Professor Beef
Banned
So he's a rapper?
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The Black Culture Thread |OT11| In This Salon, Everyone Gets A Perm
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So he's a rapper?
Prototype Viktor
Member
He knows where the hotness resides. Justin T brought Sexy back, and T. Swift sang to 80's music and used her rocket boots and space helmet to collect it from a abandoned temple
When I got to your previous post I was 99.9% sure you were going to bring this up:
http://edit.billboard.com/articles/...album-iggy-azalea-police-violence-the-rapture
That was my smh moment for Kendrick. That being said, in regards to the bolded, nothing I've seen from Kendrick himself put him in this box, vs people assuming he's like this because of his music. It's similar to that woman who got upset with Kendrick because his SO is light skinned, simply because he chose to use a dark skinned woman in one of his music videos and she and others on social media made him some sort of "dark skinned woman only" crusader. Ask yourself, did he ever try to compare himself to a Talib or say he was a "black power" rapper? Or did you listen to "The Blacker the Berry" and assume he'd never hop on a song with a white female pop artist?
MikeBreezy92
Member
Kendrick seems to be the kind of dude who will go from The Blacker the Berry to "GURL YOU KNOW YOU WANT THIS DICK." because he just likes rap and sees it as a tool to make money and a tool to get his message out. Pretty much being pragmatic as possible.
So you think he's corny. Which I can see. Shoe marketing is some of the corniest shit out there. I think TPAB is legitimate and even I find some of it corny.
Don't know about sell out though. But even if he was, his talent is exceptional, and I do think that actually matters. It mattered for Jay Z, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Dre, so on and so forth. A shoe deal or hanging with a pop star does not subvert Kendrick's words on his albums.
I know I'm coming out of no where but fuck it.
Why black artists in general got to be labeled sellouts just because they are trying to do a song with a pop artists or etc? People shit on MC Hammer and all the dude was doing was making a living because music isn't always promised. Most of the "self conscious" rappers did a collab or did a movie role that made folks raise a eyebrow, but at the end of the day they still deliver good music. Nas wrote for Will Smith at one point of his life. There is a difference between doing a song with a pop singer and having a self destructive attitude like some artists (Pharell and the other Nu blacks).
In the immortal words of dude from Da Outlawz
If you ain't in this rap game, for the motherfuckin cash mayne
then what is your motherfuckin purpose?
Why black artists in general got to be labeled sellouts just because they are trying to do a song with a pop artists or etc? People shit on MC Hammer and all the dude was doing was making a living because music isn't always promised. Most of the "self conscious" rappers did a collab or did a movie role that made folks raise a eyebrow, but at the end of the day they still deliver good music. Nas wrote for Will Smith at one point of his life. There is a difference between doing a song with a pop singer and having a self destructive attitude like some artists (Pharell and the other Nu blacks).
In the immortal words of dude from Da Outlawz
If you ain't in this rap game, for the motherfuckin cash mayne
then what is your motherfuckin purpose?
or maybe because those things dont run in conflict with each other. nobody is 100% of anything.
I dont remember Kendrick saying he was anything different
Jackben
bitch I'm taking calls.
Kreed is right. This is what I was referring to when I mentioned flying close to the nublack sun. I appreciate Kendrick's music and I see where his intentions might be coming from but this was just an incredibly dumb, tone deaf thing to say in my opinion. Just to clear things up based on what Trey said, I'm not saying he is Pharrel or Raven Simon level at all, but it really made me raise an eyebrow about his thought process.
Kendrick is an extremely talented rapper with intelligent and thought provoking lyrics. Him doing shoe deals and collabs with pop stars doesn't change that. Corny, yes. Image destroying? No. Money is power and you need that power to expand your brand and make your message heard, that's just the world we live in. Honestly I don't know what people complaining about "selling out" realistically expect artists to actually be doing differently.
Again, you're saying this about the guy who broke the Spotify streaming record and made 1 mill from just one day's streaming of his new album. This is not a rapper who is struggling.
And if he's doing this to have his message heard, then he's tainting his own message by being so contradicting..
I mean really, what does it say when Drake has displayed more integrity than Kendrick, to so-called rapper with a message?
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
You know why? Go back 50 years and see a ton of guys who got there whole style jacked. I just saw the 5 heartbeats yesterday. Right around the time where they brought the 5 white guys. So, cats played the chitlin circuit, made no money, then got crabby when someone else made it. The underlying friction is America's racism with entertainers.
For hammer, he really changed and rap hadn't made it big yet. Nwa was still getting fucked over. Hammer doesn't happen in a vacuum. Rap wasn't even accepted for a long time.
MHWilliams
Member
I mean, I get Royalan's point. Don't talk shit about sellouts and being real, and then flip the script. We know why you did it. Do you, but don't act you're better than the those who came before you.
