![]() For Kendrick, rap symbolizes liberation from systemic oppression. “This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years.” Kendrick rejects words of cultural condemnation. A sample of Geraldo Rivera’s voice plays. Kendrick, the former prisoner, reappropriates the n-word. With a pat on the shoulder from Kendrick, the one who formerly held the power falls to the ground. Cheadle’s recent awakening causes him to release Kendrick from custody. Or, royalty serves a double meaning as the power of the money he earns from his music.įor a moment, the black DNA they share creates a synergy of rap exchanges between protagonist and antagonist. Perhaps, due to the royal blood that exists in African heritage, the word “royalty” suggests power and sovereignty. The song plays, “I got Loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA.” The word “loyalty” implies allegiance and support of his community. With a push of the polygraph button, Kendrick possesses Cheadle’s body. Looming over Kendrick, Cheadle says “You know what DNA stands for? Dead Nigger Association.” Since Cheadle implies that Blacks’ evil within will kill their entire race, his verbalization of DNA is dehumanizing as the chains that shackle Kendrick’s wrists. There’s a long chain that shackles Lamar’s wrists to the table. A faulty tool used to determine guilt or innocence separates Cheadle, the investigator and Kendrick, the condemned. On a black interrogation table, a polygraph sits as the centerpiece. In Kendrick’s “DNA” video starring Don Cheadle, Kendrick asserts his Black manhood in the process of demonstrating his preeminence as a rap lyricist. In a sudden tonal shift, Kendrick reminds everyone that his DNA doesn’t determine his destiny: “I just win again, then win again like Wimbledon, I serve.” Lamar raps, “I got dark, I got evil, that rot inside my DNA,” there’s a sardonic acknowledgment of how society perceives African Americans. When Kendrick Lamar uses the word “DNA,” we’re confronted with a scientific concept, which has both biological and metaphorical meaning. I just win again, then win again like Wimbledon, I serve I got off, I got troublesome heart inside my DNA I got dark, I got evil, that rot inside my DNA I got millions, I got riches buildin’ in my DNA And, in “God,” he promotes the theme of his preeminence as a small “g” god in the rap industry, while emphasizing the loyalty of performing for the people, “Everything I do is to embrace y’all.” Kendrick’s Damn subverts the power of DNA as defining black life and the determinant of black fate, while asserting lyrical control as the cultural torchbearer of black pride in America. When Kendrick says, “I got millions, I got riches buildin’ in my DNA,” he pushes back against their genocidal stereotypes of black demise. With songs such as “DNA” Kendrick asserts his Black male dominance despite the media’s emphasis on Black male inferiority. Kendrick Lamar’s latest album Damn maintains his position as the most profound rap lyricist alive. The Black Aesthetic is often universally pleasing, but beneath the verses documenting aspiration, empowerment, and fear is a call for cultural revolution. When poetry is set to music, harmonious beats relay liberating feelings that transcend history and culture. Great writers such as Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni wrote of freedom and the rhetoric of the Black Aesthetic. ![]() In times of social turmoil, African American poets disseminate messages demanding change.
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