Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar

Pop culture critic Lewis (There’s a Riot Goin’ On) offers an insightful deep dive into the mind of Pulitzer-winning hip-hop artist and producer Kendrick Lamar, “a master of remaining in the moment.” In an incisive analysis that weaves in quotes about Lamar from such cultural figures as Ta-Nehisi Coates with the inspiring history of his career—from hitting #1 on Billboard’s album chart in 2012 with Good Kid, M.A.A.d City to garnering 11 Grammy nominations (“more than any given rapper in a single year”) a few years later with To Pimp a Butterfly—Lewis paints a captivating portrait of a luminary whose lyrics capture the struggles, triumphs, anger, and hope of an entire generation of Black Americans: “I am from the inner city, the ghetto. If I can use my platform to... talk about something that’s real, I have to do that, period,” Lamar told Lewis. Throughout, he extols the ways Lamar’s work has—like the controversial music of his predecessors (notably Tupac and Biggie)—encouraged discussions of racial disparity and politics, noting, for instance, how his song “Alright” has become a “rallying cry” for “hope and perseverance” in the Black Lives Matter movement. Fans and hip-hop enthusiasts will relish this thought-provoking work. (Aug.)