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Kendrick Lamar's Song Say It Loud

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Musicians and creators have preserved social histories by writing and singing about them for over 50 years. A strong example is the Black Lives Matter movement. Many artists, such as James Brown, took part in this social revolution. James Brown wrote a song titled “Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”. This song was about the quality of life that black people had back then and the difficulties they had faced. Two more artists published songs about this same topic 50 years after Brown had. Those two artists were MIA and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar wrote a song titled Alright. This song was also about the difficulties that black people faced. MIA also wrote a song about this same issue and she even explicitly stated in her song that she was in favor …show more content…

Kendrick Lamar’s hit song “Alright” was one of his most popular pieces of music, and was released about 50 years after James Brown had released his song. It began with the line “Alls my life I had to fight”, which may refer to the difficulties that black people face in life and the length of time that this issue has persisted for. This is very similar to one of the lines in the song by James Brown. Even after 50 years and all the changes that took place after the African-American civil rights movement, this issue is still persisting. This may suggest that the changing of laws did not have a very strong impact on society, and that laws are only a small part of this issue. “Digging in my pocket, ain't a profit big enough to feed you Everyday my logic get another dollar just to keep you In the presence of your chico... Ah!” is a group of lines that talked about the poverty that black people face. And while Lamar stated in an interview by MTV that he was never personally by poverty, James Brown was. Lamar stated in another

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In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he uses periodic sentences, syntax, diction, and allusions to write about his beliefs about the immense struggles African Americans experienced to gain their rights, how he views just and unjust laws, the many different influences have in their lives, and the cruel nature of the citizens, which are still prevalent today. First of all, African Americans went through immense struggles to get the rights they have today. African Americans watched their family members be innocently killed, experienced multiple cruel acts of segregation, and often felt strong resentment to the White population. For instance, Dr. King uses a periodic sentence and imagery to express the immense struggles African Americans endured to gain the

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The creation of the emancipation proclamation and reconstruction period offered hope to those who were once slaves. Essentially, the end of this treatment led to the loss of a strong capital for plantation owners. Reconstruction became a mission for white southerners to redeem the south and the beginning of a new labor force (Jelks). Post emancipation gave ‘freed’ people false hope and made them fight with strength to make their imprint on the world. James Brown, the King of Soul, went through life experiencing criminalization, labor, self-help, religion, politics and fear similar to that of his ‘freed’ counterparts.

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Carrying such powerful lines as “the world is big / big and bright and round / and it's full of folks like me” (Simone, 1967), Backlash Blues became a popular song in the civil rights movement, allowing African Americans to express their proudness and protest racism in a more accessible way. Freedom songs such as Backlash Blues were and are still so significant to African Americans as they “sustain as well as … publicise the struggle[s]” they face (Stefani, 2015). Furthermore,

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Thousands of songs have been made in the fight for racial equality since the beginning of the slave trade. As the years go on songwriters and performers have shifted their songs to focus on the issues plaguing humanity at the time in which the song is being released while also reflecting on the past and hoping for a better future. Common’s 2016 song “ Black America Again” featuring Stevie Wonder is a recent example of a song made in support of racial equality. Common mentions many of the problems Black people face in the fight for justice in his song such as mass incarceration, the wage gap, gentrification, and voter suppression. Throughout the song Common makes his stance evident, he wants to rewrite the Black American story that we know today, instill a sense of pride in Black people across the nation, and reclaim the life and culture that was taken from Black people.

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This is the main phrase that repeats throughout the song, and it seems to encapsulate how Tupac feels about the issue. When things and concepts aren’t questioned and improved upon, nothing changes, and things are left as they are, for better or for worse. In the case of racial inequality, it is definitely for worse. By repeating this line over and over again, it makes the listener start to question why that is, and how, in fact, it should be. Through this, Tupac gives people a reason to start being proactive in the community and to start moving forward with better changes to the status quo.

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We all know that the power of the Black community in America came from deep in their soul. Their strength and will to fight segregation , and their love can be felt in the civil rights movement. Their ability to express their minds in a non- violent way connects to the soul music that James Brown created. James Brown’s music was a mixture of R&B and gospel. Which in a way connects to what Dr. Martin Luther King was trying to do during the civil rights movement.

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The African American community has not gained full equality to this day. Even after fighting for many years this present day issue has come to light in Hip-Hop artists songs like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song, White Privilege II. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are respected in their line of work because they have become very popular in today 's Hip-Hop music. Hip-Hop has been the newest way of news being broadcasted. As many artists like Macklemore have become more of an activist in this day and age.

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