Kendrick Lamar is already well known as one of the best new artists on the rap scene and he is likely to continue to climb. Last night’s show at Jacobs Pavilion proved he’s one of the most talented emcees today. Though still very young, given time and more experience, he could become the greatest emcee of a generation — last night’s set was just a taste of that greatness.
Throughout the show, openers Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock all echoed the anthem “throw your threes up.” Not knowing what it meant to throw three fingers in the air, I continued to stand awkwardly in the back too ignorant to go up and ask someone. But that’s what Wikipedia is for. Threes up is the sign of HiiiPoWeR, which is Lamar’s movement to get a new generation to live by heart, honor and respect. Turns out the lyric “Kendrick had a dream” refers to the rapper’s vision of Tupac Shakur coming back from the dead and telling Lamar to continue writing music and keep the legacy of Tupac alive. I don’t know about all that vision stuff but Lamar’s music does have a fresh style combined with poetic lyrics reminiscent of Tupac. Regardless of the validity of this new social movement, I’m all about bringing real meaning in lyrics back to rap and legitimizing it as an art form once more.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2013.
How long did it last?