Kendrick revealed that: “Exclusive: Kendrick Lamar Reveals He Wanted Nas on ‘Sing About Me,’ ” Vibe, March 22, 2013, https://www.vibe.com/2013/03/exclusive-kendrick-lamar-reveals-he-wanted-nas-sing-about-me.
“I’d be lying to you”: Kendrick Lamar, “Writer at War: Kendrick Lamar’s XXL Cover Story,” XXL, January 6, 2015, https://www.xxlmag.com/news/2015/01/writer-war-kendrick-lamar-own-words/.
“With Kendrick’s album”: Jaleesa Jones, “Georgia Students Study Kendrick Lamar for Class,” USA Today, September 1, 2014, https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2014/09/01/georgia-students-study-kendrick-lamar-for-class/37395771/.
Chapter 5: The Fight for Black Life
boy named Trayvon Martin: Dan Barry et al., “Race, Tragedy and Outrage Collide after a Shot in Florida,” New York Times, April 4, 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-prompts-a-review-of-ideals.html, and Daniel Trotta, “Trayvon Martin: Before the World Heard the Cries,” Reuters, April 3, 2012, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-florida-shooting-trayvon/trayvon-martin-before-the-world-heard-the-cries-idUSBRE8320UK20120403.
“Trayvon was our hero”: “Prosecute the Killer of Our Son, 17-Year-Old Trayvon Martin,” Change.org, accessed April 6, 2020, https://www.change.org/p/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin.
“When Trayvon Martin was first shot”: “President Obama’s Remarks on Trayvon Martin (Full Transcript),” Washington Post, July 19, 2013, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obamas-remarks-on-trayvon-martin-full-transcript/2013/07/19/5e33ebea-f09a-11e2-a1f9-ea873b7e0424_story.html.
In 1999, New York City police: Michael Cooper, “Officers in Bronx Fire 41 Shots, and an Unarmed Man Is Killed,” New York Times, February 5, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/05/nyregion/officers-in-bronx-fire-41-shots-and-an-unarmed-man-is-killed.html.
Then, in 2009, Bay Area Rapid Transit: Jill Tucker, Kelly Zito, and Heather Knight, “Deadly BART Brawl—Officer Shoots Rider, 22,” SFGate, January 2, 2009, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Deadly-BART-brawl-officer-shoots-rider-22-3178373.php.
In mid-July of 2014, Eric Garner: Joseph Goldstein and Nate Schweber, “Man’s Death after Chokehold Raises Old Issue for Police,” New York Times, July 18, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/nyregion/staten-island-man-dies-after-he-is-put-in-chokehold-during-arrest.html.
eerily similar to a 1994 incident: “A Death on Staten Island,” New York Times, May 15, 1994, https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/15/nyregion/one-neighborhood-two-lives-special-report-death-staten-island-2-paths-cross.html.
On the morning of August 9: “What Happened in Ferguson?,” New York Times, August 13, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html.
Ferguson police arrested Henry Davis: Joseph Shapiro, “In Ferguson, Mo., Before Michael Brown There Was Henry Davis,” All Things Considered, National Public Radio, September 12, 2014, https://www.npr.org/2014/09/12/348010247/in-ferguson-mo-before-michael-brown-there-was-henry-davis.
“The delay helped fuel”: Julie Bosman and Joseph Goldstein, “Timeline for a Body: 4 Hours in the Middle of a Ferguson Street,” New York Times, August 23, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/24/us/michael-brown-a-bodys-timeline-4-hours-on-a-ferguson-street.html.
Tamir Rice was gunned down: Ryllie Danylko, “Cleveland Police Officer Fatally Shoots 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice: The Big Story,” Cleveland.com, November 24, 2014, https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2014/11/cleveland_police_officer_fatal.html, and “Officer Who Killed Tamir Rice Found Unfit in Previous Police Job,” NBC News, November 27, 2014, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-who-killed-tamir-rice-found-unfit-previous-police-job-n261111.
