Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar's relentless efforts for inner city youth, influential music, and serving as a positive role model has earned him hero status. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, was born June 19, 1987, in Compton, California. His childhood was challenging, as he grew up in a broken family without a father, and a troubled mother. Throughout his life in Compton, Lamar faced gang violence, drugs, crime, and police brutality. Faced with all this adversity, throughout high school as a teenager, he still managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA and be a star basketball player. He continued to face challenges into his adulthood, but remained dedicated and was able to achieve being one of the best rappers of our generation. A hero must possess nobility, and  Lamar demonstrates this throughout the course of his life by supporting local schools, political events, and community improvement projects, to name a few.  As a result of Kendrick Lamar's positive efforts, notwithstanding all his obstacles, his altruistic nature has earned him to be endowed with hero accolade.    

Lamar's main crisis that he impacts are the acts of police brutality, specifically for those populations that reside in impoverished regions. He uses education to support those affected, by teaching people to be aware of their rights and freedoms. "'Alright"continues to be the unofficial anthem of nationwide police-brutality protests"( Gwizdowski.). Lyrics in Alright, describe the volatile political environment he and other minorities are exposed to. He chronicles his pain by voicing his experience with police brutality, poverty, and violence.  What's special about his message is that his although his challenges are a black cloud, he ensures the listener that there is a silver lining. "Wouldn't you know / We been hurt, been down before / *****, when our pride was low / Lookin' at the world like, 'Where do we go?' / *****, and we hate po-po / Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho' / *****, I'm at the preacher's door / My knees gettin' weak, and my gun might blow / But we gon' be alright." - Alright, Kendrick Lamar.  Giving his audience a sense of hope allows for inspiration, making verses such as this some of the most influential lyrics of our generation. So much so, that it indirectly sparked a movement. "The rapper did not set out to create an anthem for protestors with his hopeful exploration of black pride, but it ended up being adopted by many who would chant "We gon' be alright!" during protests" (Spanos). Lamar was successful in channeling a positive energy from very challenging situations that minorities including himself continue to face. By doing so, the outcome of this positive spirit has resulted in a great deal of influence and inspiration, which lends to nothing short of being a hero.

Kendrick Lamar (http://www.kendricklamar.com (Top Dawg Entertainment))

Kendrick Lamar has leveraged his wealth and status to support resources and areas of need especially in impoverished populations and/or low income regions.  For example, going back to his roots and experiences he has accomplished supporting his hometown of Compton. "Rapper Kendrick Lamar Uses Music, Money As Vehicle for Social Change"(Zahedi). Another example of how Lamar has utilized his affluence and fame is through supporting the education of inner city youth, "Kendrick Lamar Has Donated Hundreds of Thousands Of Dollars To Sports, After School & Music programs In Compton"(Parks).  Furthermore, in Compton, many schools face budget cuts that cause them to cut off sports teams, employees, academic courses, and music programs. Lamar helps out with this by fully funding these programs, renovating schools, buying new sports equipment, and sponsoring sport teams. Lamar's unconditional chivalry and generosity for communities in need support him attaining hero status.

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar's hard work and dedication doesn't start and stop with entertainment as a music artist, rather his music is the means to a noble and bold attempt to support systems and people in need, as a result bestowing him with the prestigious honor of being classified as a hero. By definition, a hero is "a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character; a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal" (Dictionary.com).  Lamar's philanthropic lifestyle appropriately measures up to this definition.  He has successfully combated systemic failures such as police brutality, education, poverty to name a few.  Additionally, he has achieved in breaking barriers that poverty stricken demographics face and giving these people a positive platform to challenge the system that abuses them.  

Works Cited

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After School & Music Programs In Compton." Urban Intellectuals. N.p., 19 Feb. 2016.

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Eells, Josh. "The Trials of Kendrick Lamar." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 22 June 2015. Web.

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Style, The Editors of GQ, and Alan Gwizdowski. "Kendrick Lamar Talks to Rick Rubin

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<http://www.gq.com/story/kendrick-lamar-rick-rubin-gq-style-cover-interview>.

Spanos, Brittany. "Songs of Black Lives Matter: 22 New Protest Anthems." Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone, 13 July 2016. Web. 16 May 2017.

<http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/songs-of-black-lives-matter-22-new-protest

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"Hero." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 16 May 2017.

<http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hero>.