Kendrick Lamar is an artist who has been famous for quite some time. His breakout album was released in 2012, "good kid, m.A.A.d city", and he has only made hits since then. His creative process includes a lot of meditation on his life experiences. Throughout all of his music he explores themes of oppression, specifically in the black community. He talks about growing up in Compton and explores how he has changed and the struggles he has been through.
"Rich n****, broke phone (ah)
Tryna keep the balance, I'm stayin' strong (ooh)
Stop playin' with me 'fore I turn you to a song (yeah)Stop playin' with me 'fore I turn you to a song (ooh)
Ayy, b****, I'm attractive (ah)
Can't f**** with you no more, I'm fastin', ugh (ooh)
B****, I'm attractive (ah, ah, ah, ah)
Can't f*** with you no more, I'm fastin', ugh"
He explains how he struggles to keep "the balance" but still approaches all his struggles in confidence. Additionally, the song "Rich Spirit", talks about the many material items that individuals strive for that don't make up their internal beauty.
"Take off the Dolce
Take off the Birkin bag (take it off)
Take all that designer bullsh** off
And what do you have? (B****)
Huh, huh, uh, you ugly as f****"
Kendrick says that once all the material items are gone, there is no beauty at all. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking that it was truly just funny. However, the more thought I put into it I can see that this is a real target at the rich. He is saying that no amount of material items will ever really make you satisfied. He explains that you shouldn't try to hide the "ugly", the true beauty inside, with all of the fake materials.
Listening to this album really made me connect with what I was reading in The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson. The book talks about the ethics of gene editing and designer babies with CRISPR. There's a whole chapter on who gets to decide to utilize this tool. Do we set a line that gene editing should only be a tool utilized for individuals with severe diseases? Does that line get foggy once we put a price tag on who can use this tool? There are so many questions the book poses and I feel l like Kendrick's music is a response to some of these questions. Mr. Morale, Kendrick Lamar, explores the morality of how to approach certain topics. Through his music, Kendrick questions how much further the racial and political divide will become when we put these "designer" tools out in the market. Kendrick urges his listeners to let go of the material and find ways to decrease the racial and political divide that is very present in our country.
Hi! I thought your connection of the book "The Code Breaker" to Mr. Moral and the Big Steppers was interesting! I wasn't expecting it! I think you raise a interesting point about the gene-editing and designer babies and the fact that, as you said, "once all the material items are gone "there is no beauty at all." When it comes to this sentiment, I don't entirely agree, but I do think that we shouldn't, as you say, try to hide the "ugly" or the true beauty inside. When it comes to CRISPR, I believe that there are more disastrous consequences to letting anyone purchase it for a price. More so than Birken's or designer fashion. It brings to mind this question: how do we decide how the fruits of creativity are regulated or accesible to the public? I personally think that CRISPR should only be used for severe conditions for now, until social progression continues in our society. When it comes to designer fashion, we must as the question: How can we continue to produce insane amounts of clothing without seeing the material consequences on our climate eventually? Creativity has many applications as exemplified by this post. Hopefully it is not used to oppress people, or exacerbate crises.
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