Someone else pointed out during like section 80 / GKMC era he was in his early 20s with no kids as opposed to now, so yea

he was 25-27 when he recorded butterfly though, plus that was prior to everything thats happened since then happening.

I took that last line as referencing the way stronger countries use the resources of weaker ones, and how citizens take advantage of that at the expense of the weak countries (mainly africa)

He's less religious than spiritual which I think is good

@op Peep the new video

i think @op is right in saying that kendrick has more options than the dichotomy he presented himself as having, but this is the choice he has outlined for himself and he has chosen the path he thinks is right. i dont think he endorses this idea, and i dont think the selfishness or a******ishness of this idea is lost on him, but he presents it as it is, warts and all, and all with honesty.

at the end of the day its an accurate capture of his feelings at this moment, for better or for worse. and all you can ask for is that he delivers something honest.

@op I agree that Kendrick did play a role in people having these expectations of him and the message of the album would've been more powerful if he acknowledged that. I feel like he also doesn't take responsibility enough for the cheating, Jay Z executed the self-reflection on the pain he caused his wife and family better than Kendrick did. Kendrick just says "I'm a s***addict now because of what my overprotective mother who was abused herself did during my childhood. And probably generational trauma because of slavery or something ". Cheating is a horrible thing to do to your partner, especially one you've been with for so long. I have a bipolar mother whose paranoia is out of control. To this day, I remember how when I was a kid and she would bath me she'd constantly say stuff like" Did anyone touch your private parts? You'd tell me right? Even if someone says they'll kill you if you say anything, you have to tell me if they did". I would never think to use that as a reason for cheating, that's avoiding responsibility tbh

But whether those expectations are his own doing or because of other people, I don't think it's fair to hold him to them and say he's selfish for choosing to prioritize himself and his family now. "I choose me, I'm sorry" could be interpreted as dismissive of other people's problems but I think he just wants breathing room and doesn't want his word to be taken as gospel anymore. People are preaching all about self care and self love now. Criticizing Kendrick for wanting the same proves that there's this unreasonable burden on him. Kendrick spent a lot of the album revealing his flaws and imperfections to illustrate exactly why people shouldn't be looking to him for answers only to be accused of being selfish for saying that you should stop looking to him for answers That's a little unreasonable imo

I think the execution of this album's message could've been done better and people/critics are letting the hype get to them a bit, but I respect Kendrick for making the album at this point of his career. Before release I didn't want Prayer on here, but now I feel like the album would've been better with it. It really nails home the message of "talented people are still flawed people just like everyone else" and the cancel culture criticism feels a lot weaker without it

Idk how I'd feel if he continues to embrace the role, that N95 video and the crown of thorns on the cover look like he might be comparing himself to Jesus. But he may also have been expecting to be "crucified" for this album because it feels like he actively tried to antagonize people. Instead the mainstream is praising him even harder I also don't know how I'd feel if he does end up speaking on social issues again, to me it'll feel like he's trying to have his cake and eat it too

I think he definitely perceives TPAB as a failure

The way he’s talked about that album since - ranking it below GKMC, saying it wasn’t accessible enough etc shows that he doesn’t feel like it had the impact he wanted it to have

i understand what you saying and you're right that he was misguided in the liberatory potential of playing the Great Man

but at the same time

if the culture is the organ that reproduces the idealist mentality of "we need a Great Man Savior"

"the culture" (or dare I say "culture industry") being the the idealist, bourgeois expression of the Black American experience

then I think him choosing to stop playing the role as the designated celebrity manifestation of the culture's propagation of that rhetoric

as it eats away at his soul to do so knowing it doesn't make a difference

is something that is an understandable move at this juncture in time

because if he is in this mindset where he thinks his role is to "change the culture's mind"

even if the thing he wanted to elucidate was that "a change in our material conditions, not our moral ideals," his praxis is misaligned if he still essentializes his role as a savior spreading that notion ... he was rapping about Bobby Seale makin meals in 2011 right? yet it didn't manifest in him approaching these concepts in the way that would have been helpful because it was tied up with "I've been chosen to save hip-hop" word to the Heart Pt. 3

in a few years after he focuses on doing him perhaps he will have moved to a philosophical place more in line with that

That's crazy, because I honestly believe that is one of the best rap albums that will ever drop during my life Did he say it wasn't accessible enough during that same DAMN pressrun interview where he ranked the albums?

It really is pretty much flawless imo

I can’t find the quote because I can’t remember exactly how he phrased it but ya I think it was DAMN era basically saying that GKMC had a better balance of accessibility and meaning and TPAB went too far away from accessibility

Voltaire was right. Learn to hunt and farm, and live apart from society, or with like minded people.

This, if anything it can get the conversation going again which def is a good thing but at the end of the day it doesn't actually change much. Especially the type of systematic issues Kendrick raps about

Zizeks understanding of Buddhism is lacking imo

I think this actually comes back to the idolization of Pac

He realized people really aren’t gonna find themselves unless they stop expecting him or any other empowering voice to be their savior.

your post made me double check if i was in the kendrick thread or not

Especially when there isn’t a monoculture like there used to be

Someone like MJ could definitely have a huge impact with his art

But no one can ever have that level of impact any more with how segmented culture is

Interesting comparison between gsw and artistic pressure. The more I think about it, it's pretty thematically similar to the cover of S.80 with the bullets right next to the bible. The only difference is the immediate presence of what he's defending in his family

I don’t think it was a cop out at all, and certainly not lazy

This is seriously one of the best threads I’ve seen on this site in a long time

Both your OP and the discussion that’s taking place

Props to you I honestly wasn’t sure this was still possible on this site

Lmao why cause I been in there so much?