Again in April, Billboard journal, the music trade’s recordkeeper for chart success, took the possibility to attempt to predict what could be the track of the summer season. On the time the publication thought of Beyoncé’s “Texas Maintain ’Em” and Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Mates” to be front-runners, in addition to “Like That,” the collaboration by rappers Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar.
Two weeks after Billboard requested what could be the track of 2024’s summer season, Drake launched “Push Ups.” The observe insulted a variety of folks within the rap trade, however Drake took specific purpose at Lamar, going as far as to mock his top and shoe dimension. Drake got here at Lamar immediately the next week with “Taylor Made Freestyle.” And on the final day of April, Lamar responded with the six-minute dissertation “Euphoria.”
Finally Billboard chosen Publish Malone’s “I Had Some Assist” that includes Morgan Wallen because the “track of the summer season.” Lamar’s chart topper “Not Like Us” — the fourth observe in his forwards and backwards with Drake — was by some means ranked third. I used to be a bit of shocked. To be sincere, I assumed the “track of summer season” dialog was over in June after Lamar carried out “Not Like Us” 5 occasions at his Pop Out live performance on the Discussion board.
Two Americas, I suppose.
Then once more, “Not Like Us” is just not a track, it’s a revelation as Lamar would say.
A relatively prescient one, contemplating how a lot racial stress and id politics formed the overall election, significantly after Vice President Kamala Harris turned the nominee. On “Like That” and “Euphoria,” Lamar threw haymakers at Drake. Nevertheless, by the point we heard “Us,” Lamar was merely utilizing Drake as an emblem to impress a bigger dialog about authenticity, accountability and manhood.
By that lens, together with “Us” on a best-of-summer listing is akin to referring to the locs on my head as a coiffure — technically true, but culturally tone-deaf.
“Let me let you know what that file did do. It united the West,” Snoop Dogg mentioned not too long ago on the podcast “The Champs,” including it made “all people out right here begin one another like how a lot love we acquired for one another … so we should always converse on that.”
Completely. We actually don’t have an issue speaking about conflicts in hip-hop — whether or not a beef between two stars or a conflict between Bloods and Crips. So why can’t we acknowledge the love?
Whereas different types of music are routinely acknowledged for his or her therapeutic energy, the vulnerability embedded within the lyrics of hip-hop is usually missed. And due to that, the humanity of the artist rapping these lyrics is definitely missed. Lamar’s seven Grammy nominations this yr, the Tremendous Bowl gig lined up for subsequent yr and the streaming data are all excellent. And none of that will have been potential with out the social commentary that accompanies the music.
This contains “GNX,” the shock album Lamar launched Friday. Whereas he does proceed to hammer away at Drake personally, the ability of Lamar was at all times his potential to make a single story about a person really feel like an analogy about all of us. The place “Not Like Us” left off, “TV Off” and “Man on the Backyard” picked up by way of manufacturing worth and searing observations.
It’s humorous to suppose that again in April, Lamar was someplace minding his personal enterprise earlier than Drake got here for his crown — and missed. Since then, the tradition has gone forwards and backwards between headlines about one thing outlandish from the election and social media going loopy about one other Kendrick Lamar shock.
Tune of the summer season?
Document of the yr?
These monikers couldn’t start to encapsulate simply how sensible and vibrant Lamar has been in a yr filled with darkish moments.
Consider it this manner: In 2012, LeBron James received the common season MVP, an NBA title, Finals MVP and Olympic gold in London. Just one different participant had completed all of that in a single yr — Michael Jordan. That’s when the talk over who is best started in earnest. After cementing his legacy with a historic summer season, James began the next season carrying a pair of gold fitness center footwear in honor of his Olympic achievement and formally asserting his arrival among the many sport’s biggest.
As life would have it, the week earlier than that sport, Lamar introduced his arrival among the many greats as properly, dropping “Good Child, m.A.A.d Metropolis.”
And like James he’s been breaking data ever since. Nevertheless not like for James, the talk over the best in Lamar’s sport is over.
