Thoughts on Kendrick's The Blacker the Berry Track? | @AskDEHH w/ Sophie
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- In this new Ask DEHH episode we were asked for our thoughts on the new Kendrick Lamar track titled "The Blacker the Berry". Be sure to let us know your take in the comment section.
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Kendrick isnt one-sided. He’s not on the outside looking in, he’s not on the inside looking out. He’s in the dead fucking center looking around. He talks about the problems, the reasons, and the solutions behind it.
I'm not about to sit here and go through these comments (as I'm trying to stay away from the c-section in general), but I will address something that a few people sent me on Twitter. You guys are absolutely right. I (and we) totally misspoke. Lupe, Krit, Common and J. Cole are mainstream artists who have been talking about this issue for a while. I just kinda meant this particular angle I was discussing. But I see how it came off. Sorry. Kind of a heat of the moment kinda moment.
As far as the white people who are mad about what I said...deal with it. I feel that the smart people with basic common sense and social awareness knew exactly who and what I was talking about. The rest of you...you get no apologies from me. Do your research. Later.
Myke C-Town Yo Myke for president!
Try to look more Interested
+Tawanda Batana No thanks.
+Myke C-Town I dont recall cole making music like this, especially THIS topic
wym we dont got the same opportunities? why you think that is. im looking for an answer more specific than "the white man". my mama always tell me to stop playin victim, stop blamin problems on the system. yea its fucked up but this america, there is some things the system cant get away with. why dont we as black people go to college? no money? take a loan, and pay it back after you got a degree and an actually make a livings worth instead of bullshit jobs while we feed off welfare. think about that, all the blacks on welfare are taking the white mans money. you dont think they are mad about that? bc blacks compared to the black population, have way too many welfare recipients. we gotta stop actin like the white man out to get us. i know stereotypes are alive and well but i don't believe they are rooting for us to "do their job" and kill each other.
i think it's safe to say Hip-Hop NEEDS this album.
It did
Myke was 100% correct with this. So was everyone else too.
Kendrick is the artist hip-hop NEEDS right now.
Not the one it deserves .... Lol
CodysFavorites keep making the vids
- Eon from RG (Haha)
Brandon Rodriguez Lol I was thinking the same thing. Kendrick for Batman?
Wait wait.. so a theory blaming the white man for somehow making black people kill each other is the one you're going with? LOL It's called personal responsibility. Pathetic.
towards the gun and liquor stores we didn't built? To the drugs we didn't bring into our communities? Personal responsibility definitely applies but not when our communities are built to kill us and wasn't built by us or for is.
So nobody could tell me my hat was crooked? Lmfaoo I hate yall. This question was so fun to answer though, thanks for watching everyone!
Great discussion!
😍
The video ended with me still confused on how Kendrick makes you uncomfortable.
You'll always look beautiful My Love💕 fuck the hat
Similar to Myke and Halle Berry, I just want to hold your hand and skip while we are at the beach.
The fact that some people were upset by the last part just proves what kdot was saying about large parts of the black community being hypocrites. Being part of a certain race (no matter what you've been through as a collective) does make you perfect, or immune to doing fucked up shit. Sadly a lot of people (of all races) are quick to criticise other groups of people, yet act like their shit don't stink.
Even Kendrick embraces (at least one of the elements that compose that hypocrisy) that hypocrisy in XXX (if we assume the killer in that song is African American) where Kendrick's advice is "if somebody kill my son, that means somebody getting killed".
I believe the reason the song garnered controversy was because people tend to see issues and morality through a black and white lens that isn't particularly detailed in terms of shades of black and white. Kendrick, to a certain degree, lies right on the bed of the grays. He acknowledges human flaw as natural.
Myke C-Town am impressed by your take/interpretation on the song. Awesome perspective!
Myke man....
I want to shake this dude's hand and buy him a meal or some shit. Foreel.
Vinnie Mac Just fire Roman already
"I'm black as the heart of a fucking aryan"
DAMN Kendrick. I mean DAMN Kendrick
Prince G-MO ironic cause Kendrick's new album is called DAMN. lol
BitchImFatJesus this man predicted the future
Prince G-MO DAMN.
Prince G-MO DAMN...this nigga just predicted Kendricks 4th album 2 years before it came out...DAMN
@@itsnoya5520 DAMN
i agree with myke. pro black doesn't mean anti-white.
