Editor’s notice: The next article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the creator’s personal. Learn extra opinions on theGrio.
Once I was a child within the ‘80s and ‘90s—you realize, again within the 1900s—once you did one thing superb, someone would all the time say, “he should have eaten his Wheaties at this time!” alluding to the breakfast cereal that has lengthy been billed as “the breakfast of champions.” Well-known athletes have typically discovered themselves on Wheaties containers, to the purpose the place the bodily, unopened containers themselves have turn into collector’s objects.
Kendrick Lamar has been consuming his Wheaties. Not solely have the e-streets determined that 2024 is the yr of Kendrick Lamar; apparently Kendrick has accepted the mantle and been on our necks since March. On Friday, November 22, he dropped the album “GNX,” which has actually been the discuss of, properly, the whole lot because it hit the ‘internet. After which, to proceed his barrage of inventive dominance, he dropped the primary visible from the album, “Squabble Up,” a tune that was first teased firstly of the video for the indeniable tune of 2024, “Not Like Us.”
“Squabble Up” continues the place “Not Like Us” left off; the video is filled with West Coast — heavy on the Los Angeles — imagery and popular culture references, tradition and homages, and Kendrick Lamar doing that little Kendrick Lamar dance. Significantly, I’ve watched the video a minimum of 10 instances as of this writing as a result of I’ve been making an attempt to position a number of the references within the background.
I might think about of us from Los Angeles have been feeling super-duper seen recently with the best way Kendrick has been placing on so closely for Los Angeles. This video takes a few of that to the subsequent degree. For example, there’s a nod to Ice-T’s “Energy” album cowl the place a lady in a washing swimsuit is seen holding a sawed-off shotgun. There’s a child on a Massive Wheel sporting the identical outfit as Anthony, the son of Ronnie, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s character in “Menace II Society,” wore within the ultimate scenes of the film, proper earlier than Caine was gunned down by the one individual lacking from this video, Samuel Monroe, Jr., a villain so thorough that if I noticed him in actual life at this time, I’d cross the road. There’s a nod to the quilt for Isaac Hayes’ 1971 opus, “Black Moses.” There’s a “Soul Prepare” Scramble Board scene and David Hammons’ African-American flag. Additionally, relaxation in peace to Nate Dogg.
And albeit, “Squabble Up” features a ton of references to issues I don’t even know as a result of I’m not up on the entire Los Angeles or California cultural touchpoints. Most essential is a ebook Kendrick is studying titled “The right way to Be Like Kendrick Lamar for Dummies” and I swear I hope that will get launched, at the same time as a joke ebook. I’m certain some enterprising soul will print up a few of these joints and promote them earlier than the cease-and-desist comes; that’s how I acquired my Snoop-On-A-Stoop doll!
I’m certain some enterprising soul will do a TikTok that factors out each single reference utilized within the video and I’m trying ahead to that. For now, although, I simply proceed to be impressed with this mission that Kendrick Lamar has discovered himself on. Whereas his beef with being related to Drake was the catalyst for the previous 9 months of Kendrickpalooza, it’s admirable to witness the best way his focus appears to have shifted to uplifting and (to no matter extent it’s working) uniting the West Coast. Kendrick is locked in and this video for “Squabble Up” is extra proof of that time. Equally, he has me inquisitive about what’s subsequent; that unpredictability from an artist hasn’t existed for a very long time in hip-hop. I’m glad we’re right here now.
West, West y’all.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Pricey Tradition” on theGrio Black Podcast Community. He writes very Black issues, drinks very brown liquors, and is fairly fly for a light-weight man. His largest accomplishment to this point coincides together with his Blackest accomplishment to this point in that he acquired a telephone name from Oprah Winfrey after she learn one among his items (largest) however he didn’t reply the telephone as a result of the caller ID mentioned “Unknown” (Blackest).
