Kendrick Lamar

This won for Video of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Direction, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. Lamar opened the broadcast with a performance of song (along with "DNA.") where he was joined on stage by a team of ninjas. www.songfacts.com

The track opens with lines from Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "Alls my life, I had to fight." "Alright" expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles, and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. The song was associated with the Black Lives Matter movement after several youth-led protests were heard chanting the chorus. Publications such as Rolling Stone, People, and Complex noted the song's importance in the protests, calling "Alright" the "unifying soundtrack" of the movement. In an interview with MTV News, Lamar stated that he found inspiration for "Alright" while visiting South Africa and witnessing problems that locals faced: "Their struggle was ten times harder." tinyurl.com oklama.com

The track opens with lines from Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "Alls my life, I had to fight." "Alright" expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles, and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. The song was associated with the Black Lives Matter movement after several youth-led protests were heard chanting the chorus. Publications such as Rolling Stone, People, and Complex noted the song's importance in the protests, calling "Alright" the "unifying soundtrack" of the movement. In an interview with MTV News, Lamar stated that he found inspiration for "Alright" while visiting South Africa and witnessing problems that locals faced: "Their struggle was ten times harder." tinyurl.com oklama.com

This song finds Lamar rapping about self-esteem issues regarding the color of one's skin and the importance of loving all forms of black, no matter how light or dark. The chorus references the cruel discrimination the black Zulu tribe suffered in South Africa because of the color of their skin, during the country's racist apartheid policies. Rapsody spits the third verse. She first met Lamar in 2011 when the Compton rapper was in her area on tour. She was in a recording studio and he came in to grab some beats from 9th Wonder. Later that year, Lamar recorded some rhymes for Rapsody's track "Rock the Bells." Produced by Thundercat. www.kendricklamar.com

"DAMN." won numerous awards after its release, including the 2018 Grammy for Best Rap Album. It was nominated for Album of the Year (he lost to Bruno Mars for "24K Magic"). oklama.com

The track opens with lines from Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "Alls my life, I had to fight." "Alright" expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles, and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. The song was associated with the Black Lives Matter movement after several youth-led protests were heard chanting the chorus. Publications such as Rolling Stone, People, and Complex noted the song's importance in the protests, calling "Alright" the "unifying soundtrack" of the movement. In an interview with MTV News, Lamar stated that he found inspiration for "Alright" while visiting South Africa and witnessing problems that locals faced: "Their struggle was ten times harder." tinyurl.com

“Backseat Freestyle” is the third track from Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, where he raps from the perspective of his younger self with rapid, confident verses that capture raw teenage ambition and bravado. The song’s intense flow and bold lyrics serve as a standout moment in the album’s larger narrative of growing up in Compton. Watch the video: www.youtube.com

The LA rapper’s fifth full-length - his first since 2017 release "DAMN" - incudes an abundance of collaborations: tracks with Ghostface Killah, Thundercat, Baby Keem, Sampha, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Summer Walker, and others. oklama.com

The track opens with lines from Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "Alls my life, I had to fight." "Alright" expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles, and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. The song was associated with the Black Lives Matter movement after several youth-led protests were heard chanting the chorus. Publications such as Rolling Stone, People, and Complex noted the song's importance in the protests, calling "Alright" the "unifying soundtrack" of the movement. In an interview with MTV News, Lamar stated that he found inspiration for "Alright" while visiting South Africa and witnessing problems that locals faced: "Their struggle was ten times harder." tinyurl.com