Man Myke, you straight up hit the nail on the head
Myke you explained this perfectly. Kendrick is saying the African-American community should stop acting hypocritical. Black on black violence is just as upsetting and problematic as police on black violence, both a result of a horribly corrupt system. There should be efforts to stop both. Kendrick is a much more intelligent and deeper thinker than some give him credit for. Awesome breakdown Myke, just wanted to reiterate.
Myke literally said it's not the African American community😭, bruh
"My best friends are white" LMAO, yall had me dead with that one.
I like that myke said being pro black doesn't necessarily mean that you're anti white...a lot of people do for some reason merge the two!
Has no one noticed the contrast between the I love myself and we hate ourselves message on both of these singles?
Kendrick is basically saying that we should be proud to be black and that we need to stop being hypocrites. What makes him so unique is the fact that his music isn't simplistic and that he points out significant facts about ourselves.
***** You don't get it
C-Town nailed it with that analysis. Goddamn.
i interpreted the song the first time i heard it as kendrick feeling like a hypocrite for wanting to empower the culture, yet being so publicly soft on all the high profile violence inflicted on black americans in the national news lately. like he sounded angry at himself about that. which i thought was interesting cuz it shows a conflict in him. but after a couple more listens, when he admits to murdering another black person in the last verse, i started to see that this might axtually be a character in a larger concept, which raises a lot of interesting questions about where this song will fit into the album, if it turns out to be a full concept like good kid. part of me thinks the song isnt kendricks p.o.v. though, but a position he is embodying in the music to shed light on an idea or perception others might not have considered before. either way its a banger.
Precisely on point! I throughouly agree and couldn't have said it any better!! Many people are unaware of this and they should do well to remember that Kendrick is an album's artist, not a singles artist.
i am 100% sure this is a character if you here that untitled song he did on the Colbert Report all of the songs seem like like characters. he has said plenty of times he is a writer not a rapper and that he wants to tell a story.
Myreon Smith totally. Odd then that none of the DEHH crew even bring it up as a viable interpretation. I mean we all remember how Backstreet Freestyle sounded like an uncharacteristic braggadocios track until heard in context of the story and characters. Yeah, I'm glad other people are getting it on the same wavelength. Funny how sometimes the DEHH dudes totally understand the fictional narrative underlying a track(like the Run the Jewels persona/over the top attitude) but take other story/theatrical tracks at face value. idk, interesting though.
Myreon Smith / nah it’s real he really did kill someone. Listen to “ignorance is bliss”
I heard someone say something that stuck with me a lot
Bout how we need protection from those protectin' the block
Nobody lookin' out for nobody
Maybe we should try and help somebody or be somebody
Instead of bein' somebody that makes the news
So everybody can tweet about it
And then they start to RIP about it
And four weeks later nobody even speaks about it
Damn, I just had to say my piece about it
No disrespect to the other guys but I really don't think DEHH would be shit without myke
and feefo to an extent
+Jevon Watson Trust me, you take any of them out and the whole dynamic is ruined. I get what you mean though fam.
Myke also doesn't talk about Hip Hop on his channel
Not Beezy he doesn't say anything alot anyway he's expendable
***** Nah man, Beezy's got the most knowledge when it comes to producers. He's just not as well spoken as the other guys.
Myke C Town hit it on the head. Thats the same message i got from the song. The message in the saying hypocrite and leading you from the beginning to the end of the track, he gives you the framework of the overall message before he gets to the meat of it. I get it! LOVE the song!
Myke C-Town explanation held so much truth.
Honestly, this track is everything to me. I grew up in the hood, and when I went to college. It infuriated me when I saw what seemed to be a lack of national outrage at homies from high school fearing for their lives and dying at the hands of our own communities, and when I try to bring it up, I'm brushed of as anti-black.
"This is the _ I like "
"This bumps in the whip"
Azealia Banks ain't doing shit but trashing Music artist but not doing anything in the music industry lmao.
azealia banks and Lupe Fiasco are both in the same boats. They are fake ass prophets who do nothing that talk with no action. They think that their words are powerful enough to physically make a change, but in reality they don't take affirmative action because they are both addicted to the white mans money
Brandon Standifer do not categorize lupe with azalea banks bruh. Just...NO
I never mentioned K Dot in my original post.
Musically Lupe is on another level than Banks. But I still put them together like I said in my comment
I actually liked Azealia Banks' album. I like her music but some of her comments make my eyes roll.
Damn, Myke totally changed my perspective on this whole record. Wow! That was amazing bro. Good fucking job
Myke always be saying the realest shit, salute.
They answered my question?!?! Dope lol
Love yall !
