Hello, and welcome to my third action project for the unit of "Sound" in my Humanities core class, "Journalism". The goal of this unit was to take on the role of a radio broadcast journalist by practicing the essential skills of interviewing, script-writing and sound-editing. After doing so, I created a story to tell a mini-biography of a voice important to the 21st century. For this Action Project, I shared a story, collected interviews, recorded, and edited sound bites. I chose Kendrick Lamar as an influential voice in my podcast. Kendrick Lamar is one of the oldest rappers today at age 34. He continues to grow as an artist even though his older albums and music projects still receive praise. I hope you enjoy it! Make sure to check out my other podcasts through my Soundcloud below.
[00:00] - NLWhen it comes to influences, people nowadays only look up to musicians, artists, and actors. Someone who stands out from them all is Kendrick Lamar. He is an actor, songwriter, rapper, and activist. He has won the Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album in 2016 for his album “To Pimp a Butterfly” and in 2018 for his album “DAMN.”. He’s influenced a lot of rappers today, especially his younger cousin who goes by the stage name “Baby Keem”. When it comes to hip-hop especially in the last 10 years Kendrick Lamar has been around on the scene and has been a prominent figure and name in the industry. If you haven’t heard about Kendrick Lamar by now, you have to be living under a rock. That’s fine though, you will know who he is after this podcast today.
[00:52] - NL
When I say the name Kendrick Lamar, what is the first lyric or quote that comes to your mind and why?
[00:56] - KJ
There’s really not a lyric or quote. Ok, I’ll name an album then a song. The first album that comes to mind is “To Pimp A Butterfly”. Cuz that’s just a really good album in general. That’s where I know him from. My dad was playing it and I thought that was nice. And a song, it’s “XXX” on “DAMN.” cuz I used to love that song.
[01:22] -Kendrick Lamar
"I can't sugar coat the answer for you
This is how I feel—if somebody kill my son
That mean somebody's gettin' killed"
Tell me what you do for love, loyalty, and passion of
All the memories collected, moments you could never touch
I wait in front a niggas spot and watch him hit his block.”
[01:39] -JH
I would say the first quote that comes to mind is from one of his songs “Poetic Justice” I found that to be pretty interesting. “If I told you the flower bloomed in a dark room would you trust it?”
[01:49] -Kendrick Lamar
“Poetic justice
If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?
I mean I write poems in these songs dedicated to you. When.”
[01:58] -JH
Yeah, I found that to be pretty interesting cuz like, it just kinda makes you think about how the world is and how different people can come out of the same world differently. The good that comes out of people can stem from the bad that they experienced. And some of the bad that comes out of other people can come from too much good that they’ve experienced. Like it’s just different outcomes from different things people experience, all from the same world.
[02:32] -NL
What influence has Kendrick Lamar had on you?
[02:36] -KJ
I would say he influenced the artist I listen to a certain extent. In general, he’s probably made me pay more attention to the issues that black people have in this country just in general l. And I feel like his music is like a great representation of what we have to go through and just talking about those struggles.
[03:04] -JH
I feel like music hasn’t really affected me as much as it has other people. I’m not really into music as much as other people are. But when I listen to Kendrick; when I listen to people like Kendrick; I feel like the world can be changed in so many different ways for the better of course. I feel like there’s still hope for what people can end up becoming.
[03:30] -NL
Kendrick Lamar and his music have positively impacted my life for the better. He’s a rapper with the mindset of a jazz musician when it comes to recording songs. My English teacher loves his song “HUMBLE” which gained a lot of attention because of its chorus back in 2018.
[03:48] -Kendrick Lamar
“Sit down
(Hol' up lil' , hol' up lil') be humble
(Hol' up) sit down
(Sit down, hol' up, lil')
Be humble
(Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol' up) tell 'em sit down
(hol' up, lil') be humble”
[04:00] -NL
Too many music artists get their flowers and credit after they die. I feel that the youth should look more into his music and honor it while he’s still with us. Make sure y’all go explore his albums. You just might find something you were looking for. Goodbye for now.
[04:15] - HUMBLE. Outro Instrumental
[04:27] The End
Works Cited
“Kendrick Lamar.” GRAMMY.com, 15 Dec. 2020, www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/kendrick-lamar/17949.
KendrickLamarVEVO. “Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Explicit) Ft. Drake.” YouTube, 22 Feb. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyr2gEouEMM.
Lamar, Kendrick. “XXX.” YouTube, 26 July 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Bjl_sFo8U.
Virgo, Chris J. “Humble - Kendrick Lamar (Clean).” YouTube, 14 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVL7R-dFlgk.