It's like Idaho senator Larry Craig. Big on anti-gay legislation, caught having sex with a dude in the bathroom.
Sometimes you want the Michael Bay's of the world, who don't try to be anything else.
I guess that's Pitbull or something.
It's like Idaho senator Larry Craig. Big on anti-gay legislation, caught having sex with a dude in the bathroom.
Sometimes you want the Michael Bay's of the world, who don't try to be anything else.
I guess that's Pitbull or something.
the funny/sad thing is it wasn't even underlying, it was straight up "we need a white guy with this new sound, someone who's marketable". These days it's all underying, because I'm sure there was never any kind of reconciliation. Just "hey you want to work? kitchen's in the back." The racism never resolved, some people just assumed it away.
And yeah I can remember hearing strange country white guys singing Four Tops songs on my granddad's radio way back.
This is the real deal though. They call them sellouts, because people do try to buy people, then and today. They try to buy their silence or their allegiance or their image to sell to their young fans. People throw it out there, probably unfairly, before confirming anything just based on image, but it's happened in the past. Keep in mind that the entertainment icons of yesterday were also the philosophers and artists and social consciousness leaders who participated in the black struggle.
selling out though, its different from cashing out. If you can sign a paper and become Magic Jojmsdoj rich without having to change a thing? you'd be a fool not to.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
When you auto correct says, "fuck you nigga, I'm tired of spelling '2 girls, 1 nut'. Give me something better."
But seriously, I'm so used to the black versions of songs, I hate the non Motown versions of records. But that's just the Philly in me. Good black stations.
I don't really get into who sold out. I figured, I'm glad it was Hammer. We need to allow our people to sell out. Hammer did help bring in the 90's golden age. I remember him on Oprah. He needs some credit. It's either hammer or Iggy.
Prototype Viktor
Member
I've been doing Suicide Squeezes for like 2 years in The Show for easy runs thinking it's legal only to look up that the game is incorrectly counting the score because one time it didn't happen and I was mad
Even to this very day Rap isn't accept regardless of it being mainstream to the public. It's either going to be considered "shit", "crap", and other cliches instead of it being a genre. It's unfortunate, but what can you do but try to go against the grain as an entertainer. I used to be on the whole fuck a "sell out" kick until I realize this is bigger than a few endorsements, a pop collab ,and so forth. Questioning Kendrick for his endeavors would be no different from looking weird at Ice Cube for doing "family flicks", Mos Def being a goof in so many fucking movies, and even Joe Buddens doing a damn reality show.
On some real shit, as long as the rap artists is not trying to destroy the community with the "fuck boy" shit like the nu black movement, keep expanding the bar on music, and opening doors....who gives a shit? I learned to accept "selling out" when dudes were rocking pink suits and trying to be mobsters.
The game is the game.
Mobsters in the 70s - 90s really did wear pink ass suits tho. lol
true lol, but it messed dudes heads up during the time when Nas came through looking like fresh Salmon out the can.
FeenixRising
Banned
Vermillion
Banned
I don't think many posters know what the word "chill" means.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
I mean..WHY!? Go to a bar. Go play ball. Why the FUCK is this even a conversation? Bah..
Half the people who make threads do it for attention.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
The dude is nonstop, though. I think he might be straight up serious with his shit lol..
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1051335&page=100000
Gordon Shumway
Banned
Gotta watch that this week..
Bro, I'm not even complaining. Having a nice Memorial Day drink and watching that thread unfold is fantastic.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
It's like him against the "sexually repressed" world..or some shit.
That quote, particularly that "how can we expect them to respect us if we don't respect ourselves" shit, is pretty stupid. I think being conscious of the black community's self destructive capability is imperative, but if you take it a step further and use it as a rationalization or even justification for systemic racism, that's when you've crossed the line into fuckery. TPAB actually channels the spirit of that sentiment in some parts, but I think it stops just short of being accusatory. Which is important when a major theme of the album is self love and respect.
You're not setting any standards for these comparisons, or scrutinizing an actual subject of Kendrick's career/personality. He's corny for the shoe thing, but how is he playing himself by leveraging his brand into another revenue source? How does anything about this situation contradict with his career? I don't recall any of his work being hostile to commercialization in a meta sense.
Kendrick doesn't draw a dichotomy between himself and his peers on the basis of their ability to commercialize their respective images. Specifically with TPAB he feels he's the only rapper with the ability, desire, and stature to make an album with those sorts of themes. If that's what you're referring to, I don't think these situations you brought up subvert that claim.
But he does. When he criticizes other rappers for using ghostwriters, he's criticizing them for the exact same disingenuous brand leverage for the purpose of getting paid that he's now guilty of (unless you think Kendrick's life can actually be summed up by a green shoe?).
