Alright by Kendrick Lamar (2015)

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To Pimp a Butterfly Cover Album by Kendrick Lamar

"Alright" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, taken from his third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015). The song's lyrics are about trust in the midst of personal battles, including uncredited vocals from, co-producer Pharrell Williams during the chorus.

Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" received four nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards and winning the latter two. The song has become the national soundtrack of Black Lives Matter protests.[1]

Black Empowerment

This message of the verses is firmly identified with Black Lives Matter and the battle against police brutality over black and brown skinned people. In fortitude, activists across the United States recited, "we gon' be alright."

Nigga, we gon' be alright
Nigga, we gon' be alright
We gon' be alright
Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright
Nigga, we gon' be alright
Huh? We gon' be alright
Nigga, we gon' be alright
Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

(Kendrick Lamar.  Lyrics to “Alright.” Genius, 2016, genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-alright-lyrics)[2]

The chorus “We gon’ be alright” is basic however exceptionally inebriating, it's catchy, offering such a solace that ethnic minorities and other abused or oppressed communities frantically need. Moreover, the unique sort of solace that comes from repeating the sentence again and again.[3]

Controversy

Lamar got criticism from Geraldo Rivera during her performance of the sing "Alright" at the 15th BET Awards on June 28, 2015. In Rivera's view, the song is damaging to African-Americans and that it represents the wrong message.[4] As response to Rivera's commentary, Lamar said, “How can you take a song that’s about hope and turn it into hatred?” he said. “The message, the overall message [of ’Alright’], is, ’We gon’ be alright.’ It’s not a message of ‘I want to kill people.’”[5]

References