destroy drake’ with no proof either. drake and kendrick had a rap beef, kendrick won it because the records hit harder and the public sided with him. if you think there was some industry plot then show actual evidence, because ‘kendrick is alive and successful’ is not evidence.
you’re assuming kendrick is a sellout and doesn’t help black artists but you still haven’t shown any proof of that. and white people liking kendrick doesn’t mean he’s somehow working against black people. pac and kendrick also came up in completely different eras with different media, politics and audiences, so ‘white people hated pac but like kendrick’ doesn’t prove anything. kendrick has spent his whole career talking about racism, exploitation, poverty, black identity and the industry. if you think he’s fake, actually show what he’s done instead of just saying white people like him.
You keep moving the goalposts 😭 First Kendrick couldn’t storytell, now the songs ‘don’t count’ unless they’re bigger than Stan. Popularity and storytelling quality are not the same thing. I’d take Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst over I’m Not Racist easily, and I think it’s absolutely in the same conversation as Stan. Kendrick writes multiple perspectives, unreliable narrators, callbacks and consequences across an entire album, not just one self contained story. Calling all of that ‘mid’ isn’t an argument, it’s just your opinion. And saying those songs will ‘die with Kendrick’ when people are still dissecting GKMC and TPAB more than a decade later is a wild prediction.
@bloomingsee@GodswillRed@9ja_DrCaleb So we went from ‘Kendrick can’t storytell’ to ‘white people like him, therefore he’s a sellout’ 😭 That’s not a critique of his music. Pac being under-awarded doesn’t make Kendrick undeserving, and an artist having white fans doesn’t erase what they actually write about.
Saying Kendrick has no classic storytelling song is crazy when Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst, DUCKWORTH., How Much a Dollar Cost, The Art of Peer Pressure and Keisha’s Song exist. SAMIDOT literally tells multiple interconnected stories from different perspectives and ties them into the album’s larger narrative. DUCKWORTH. tells how a random encounter between Kendrick’s father and Top Dawg could’ve changed Kendrick’s entire life. And How Much a Dollar Cost turns one interaction with a homeless man into a story about pride, selfishness and morality. ‘Everyone knows it’ measures popularity, not storytelling ability. Joyner is good, but saying Kendrick can’t tell stories because he doesn’t have a song as commercially recognizable as Stan isn’t a serious argument.
Pulitzer Prizes aren’t given because one bar sounds cool. DAMN. won because the project was recognized for its composition, storytelling, rhythm and depiction of modern African American life. And ‘white people only listen to Kendrick out of guilt’ isn’t an argument, it’s just a stereotype. If your counterpoint is ‘all awards are bought’ with no evidence, you haven’t actually explained why Kendrick doesn’t belong in the conversation.
@bloomingsee@GodswillRed@9ja_DrCaleb GKMC, TPAB, DAMN, a Pulitzer, multiple classic albums, elite lyricism, storytelling, influence and longevity. At this point the better question is what hasn’t Kendrick done to be on that list?????