This is a follow-up to previous post: Where Do You Go From Here, Kendrick Lamar?

From the Melanated Man:

The suggestion I posed for rapper Kendrick Lamar was to remove himself from the limelight of the mainstream music industry and join the ranks of those on the grassroots level to perform real, social activism. If his message is truly transforming into a conscious tone, he will still be able to rap with the conscious rap genre.

A change of this magnitude, at a point where his status has “elevated,” would be groundbreaking and beneficial to the people he wishes to liberate (black, melanated people.) The change itself is not groundbreaking because there are other rappers and music artists in different genres that are doing the  works on the grassroots level already. The timing, as I mentioned previously, of the change would show the black world that he is just a common man like the rest of us. And it would hopefully set the standard for other big time black artists to do the same, which would be the true miracle in itself.

That would be revolutionary activism.  What if artists like Drake or even Future (seriously!) were to follow his lead? An artist who chose to give up the fame and fortune to live out his rhymes? THE CURRENT TOP DOG IN THE GAME??  Because Kendrick is only one man, he can’t do this on his own. Change is a collective effort. Which is an enemy to capitalism.

The industry will try to minimize the change, which they are currently doing by showering Kendrick with “awards.” After this time of glory, they are going to persuade him to lay off the black consciousness and revert back to previous albums, or better yet, pervert it with party music. There is nothing wrong with party music, but that is not Kendrick. Or so I think.

(And then a thought came to me…)

There is a  Catch-22 to this situation. If art imitates life, then I have to question the magnitude of Kendrick jumping ship. Honestly, would it really make that big of a difference considering who his audience is?

Whether we realize it or not, his message is only geared toward 10-15% of the current United States population. And of that population, it resonates with maybe 20-30%. Only a few truly desire liberation for themselves, let alone know what that truly means. And some really don’t give a damn. I think I am expecting a little too much from Kendrick Lamar.

The responsibility of our liberation falls on us. We have to be the change we seek to become, which in turn will influence the entertainers,the music artists, art in general. That is the only way. NO MORE TOP DOWN LEADERSHIP! We’ve seen how that has turned out….

Black, melanated people don’t understand what we are really up against and who we are fighting. We have to educate ourselves on our history, before slavery, to understand the type of people we really are. Our true nature has been corrupted by the powers that be. We MUST self-educate ourselves. Do we really truly desire our liberation. Or we talking out the side of our neck? Until then, let’s enjoy the “Three Ring Circus” of the music industry while it lasts.