Kendrick Lamar Makes A Statement At The Super Bowl...Game Over.

Kendrick Lamar stand in the middle of a make shift American Flag

Kendrick Lamar is a G.O.A.T. contender that has made Hip-Hop culture stand at attention for the last year with a Hip-Hop battle versus another G.O.A.T. of the culture Drake. No matter how one may feel about the battle, Kendrick Lamar has taken the Super Bowl 59 stage to create a story that will change the battle rap landscape forever.

Battle Rap is a part of the Hip-Hop game where clever rhymes and theatrics have been used to 1 up a competitor with showmanship and the Super Bowl is one of the grandest stages to showcase a competitive show to dominate another rapper. After Kendrick Lamar collected 5 Grammy awards Super Bowl 59 was the next grand stage of his great career to conquer. This is an honor not many artists get to achieve and Kendrick used this opportunity to further cement his name in Hip-Hop conversation for years to come. A conversation that not only will talk about who is the greatest ever but how to use showmanship to always be remembered in the conversation.

During the show of course Kendrick did songs from his recently released album GNX. Of course Kendrick brought out his musical muse SZA to connect on the chemistry they have shown since the Marvel's Black Panther soundtrack hit "All The Stars". Those are the given, hearing good music. But the show is the key to being remembered and Kendrick did that with the many references that created a battle statement with his performance.

Samuel L. Jackson being "Uncle Sam", an American character used to give commentary to the performance, represented the sentiments of the mainstream of the music industry and America. He reminded Kendrick to "play the game", by doing his hits and giving the people what they want. Kendrick's performance was littered with references that were game changing like using the Squid Games set as a stage for his performance. The X in Squid games is a reference to end competition and it was highlighted on the stage during the performance. Kendrick Lamar had dancers dressed in the colors of the American Flag red, white and blue. The dancers not only represented the different colors of gangs in California Street culture they created the flag in symbols of joined unity and also as a separate collective to symbolize the country as well. The Game of unity and politics shown here reflects the state of the country in the new Donald Trump era of America.

With people debating if "Not Like Us" would be performed Kendrick hinted at it during the show and when it finally was played the crowd made it known that is what it came to see, the competition of Hip-Hop shown aka the hit. The Drake hate has been shown for his ability to stay at the top of the charts and this song stopped a lot of Drake's momentum. The hate for Drake has not only come from his success but the conversation has changed to his treatment of women and during the performance, an ex girlfriend of Drake, Serena Williams, made her appearance dancing in the "Not Like Us", set to make the statement of respecting the women in the culture and not using them for clout or as degraded notches under his belt. The game of optics and morality on display here.

With DJ Mustard on stage and the crowd chanting "A-Minor", Kendrick Lamar brought the battle to the mainstream and though "white mainstream America", may not understand or get it. For the Hip-Hop Kulture though, we see the play on words, the play on theatrics and we give Kendrick his just due. When you play the game there is a winner and a loser. Drake lost this battle and when the performance was over, Kendrick hit the button to signify that when the words "Game Over" appeared in the crowd. The battle in Hip-Hop went to the next level with this performance because now the evolution of the battle has taken shape. From Kool Moe Dee stepping on Kangol hats to signify his issue with LL Cool J, to the Summer Jam screen where Jay-Z went at Prodigy of Mobb Deep to claim dominance in the game. Kendrick used the biggest sporting event in North America to end a battle with a credible competitor. Even with DJ Akademiks' failed attempt to sabotage the performance by releasing the track list of the show, Kendrick made his mark and ended the battle with a smile and the words game over in the crowd.

Whether you like Kendrick or think Drake did not lose the battle, this was Hip-Hop on display and even with Lil Wayne not being chosen to perform in his home state, Hip-Hop was on full display and the world took notice. Will this performance be remembered? I believe so because it one upped showmanship and gave Hip-Hop artists another level to meet and beat when it comes to showing the world they are the best in their craft. There is only one way to secure a victory in a battle and it is to put a close on that chapter. Kendrick did that and now we wait to see what Drake will do and what is next for Kendrick Lamar and his label Pg Lang. Good job K. Dot the game is over and the conversation is finished...for now.