I get so mad when people need confirmation of their political and social views from musicians. That's arguably another reason why Kendrick wanted to drive home hypocrisy with TBTB; he is innately a hypocrite because he's human. Azaelia Banks could be called a hypocrite because her music doesn't always (or hardly ever) reflect her political stance. Also, the Billboard comments remind me of parallels to Killer Mike's comments on the necessity of self-run and cultivated black communities like Atlanta. Self respect doesn't have to be as literal as Sophie mentioned, it can be expressed in developing economically strong communities across America.
Also, if you don't like I, try listening to the SNL version. That 4th verse was fire and puts the rest of the song into context, kinda like the extended version of swimming pools.
Love the show, keep it up!
Jourdan 'Faceless' Russell Because of that performance "i" became my favorite song I hope that last verse is on the album though. I also agree with everything you said and alot of us more than people think have self love and are trying to build better communities but some bullshit always happens and derails everything.
You got it exactly right in my opinion!! high five for that.
I was running through the 6ix with my WOES
U know how Dat shit goes
do you like it or do you like it cause everyone likes it?
MyNameLeonIs I specifically like that song and Jungle. I don't like the rest of the tape
Dat nigga Johnny bling is the plug
THE REAL HARD CORE CHAMP lmao, legend has it he put him on to some finer things.
He told both sides about themselves. I agree how he is pointing out a community killing itself comes from same system. You can look at this like a that friend that will back their buddy up in an argument/fight but later tell them at what points they were wrong...but later...not to absolve the other party of their wrong
Nas touched on this topic a lot on his album "Untitled".
Myke's perception of the track was so interesting to listen to. Much love!
Kendrick is definitely not the first or only of this generation of rappers to speak on social and political problems of today in music. J. Cole often raps about social terms in more of a historical way. Childish Gambino often blogs about cases and instances of injustice that don't make the news, and his last album Because the Internet was about the social repercussions of today's information driven internet.
Obviously he's not the only hip-hop artist to talk about social issues, it's just that he executed it so perfectly and there's not a lot of rappers in the mainstream who talk about it like he does.
+ Lupe Fiasco
No Slave Name Gambino has sold as much as Cole with his last album that went gold and was nominated for a Grammy in 3 categories. I think it's just a matter of respect given to certain artists for speaking on certain topics, especially in the Black community where those names hold more weight
***** nobody gives a shit about him anymore. They think he fell off and catches heat for stupid shit. I think his album sales for Tetsuo & Youth were lower than Joey Bada$$'s
P-Walk03 When does Gambino really talk about social issues? He is definitely smart, gives personal accounts, and he has a keen awareness about stereotypical perceptions. But I would say I get more socio-political commentary from Gambino in his interviews, than in his actual songs..........
I can't wait for the "To Pimp a butterfly" review. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.
Also J Cole(Be Free), Big K.R.I.T (Soul Food), Tyler, the Creator (Listen to 48) Kanye West (Sometimes), even OG Maco (Breathe) has talked about current events too guys it is not just Kendrick.
I live in Cincinnati Ohio and 101.9 plays Blacker The Berry on the radio every day lol!
okay the reason people got upset with the end of the song is because kendrick called black people out on their shit, that's what i say
jtsasuke96 Yeah and for Myke to sit there and STILL try to blame black on black "white supremacy" is stupid bullshit.
These guys LOVE Kendrick! He gets 17 min reviews for tracks and 10:46 Really????!! J Cole was over there in Ferguson and even had the track 'Be Free' but that, apparently, doesn't count in Ctown's book....smh.
Only a Cole fan would get butthurt over the length of a review.
*****
Are you sure? I ONLY buy Nas, J Cole & Kendrick albums.....so try again.
Escobar600GOAT_NODEBATING. Still a Cole fan. I stand by my argument.
*****
You are not that bright huh?.....I'll let you keep replying now.....
Stop bitching about something as trivial as that shit man are u serious? Thats cool that j cole said it "first" fine and dandy now look at the bigger picture! The message is being put out. Wanna look for a reason to get at ctown, fuck outta here
I can appreciate the insight you guys provide. First time watcher here, now ima catch up to yall been doin.
Lupe's been making messages like this in his music and aiming it to be played in the mainstream (Bitch Bad, Words I Never Said, etc.), only difference is that he's not as "accessible" than Kendrick.
Kendrick's been saying this same shit for awhile too before he was accessible
Eyad Madani
But my thing is Lupe's been doing it since Food & Liquor 1 and The Cool, back when he was more relevant in the mainstream and before he was as complex as he is now. He was like a Kendrick then, accessible and deep, something for all listeners. It's just no one made a fuss about songs like Hurt Me Soul or Real, etc. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Kendrick fan as well but he does get special treatment in a way, you know?