I really dont see this connection at all. Accusing someone of using a ghostwriter means you cant do a shoe deal?
Exactly.
Professor Beef
Banned
You mind explaining a bit more?
Face it Tiger..
Banned
Roy thinks getting shoe deals is as disingenuous as using a ghostwriter.
I agree.
Culture wise at least, it's kinda like selling out.
I've been explaining the last few pages.
Nothing wrong with brand endorsements, especially endorsements for products you believe in. But let me ask you: Do you think a Reebok saved Kendrick's life? Inspired Kendrick? Is a part of Kendrick's revolution? Do you think Kendrick Lamar gave a single shit about Reebok until they approached his ass with a fat paycheck?
Again, ain't nothing wrong with using your brand to make some cash. But then don't position yourself as some sort of real rapper and criticize other rappers for having the pragmatism to wield their brands in the same disingenuous way to make some cash. It just surrounds you in an air of "ain't shit."
Kendrick ain't no more honest than any other rapper out there. Sure likes to act like it though.
Basically.
that's cause there isnt one. i'd say that it's tenuous at best but even that's too generous.
I mean. Ghostwriting actually goes against the spirit of rap, which is fundamentally about perspective. If you got dudes writing you the same washed club shit so you can get a platinum song, you're not really rapping. You're reciting - performing. That (used to be) a mark of shame when it comes to hip hop, though the practice has become very widespread as the genre has become more popular.
Kendrick takes great pride in his capability, and uses this as a mark to both brag about his talent and set himself apart from his peers. As a result, both of his albums feel more cohesive, authentic, any superlative you wanna throw at it, than most other rappers. He's gotten many accolades as a result of his experiences and thoughts being channeled through his creativity.
Turning those accolades into revenue through shoe deals and other such marketing is a result of the qualities that set Kendrick apart.
One is the result of the quality of product, the other is actually the product.
The only connection between the two is that they both conceivably make the artist's pocket fatter.
And again, as I said earlier, Kendrick thinks his talent sets him apart, but if what we're discussing is brand leverage, what the fuck does talent have to do with anything? Fuck talent. You act like everyone in the rap game who's built a strong brand and leverages it has been talented. lol
Sorry, but that makes no sense at all. The man is making a deal for a shoe. This doesn't take away from the fact that his music is on an entirely different level than his peers and that Kendrick has the intelligence to pull it off. That's like trying to jump on Tupac because he made Juice. Does Juice take away from the visceral and raw emotion that came through Tupac's music and defined him as a person? No it didn't. So Kendrick wants to make a Kdot shoe or some shit. Doesn't mean he sold out. That's some true Scotsman type shit.
The talent is what creates his entire brand in the first place. There would be no brand to leverage if Kendrick wasn't who he was or made the music he made. Of course Kendrick would exploit his brand for financial gain - being a rapper in and of itself is an acknowledgement of that intent. That's beside the point of the spirit of the genre, its creative process, and one's integrity as an artist. That's what Kendrick attacks - not the motive of financial gain, but the method of passing off another's perspective and talent as your own.
Professor Beef
Banned
roy are you one of those people who thought metallica cutting their hair made them sellouts
be honest
be honest
So, basically the argument being framed is that Kendrick can do the same thing other rappers do, and still criticize them for it, because when he does it it's different "because I'm talented"?
Fuck the talent. We're not discussing how someone arrived at having brand power, just that they have it. And you can't criticize other rappers for basically doing the same shit you're doing with your brand.
Who's metallica? Is that a new girl group from the UK?
Kendrick can do the same thing as other rappers in that they're both in the same profession.
Kendrick leverages his brand to make money, same as other rappers.
Kendrick does not use ghostwriters, and he criticizes those that do, which further highlights his particular talent.
If Kendrick criticized another rapper for getting a shoe deal, that would make him a hypocrite.
Getting a shoe deal is not "basically the same" as using a ghostwriter. Same way that a basketball player getting a shoe deal is not basically the same as a man who looks suspiciously like Kawhi Leonard suiting up for the Atlanta Hawks, wearing Korver's jersey.
The basic argument is that Kendrick's shoe deal is the result of his talent producing a viable brand, all which he did without using a ghostwriter. He criticizes rappers who do use a ghostwriter because he feels that compromises the integrity of the art form. He does not criticize them for leveraging their brand, he criticizes them for being phony, and he uses that to further push the point that he is without peer in the rap game.
TheKaeptain
Banned
The only Kendrick has ever said is he would like his generation to release better music. That's it.
Prototype Viktor
Member
OhDocta was on This Week in Tech today talking about he's averaging being pulled over every 15 days
Somethin's in the water
And if I gotta brown nose for some gold, then I'd rather be a bum than a motherfuckin' baller
You sure that's his only argument? I mean, I can keep pulling lyrics up.
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