Adopting a persona that, like Kanye, skirted the line between fiction and autobiography, Kendrick brought to light the trials and tribulations of growing up in run down projects, dodging gang violence and avoiding peer pressure all while trying to understand who Kendrick the man is.
Kendrick Lamar seemed to be taking the same route with his critically acclaimed good kid, m.A.A.d city. Kanye West more or less built a media empire by blurring the line between person and persona, particularly on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus. Rager” became a massive hit not only for its minimalist, haunting production and creative music video, but because it directly discussed Scott Mescudi’s battle with drug addiction. Kid Cudi garnered critical acclaim by laying bare his inner demons on his two-part Man on the Moon albums. Critics love the tortured artist, and what genre is more fitting for self-criticism and contemplative anxiety than rap? While the earlier generation of rappers took the mic to express perceived issues affecting their neighborhoods and black America, more and more of the younger generation is embracing a form of rap that examines either the man behind the mic or the idea of what a rapper really is. “…the trials and tribulations of growing up in run down projects, dodging gang violence and avoiding peer pressure all while trying to understand who Kendrick the man is.”
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