If Kendrick is in dialogue with Amiri Baraka, he’s aware of contemporary theories of Third-Worldism.

On April 18th, the music video for “DNA” dropped. The track functions like a cubist portrait of blackness, concurrently reflecting conflicting identities to reveal a new, multi-dimensional identity greater than the sum of its parts. Simultaneously, Kendrick reclaims his African identity, celebrating the loyalty and royalty inside his DNA. The track engages lyrically with difficult conceptions of blackness, including biological conceptions of race that blame African Americans for having “sex, money, murder” in their DNA. It feels like a long-awaited rebuttal after decades of media criticism against black artists since Baraka’s time. When “DNA” begins, it explodes and interrupts Rivera. The lead-in on “Blood” samples Geraldo Rivera calling out Kendrick’s music in the tired Fox News trope blaming violence on black culture. DNAĭNA immediately stood out to me as a remarkable track. Thus, it’s striking that as Kendrick’s politics crescendo, he should choose to release a more radio-friendly album. A poem without the power to kill seems inconsequential within the context of our social climate. Assassin poems, Poems that shoot guns.” Kendrick’s engagement with Black Art may be illustrated by the increased brash politicization of his rap. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts beating them down.īaraka calls for: “Poems that kill. Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Amiri Baraka was a pioneer of Black Nationalism, the Poet Laureate of New Jersey, and an extremely controversial artist.

Kendrick lamar dna audio