God Soul Production
Oh yeah I know, I'm a Kendrick fan too. Just saying even before that
Eyad Madani
Yeah of course, I get that for sure. But I see a lot of older people who think Kendrick is like the first to do it and it just seems weird to me lol
Eyad Madani feels like homework? at least Lupe isn't giving you unnecessary information.
I appreciate this group of people actually having an opinion about hiphop and its different artists. Kendrick is one of my favs simply for being real. I listened to a mixtape of his and I didnt feel any type of ignorance from it. Its important that we keep the artists separated and really focus on the true artists who do hip hop for its platform to bring awareness, to speak on the times, to speak on their feelings. I hate the hiphop thats full of drugs and money. They didnt glorify this shit back in the day. They spoke on it and they wanted more than what was around them. So yeah i will be tuning into this youtube channel.
The truest song I've heard this year
Kendrick called out both the white and black community to tell them that both have a long way to go. Can't hate song was a masterpiece
Last line of the song gives me chills every time
or verse actually
Myke got the same message i did
Theo C interesting bit in this when they talk about how a lot of musicians don't back any big issues anymore, and the awards part is spot on.
Mike for president dope vid yall!
The message is straight forward
C-Town was spot on my reaction to the song. I can't wait for the album!
Myke, you said it so well!
myke went in
The way I interpreted this was on one side of the coin, Kendrick is expressing how proud he is to be black and everything like that but on the other side of the coin, he's calling out the hypocrisy of the "pro-black" mentality
It's a conversation we're supposed to have with ourselves. It's not for others to bring up but we need to call eachother out and he was shedding light on his situation and people felt convicted and then angry.
I got a feelin' Kendrick's new album is gonna start up a movement that's been in the talks, but needs that push. This man is inspiring to the youth of America, and he knows it 100%. It's up to him to speak his mind and put his heart into his music and spark the movement.
I'm not particularly active on RUclips, usually just get my kicks out of watching and laughing, listening or whatever. This is the most refreshingly poignant channel I have come across in a long time. The dialogue created by this track among black adults my age represented by you guys is not only substantive but representative of why this art form matters.
Absolute work of art, first 2 verses emphasizes "I'm the biggest hypocrite" just like in film when they put an emphasis on an object so you know thats a key object that will later come into play! Hes doing too much in the first 2 verses purposely to build the stage for the final verse which brings the entire song into context! Bravo Kendrick! Absolute art!
I heard a theory going around about the concept of the album, and the difference between the track "i" and "The blacker the berry"- since "i" tries to be positive and unites people through peaceful ways just like Martin Luther King did, however "The blacker the berry" unites people whilst having an aggressive and violent tone like Malcolm X, perhaps the rest of the album will also have concepts based upon black figures in history
myke is my favorite when speaking bout hip hop, he truly embodies exactly how I felt on BTB
Got Damn I've been waiting on this from y'all! That's wuzzup!
Kendrick spreads a message of love. That is all.
I like what you guys are doing. Keep it going
Phew, this went smoother than expected. I thought it'd be a lot more heated.
Great song. Also, in a similar vein, check out the Clipping song Knees on the Ground.
I think hes talking bout his self when he said hypocrite at the end but in the same breath hes speaking for the masses of brothers who feel like he feels in this song on how we talk about black on black crime but growing up in the jungle your hand can be forced to kill or hurt or even have hate for your own kind i feel him in many ways (just my opinion)
I think Mike pulled the same meaning film the song that I did. The title of the song is 'The Blacker The Berry', a book based on black people judgmental of other black people due to external influences. Kind of the same thing he pulled from.
Maaan, I think I'm one of the few people that really fuck with "i".
This is the best way I've heard the "What about Black-on-Black crime" argument articulated. His on the ground perspective is authentic and even though I don't entirely agree with it, I understand how someone who grew up in areas riddled with crime has real issues with our lack of effort in finding solutions to Black crime and wants answers.
This Track actually got me hyped for his album
Kendrick Lamar has layers, which is why he is one of the best artists to date. His views on certain songs are not meant for everyone to agree with. He wants you to think about it yourself when forming an opinion.
as far as radio, in perth, western australia i heard this play the day after it was released on triple J. Its sad to hear you guys say it hasnt gotten play over there but if its any consolation just know its getting heard abroad :)
If this song is anything like his album will be like, I hate to say it but he's going to take the crown and people are not going to be able to argue about it anymore. This shit was so tough, and the content on this song is crazy. I don't think some people realize how deep this song/songs and messages that he delivers are
Great discussion as always
Great thoughts guys.this is what black people need(black love)and not killing each other,nothing wrong about loving and standing for ur people.
