IDK, this guy is kinda reaching. I could see where he’s coming from if he was saying this beef and the things Kendrick is talking about reflect larger societal issues, but how could they possibly be shaping them? Pop culture, and all of the superstructure, arise out of the material base but has extremely little power to do anything except reinforce it. That’s why Kendrick and other conscious artists limit the scope of their message to a very specific part of the struggle, which elements of the ruling class are already ready to recuperate and make concessions in (more Black billionaires! (which is not what Kendrick is asking for but it’s definitely the safe, capitalist response to this tide of conscious hip hop (and it’s what other artists like Jay Z put forward as their solution) and even the most radical artists don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them)). Even then, I don’t want to be too cynical as to obscure what some smaller rappers out there are doing, others like Noname have put forward a more materialist criticism and have been outspoken about genocide and imperialism. How much of a difference does that make? Probably quite a lot, I’m sure many of the people in campus protests right now can attribute part of their political development to pop culture. But is it the actual, deciding factor for the movement and progression of history?
Ultimately the amount of change these artists can enact is limited due to their positions relying on capital; streaming platforms and record companies aren’t gonna keep Fred Hampton on board for too long if that’s really bringing about political action that threatens their bottom line.
Of course pop culture doesn’t change anything. After Weinstein got arrested we never got many updates about whether similar abuses have seized, and I assume not because nothing systemic was changed. Epstein dies, Maxwell goes to prison, nothing changes. Drake has an absurdly large contract with many brands - it’s unlikely to do anything unless Kendrick has some scathing, undeniable evidence that compels the police to go after Drake - but I doubt that would happen because it might self-incriminate Kendrick for various reasons, and doing it “officially” (i.e. working directly with the cops) is career suicide for Kendrick, so he basically only has vague jabs and perhaps inadmissible exposes
I’m sure many of the people in campus protests right now can attribute part of their political development to pop culture.
I would not trust many people who can be swayed by products lol
IDK, this guy is kinda reaching. I could see where he’s coming from if he was saying this beef and the things Kendrick is talking about reflect larger societal issues, but how could they possibly be shaping them? Pop culture, and all of the superstructure, arise out of the material base but has extremely little power to do anything except reinforce it. That’s why Kendrick and other conscious artists limit the scope of their message to a very specific part of the struggle, which elements of the ruling class are already ready to recuperate and make concessions in (more Black billionaires! (which is not what Kendrick is asking for but it’s definitely the safe, capitalist response to this tide of conscious hip hop (and it’s what other artists like Jay Z put forward as their solution) and even the most radical artists don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them)). Even then, I don’t want to be too cynical as to obscure what some smaller rappers out there are doing, others like Noname have put forward a more materialist criticism and have been outspoken about genocide and imperialism. How much of a difference does that make? Probably quite a lot, I’m sure many of the people in campus protests right now can attribute part of their political development to pop culture. But is it the actual, deciding factor for the movement and progression of history?
Ultimately the amount of change these artists can enact is limited due to their positions relying on capital; streaming platforms and record companies aren’t gonna keep Fred Hampton on board for too long if that’s really bringing about political action that threatens their bottom line.
Did you mean Noname?
oops
Of course pop culture doesn’t change anything. After Weinstein got arrested we never got many updates about whether similar abuses have seized, and I assume not because nothing systemic was changed. Epstein dies, Maxwell goes to prison, nothing changes. Drake has an absurdly large contract with many brands - it’s unlikely to do anything unless Kendrick has some scathing, undeniable evidence that compels the police to go after Drake - but I doubt that would happen because it might self-incriminate Kendrick for various reasons, and doing it “officially” (i.e. working directly with the cops) is career suicide for Kendrick, so he basically only has vague jabs and perhaps inadmissible exposes
I would not trust many people who can be swayed by products lol