Watching The Party Die with Kendrick Lamar

"It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:5

Since the announcement of his pg.Lang creative agency, we the audience, have been experiencing different sides of the critically-acclaimed artist that is Kendrick Lamar. Whether it be a rapper with nothing to prove and seemingly having the time of his life on tracks such as 'family ties' and 'The Hillbillies' or a conniving individual who produced a sinister 'Dance With The Devil' deconstruction of his most present contemporary via 'meet the grahams', there has been a undercurrent of rejection aimed at a particular Canadian and now, the wider rap landscape. 

Following on from the trend displayed during the highly-publicised war of worlds with Drake, Kendrick took to Instagram to release his latest meditation tentatively titled 'Watch the Party Die'. First of all the low res artwork of a pair of beaten-up black Air Force 1s activates something in our shared lexicon that connotes the next few minutes are going to be combative to both listeners and targets. Released only on Instagram (reminiscent of arguably the most underrated track of the whole beef; '6:16 in LA') is quite a radical statement of intent in itself. By using the social media platform, Kendrick can circumvent sample clearances whilst also getting his musings out to the public. Over a lush soul chop, Lamar’s vocal recording sounds rough and a departure from his often industry-standard recording that are at his usual disposal. Released on 9/11, he follows a pattern of releases on prominent dates in the USA’s history, such as 'The Pop Out' concert on Juneteenth.

Begging God for forgiveness on the song’s loose refrain, he identifies qualities of Hip-Hop that are flagrantly hedonistic, individualistic; materialist and violent; questioning the purpose and calling out everyone from radio tastemakers and rappers themselves as profiting from this destructive state of affairs. Going further still, he questions the effect it has on the youth and is opposed to this abuse of trust that the audience has in the artists they consume. Hip-Hop’s transition from social commentary to a vessel for capitalistic tendencies has been a long and seamless transition with at least one high-profile critic. Produced by Jack Antonoff, Pasqué and Greg Sekeres, the soulful chops establish a soothing backdrop for Kendrick’s deconstruction of the glorification of superficial success that plagues the Hip-Hop industry. 

If you parade in gluttony without givin' truth to the youth/The graveyard is company, just tell us what casket to choose’ are just one of many incendiary lines that attempt to diagnose Hip-Hop’s deadly sins. The timing of this record is further testament to his Machiavellian mindset, released during the VMAs; it tries to divert attention from a key symptom of its critiques. Theories abound about which direction he will take with his next project, it seems he may be following in the path of Tupac Shakur, 'Bombing First' with what could hint at a scathing album in the vein of 'Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'.

One thing is certain though, Kendrick perhaps inadvertently raises an equally profound question; what are we the audience going to do? Is it time that we become more mindful of the content that we digest and actively interact with ethics that we both align with and aspire to exact or continue to incentivise practices that sedate us in momentary euphoria but subconsciously corrupt our relation to one another and our wider communities?