Kendrick+Lamar

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Kendrick Lamar

Reviewing 2017: Song of the Year

2017 was a great year for music, but only one song takes the cake for Song of the Year. Kendrick Lamar’s follow-up album to his magnum opus To Pimp a Butterfly, was DAMN, and the lead single of that critically-acclaimed album was none other than “HUMBLE”, a track that further cemented Lamar as one of the greatest Kings of Rap.

The trap-style hip-hop single was released on March 30th and explored the themes of religion and personal growth to a piano riff and Lamar’s impressive flow. Lamar lyriciszes his life from humble beginnings eating “syrup sandwiches” to becoming a phenomenon whose moves go “viral”. It debuted at #2 and peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and is 3x Platinum. For a rap song, it also received a lot of air time on popular music stations.

The wonderfully visual music video was highly-acclaimed, and a success at the MTV Video Music Awards, where it won 6 awards including the big one of the night, Video of the Year. In it, Lamar has allusions to The Young Pope and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, along with the use of fire imagery, the color black, and interesting visual effects such as a bubble-like screen.  On YouTube, the current view count for the music video on his VEVO account is at 408 million.

At a concert during his DAMN. tour in Phoenix, Arizona, the whole crowd rapped acapella to the song, leaving even Lamar stunned, and might I say it, humble (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdTteUVIGjw).

Thus, “HUMBLE” is the Red & Black’s choice for Song of the Year, for its success, music video, and star power.

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