J.Cole deserves credit for rappin bout real world problems too
Kendrick is not the only one doing it, go check out Dizzy Wright - Train Your Mind
They meant big name artist!
***** Maybe kendrick is what came to there mind!
Kendrick's Lamar had not only done enterntainment but he did also what I found interesting , and that is the social condition and so on. It's better. Good job Kendrick. Good job.
I'm a big fan of Kendrick Lamar, but "Prince Ea" that isn't even signed (as far as I know) drops bombs of knowledge in all his music! You guys should check him out!
blacker the berry truly feels like it takes u through all the experiences of black struggle and empowerment and then at the end shoots down a lot people who make noise a black man and a cop but then a black man kills another and no one says anything *AS MUCH*,(cause people still speak up its just not publicized as much)
That's right
B like "my best friend Meech in Detroit."
You rolling with BMF now? Lol
Same joke came to my mind.
*So What You Saying Is* that's what I thought. Maybe lil meech? Lol
10:00 Sadly this isn't true anymore. HipHop fans are full of underground listeners and 90's stans. So anything that's popular regardless of it's quality is "overrated" or trash. Kendrick hate honestly makes no sense to me. You don't have to praise him like crazy but his talent shouldn't be discouraged because he's hyped now.
Watch J.cole's interview with Angie and listen to his album again guys. Him and Kendrick are on this (Main, mainstream wise)
Loved Drake's mixtape, but it's true. All money, girls, feelings, nothing revolutionary or insightful. Love them all though
Kendrick is gonna drop another section 80, GKMC was just a commercial teaser imo
AFunkyDiabetic
Right!
Both albums are amazing lol
section 8o was wayyy better imo, that's what drew me as a fan, only personal song he had on that was sing about me, only thing unique about the album was the story line and skits
I wouldn't say commercial teaser because both albums served different purposes. I think Section 80 gained him a huge following (as you say it drew you in), but I believe he would have released GKMC regardless of the size of his fan base. And if you think about it, besides Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe, the album still didn't have radio friendly tracks. Both albums are amazing.
gerry juice Nah that album had hella plays I was actually surprised.
Ex. Swimming Pools. Poetic Justice. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe.
Not to sure but I think most of his album got played a lot down here in Texas.
5:48 no he did not said that at all .
It was him reflecting upon his inner conflict as he has experienced these things in his mind . H eis not speaking to the entire black community but to himself and his hypocrisies .
Wait, so Myke cut his dreads off just to grow them again ? Lol
Myke you hit this on top of the head man. I've been trying to figure out this track and it was leaning to exactly what you were saying. I think people are taking this song out of context (which I think Kendrick knew what was coming) but wasn't putting any race in a corner except for his own in my mind, but wondering why these sort of crimes are so brought up is because it needs to be known. It needs to be said, and no other rapper is doing it. So Kendrick is going to do it.
I totally agree with Mykes view of the song, Kendrick is trying to get us to love ourselves as a people first with the song i, and then now a message shining a light on black on black violence due to self hatred with blacker the berry, I see a trend
Yall should've combined this with a little section for j Coles letterman performance
Y'all gotta review that new cyhi mixtape
he has a new one out? where can i download it?
Omg thank u so much, CYHI one my faves on that BHP2 rn! WeakPeople is a better version of Blacker The Berry
great convo loved all the different opinions
Myke was so right, no way J. Cole believed in his own diss track lol
Love this conversation.
GOOD SHIT the guy with the dreads took the words right out of my mouth
I guess nobody heard 2014 forest hill drive cuz cole definitely talked about stuff like this but Kendrick do it now he the only one and even drake had some bars about it on 6pm in New York
Kendricks the shit
Goddamn, everywhere in the comments I see J Cole, here J Cole, there J cole. I see this niggas name on Kendrick based videos more than his own damn videos.
I saw a J Cole fan in the comments getting butthurt about this video being 17 minutes long, while FHD album review was 10. If you feel like Cole's not getting enough attention maybe "Cole" should do something about it.
K a Dot about to be on his Section 80 shit
But also Mick Jenkins, Dizzy Wright and Joey Bada$$ came out with the same style of song speaking out on racial inequality. Unfortunately they just don't have the exposure Kendrick has
I understand Kendrick but his thinking is so deep that its hard to keep up with him he's so fuckin clever in this particular song