Kendrick Lamar's Intersections: Article Analysis

From Compton, California, Kendrick Duckworth, or more commonly known by his stage name, Kendrick Lamar, is a famous American hip-hop artist whose stardom originated from the release of his album, good kid m.A.A.d city in 2012. However, Lamar had been freestyling since he was sixteen and wrote about the violence he witnessed firsthand in his neighborhood, with musical inspiration from Tupac (“Kendrick Lamar”). His third album released in 2015 was, To Pimp a Butterfly, received much attention by the media, and won Best Rap Album at the Grammys in 2016 (“Kendrick Lamar”). In the album, Lamar recognizes much of the flaws of the political and social systems, as well as race, temptation, and materialism, and overall, his personal story of entering the music industry. From the male and African American perspective, Lamar

In the article, “Intersections”, written by Bonnie T. Drill, she discusses how intersectionality is “an important way of understanding the organization of society – the distribution of power within it and the relationship of power and privilege to individual experience.” (p. 65). Lamar takes an intersectional approach when creating several of the songs on this album and discusses about the differentiating control and power of the music industry over black artists. For example, in the song, “Wesley’s Theory”, Lamar’s “girlfriend” is a metaphor for the rap industry whom his relationship erupted from love to lust (“Wesley’s Theory”). By addressing both sides, the black artist and white capitalist America, he shows how the industry seduces artists with the promise of material things and fame. The artists in turn fall for their tactics and become blindsided to the honest meaning of their