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Kendrick Lamar: The Issue Of Race And The Police

1088 Words5 Pages

N.W.A.
The issue of race and the police was a very important issue in 2015. The incidents in Ferguson Missouri and Baltimore were followed by a seeming never ending list of different cites where innocent black youth were being slaughtered by the police. The video of a black man running away in North Charleston was sickening and absolutely damning to any justification of deadly force. This theme of unprovoked violence by the police with a strong message that “black lives matter,” was featured at the 50th Superbowl by Beyoncé in her half time performance. Kendrick Lamar performed at the 2016 Grammy awards. His performance was an angry unapologetic statement on the problem between people of color and the police and society in the United States …show more content…

Ice Cube’s part in the song states that in the view of police that people towards individuals of color, “And not the other color so police think they have the authority to kill a minority”. He continues, “Ice Cube will swarm on any motherfucker in a blue uniform. Just cause I’m from, the CPT Punk police are afraid of me” (Ice Cube). “Our people been wanting to say, ‘Fuck the police’ for the longest time,” according to Ice Cube in an interview from, “If something happened in my neighborhood, the last people we’d call was the police. Our friends get killed; they never find the killer. 387 people were killed in gang activity in L.A. in 1988” (Moore). Ice Cube stated in 2015 that the police felt they had the freedom and authority to go after anyone that they thought might be a gang member (Moore). Mc Ren’s part of the song follows what sounds like a strong provocation to the police, yet this should be viewed as a statement of one’s right to their own dignity and self …show more content…

(Fuck tha Police)
It is clear from his lyric that he does not have faith the the justice system to be fair to him or anyone that is any other color than white. The statement refutes the authority of the police, seeing the police officer as someone who pulls his power from two pieces of metal that he wear and carries.
The largest impact of N.W.A may be the influence that their approach to their music. Kendrick Lamar at the induction to the Rock and Roll Hall fame summed their influence, “The fact that a famous group can look just like one of us and dress like one of us, talk like one of us, proved to every single kid in the ghetto that you can be successful” (Grow). N.W.A. wasn’t a packaged act, they lived the life portrayed in their music. They kicked open the door for other artists to say what they felt and show the world who they are and the state of their communities. The freedom to challenge authority and

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