Against Social Injustice: Analysis of Kendrick Lamar and Nwa’s Songs

Have you ever been discriminated against or even threatened because of the color of your skin? For hundreds of years, black people have been discriminated against, looked down upon, and even killed just because of the color of their skin. It is estimated that every twenty-four hours, a black person is killed by a police officer. Musical influencers all around the world, mainly hip hop and rap artists, have gone out of their way to create songs based on this racial injustice and discrimation. Kendrick Lamar and the infamous rap group NWA both have expressed their feelings toward racial discrimination and racial injustice in America by rapping about police discrimination against blacks, harsh living conditions, and how they were able to overcome the discrimination.

Black people all over the U.S. have faced not only discrimination from regular civilians but discrimination from those who were supposed to “serve and protect.” Many black people have been harassed or even killed by policemen for no apparent reason. Through Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright” and NWA’s songs “Straight Outta Compton” and “F… Tha Police,” their song lyrics make it almost completely evident that they are not fond of police being the good guys. Kendrick Lamar made it clear that he believes that the police want them dead by saying, “And we hate po-po wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, n….” NWA is infamous for their hatred towards the police. They have gone out of their way and have explicitly created a song named “F… Tha Police.” In this song, they have clearly stated that, because of their skin color, they have it worse in the world than anyone else by saying, “F…. the police comin' straight from the underground a young n…. got it bad 'cause I'm brown and not the other color so police think they have the authority to kill a minority.” Since the start of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, there have been multiple strikes and protests regarding how police brutality should come to an end. As of 2020, there have been little to no reports of police brutality against black people.

Blacks in America have had to endure harsh living conditions just because of their skin color. They are treated differently or even wrongly daily and have to deal with that their whole lives. There is more poverty in black people than any other race in America. According to USA Today, twenty-three percent of all African Americans are in poverty. There are a total of 9.1 million black people in poverty in America. Kendrick Lamar expresses his experiences of harsh living conditions in his song “Alright,” by saying, “Alls my life I has to fight, n….” and “Diggin' in my pocket ain't a profit, big enough to feed you everyday my logic, get another dollar just to keep you In the presence of your chico ah! I don't talk about it, be about it, everyday I see cool If I got it then you know you got it, Heaven, I can reach you.” Through this, he is saying that he never grew up with enough. He dug in his pockets lookin for enough money to pay for his necessities, but there was never enough. NWA has also had their fair share of lyrics expressing their experiences of harsh living conditions by saying, “If not from the records, from jackin the crops just like burglary, the definition is 'jackin'.” They have had to deal with constant burglaries and people stealing and just robbing people in their neighborhoods. There are deaths daily regarding gang violence or just because someone dislikes another person in certain cities in the United States, especially in California.

Blacks have learned to overcome this discrimation and have learned to live past it. After hundreds of years of racial injustice and discrimination against black people, they have learned to find ways to stand up for themselves and their rights. They have learned to look past all of the hate and have learned to overcome their daily struggles. Yes, there is still hatred in this world and there is still racism and discrimination, but through bands of people coming together to recognize that these things are not okay and actually putting out an effort to put a stop to it, is the real win in the whole situation. Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright,” constantly started the lyric, “We gone be alright” to show the black community that no matter what, they have each other and nothing can or will prevail against them. Kendrick also stated in his song, “I keep my head up high, I cross my heart and hope to die. Lovin' me is complicated too afraid of a lot of changes. I'm alright and you're a favorite. Dark nights in my prayers.” Through this, he is saying that he has no longer looked to the bad, but looks towards God and has put his faith in Him. Kendrick doesn’t need faith in society anymore, but he needs it in God to go about his life and know that in the end, he will be alright.

Through Kendrick Lamar and NWA’s songs about racial injustice and racial discrimination, black people all over the world have learned that they are not alone through this and that they have the ability to overcome these harsh living conditions and police discrimination. For hundreds of years, black people have had to endure discrimination and inequality just because of the color of their skin. This subject on racial injustice/ racial discrimination matters because the world should be an equal and peaceful place. If these things are still in the world, then we cannot achieve the peace and equality that we desire.

Works Cited

• Turkovich, Marilyn - “Hip Hop and Rap as Art, and as an Agent of Change for Social Justice and Political Reform” Charter for Compassion, 12 September 2017 https://charterforcompassion.org/introduction-to-the-third-edition-the-performing-arts-as-educator-and-healer/hip-hop-and-rap-as-art-and-as-an-agent-of-change-for-social-justice-and-political-reform
• Hubbar, Shanita - “The Historical Relationship Between Hip Hop and Social Justice: From “The Message” to Nas and Usher’s Newest Video “Chains”.” Huffpost, 20 October 2015. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-historical-impact-of-_b_8335198
• Whitt, Gregg - “Exploring The Intersection Of Hip-Hop And Social Justice” Uproxx, 30 November 2016. https://uproxx.com/music/hip-hop-social-justice-intersection/
• Keesler, Amelia - “SHHO Panel Examines How Hip-Hop is More Than a Genre” The Daily Tarheel, 6 March 2018. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2018/03/hip-hop-justice-0306
• Browne, Erika - “Hip Hop, Social Justice, and Belonging” Othering and Belonging Institute, 9 July 2018. https://belonging.berkeley.edu/hip-hop-social-justice-and-belonging