Celebrated hip hop rapper Kendrick Lamar and his album, â??To Pimp a Butterfly,â? are poised to make history at Sundayâ??s 58th Grammy awards. Giving voice to the underside of Black communities in which marginalized persons seek to establish a sense of identity and dignity, Lamar has already broken a record with his nine nominations. He is now the most Grammy-nominated hip hop artiste in a single year.
Rap and reggae artistes claim to make it real. That is, they do not create. They narrate life in their communities, and allow music to signify life on the ground, in which there is violence against Black bodiesâ??bodies marked as inferiorâ??as well as racism, overt sexuality, gender inequality, the hardships of tenement housing and a culture of poverty.
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