Hip-Hop and Black History Month In Today's Society: Telling The World Who We Are.

Happy Black History month! For 28 days people are reminded of the story of people overcoming systemic racism, and societal hatred. These evils have led to the backdrop of a history full of musical pain and stories of many emotional episodes. These accounts detail the healing and expression of joy, hope, anger, frustration when telling the history of "Black" people in America. Today Hip-Hop has not only taken on that message but with Hip-Hop going global and the political climate changing in America, Hip-Hop will once again lend its' gifts to the world by telling the truth to a world that may never fully accept the message it has always been giving to the world at large.

Who are we? How do we fully answer this question? By going through the archive of "Black" music there are songs of many genres that tell our story through Gospel, Jazz, Pop, Soul, R&B, and more. Hip-Hop is the youth's rebellion from the mainstream world to tell everyone what their experience and issues are with the world. Hip-Hop was the answer to NYC showing the world the murder, the economical struggle and the unfair treatment from the police was not to be tolerated any more. This story spread to the West Coast and they showed the world they are going through the same issues. The South and Midwest also had something to say and damn it the message was received.

"Black" music is and always will be political. With artists in Hip-Hop like Public Enemy, X-Clan, KRS-ONE and more Hip-Hop has had people represent the culture and get into the fight for the struggle to enhance the lives of the people in the culture. On the West Coast artists like West Coast Kam and Paris have carried the torch for reform in America to aid in the advancement of Black People. In the mainstream Hip-Hop has had separations from the conscious Hip-Hop artist but we have seen the evolution of the street artist giving their take on the world and its problems. Artists like Nas, Ice Cube, TI and Mysonne have taken charge in navigating the street and politics. Yet, the memory of fallen MCs like 2Pac and Nipsey Hussle have inspired newer artists like Kendrick Lamar, Dee-1, and J Cole to speak on the injustice on our community. This keeps the essence of Hip-Hop pure and alive.

Black History Month is a time of year where we tell the world our story and share our will and desire to exist in peace with the larger global society. With people of all communities now rapping and making beats we must never allow our story to be erased as we remind them that "We Will Be Here Forever..." As much as the mainstream Hip-Hop shared with the world may separate from the streets and the people's message for entertainment purposes we still have artists like Outkast and Goodie Mob to give soulful accounts of the struggle to the world. Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli still make music that matters to the world. Christian Hip-Hop is speaking up to the morality of the world with artists like Firejaws, Bizzle and more. While Rapsody is reminding people of the value of the woman's voice in the culture, Beyonce still is making firsts in the music conversation leading to a look into our story and our history.

Hip-Hop is an important part of our History. Hip-Hop's story is Black History and outside of Black Music Month in June, Hip-Hop tells the story of our struggle in real time. Police brutality, economic disparity, sexism, nepotism, racism and politics are the issues and Hip-Hop voices its displeasure with it. With Hip-Hop taking charge as a world leading culture we see hope that things will change. With a new President in America making change, Hip-Hop will have to answer the questions: What do we do now? How do we respond to this new change? Councilman Dupre' Kelly is part of that answer going from Recording Artist to politics and soon more will be inspired from his move into a new arena to show Hip-Hop is a genre and movement that will not stop and "...will be here forever..."

As we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nina Simone, Dr. Frances Cress Welling and more. We should also celebrate Chuck D, Brother J, The Honorable Louis Farrakhan, Tamika Mallory and the people alive today that are leading the Hip-Hop nation into a new era to continue that fight. Hip-Hop is Black History and though it is given a monthly time to recognize. Hip-Hop culture is lived everyday and we celebrate Black History everyday by making history not just waiting for a book to tell us what we have been through. We fight to overcome and conquer that evil in the world to show the world that "We shall overcome...". That we will not cower to injustice and it will forever be "Like that and that's the way it is", and that is that way it shall forever be.