Kendrick Lamar and You: The New Hip Hop Fan

Kendrick Lamar isn't exclusive- Each one of his songs manages to tackle a new, nuanced topic, but in an engaging way; The man just makes good songs. And part of his appeal comes from the topics he chooses to discuss. His variety allows him to rap about his personal depression on "U," but on the same album, "To Pimp A Butterfly," he talks about police brutality and race relations (On "King Kunta" and "The Blacker the Berry" respectively).

And unlike certain other rappers, this creates a huge amount of diversity in his fanbase. People don't just hear what they can relate to- Someone from Nebraska who's never had to deal with police brutality could be introduced to it in an easy to digest, fun way. And this diversity can also seriously help people- Imagine a teenage boy, who's been told their whole life that they have to always be strong, can't ever cry, and aren't allowed to show weakness. Imagine that this boy is depressed, but feels like he can't ever tell anyone or else he'll be laughed at and shunned. Kendrick Lamar's music can help this boy understand that he's free to express himself; he's allowed to feel sad, and he's allowed to not always be strong. Additionally, this diversity lets conversations and discussions of the music more diverse; Having discussions helps someone understand their own argument, and to understand the messages in Kendrick's is a bit of a difficult job, so of course explaining the messages during discussion helps everyone. So the next time you see an ignorant fan, try to just lead them in the right direction.