“Tonight, I got kicked”: “Killer Mike’s pre-show Ferguson Grand Jury speech,” YouTube video, posted by “Stephen Bolen,” November 24, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQs7CWKHM9w.
“I would hate to stay stagnant”: Maud Deitch, “Exclusive: Kendrick Lamar Sings Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off,’ ” Fader, November 4, 2014, https://www.thefader.com/2014/11/04/kendrick-lamar-interview-halloween-taylor-swift.
retaliation for filming Garner’s murder: Chloé Cooper Jones, “Fearing for His Life,” The Verge, March 13, 2019, https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/13/18253848/eric-garner-footage-ramsey-orta-police-brutality-killing-safety.
“There’s a deeper level”: Marcus J. Moore, “Kamasi Washington Says the Moment Is Right for His Three-Hour ‘Epic,’ ” Washington Post, August 20, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2015/08/20/kamasi-washington-says-the-moments-right-for-his-three-hour-epic/.
Chapter 6: King Kendrick
“You would have thought”: Patrick Bowman, “Sounwave Details the Making of Kendrick Lamar’s Landmark ‘To Pimp a Butterfly,’ ” Spin, April 24, 2015, https://www.spin.com/2015/04/sounwave-interview-kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly/.
“The rapper wanted “to help put a Band-Aid on the things that’s been going on in our communities””: Peter Walsh, “Kendrick Lamar’s Producers Talk the Making of ‘To Pimp a Butterfly,’ ” XXL, April 30, 2015, https://www.xxlmag.com/news/2015/04/kendrick-lamars-producers-talk-making-pimp-butterfly/.
“The word ‘pimp’ ”: “Kendrick Lamar Breaks Down Tracks From ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ (Pt. 1) | MTV News,” YouTube video, posted by “MTV,” March 31, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUEI_ep9iDs.
“I wish somebody would look”: Joe Lynch, “Kendrick Lamar Talks Ferguson: ‘What Happened Should’ve Never Happened,’ ” Billboard, January 8, 2015, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6436333/kendrick-lamar-on-ferguson-police-michael-brown.
“9th hit me like”: Adam Fleischer, “How Do You End Up Featured on Kendrick Lamar’s Album? Rapsody Tells Her Story,” MTV News, March 16, 2015, http://www.mtv.com/news/2106673/rapsody-kendrick-lamar-complexion-a-zulu-love-to-pimp-a-butterfly/.
“There are the people”: Jeff Weiss “Kamasi Washington on the Music That Made Him a Jazz Colossus,” Pitchfork, October 3, 2017, https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/kamasi-washington-on-the-music-that-made-him-a-jazz-colossus/.
“No matter what type”: “Kendrick Lamar on How He Wrote ‘King Kunta,’ ” YouTube video, posted by “NME,” June 5, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_Xb9c6__Q.
Chapter 7: “We Gon’ Be Alright”
“I kind of had”: Kory Grow, “See Kendrick Lamar Perform Death-Defying Stunts in ‘Alright’ Video,” Rolling Stone, June 30, 2015, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/see-kendrick-lamar-perform-death-defying-stunts-in-alright-video-74253/.
“I knew it was”: “Kendrick Lamar Talks to Rick Rubin About ‘Alright,’ Eminem, and Kendrick’s Next Album,” GQ, October 20, 2016, https://www.gq.com/story/kendrick-lamar-rick-rubin-gq-style-cover-interview.
“Once you get an image”: Andres Tardio, “Exclusive: We Got All the Answers about Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ Video,” MTV News, June 30, 2015, http://www.mtv.com/news/2201127/kendrick-lamar-alright-video-colin-tilley/.
“We needed an anthem”: Kory Grow, “Riot on the Set: How Public Enemy Crafted the Anthem ‘Fight the Power,’ ” Rolling Stone, June 30, 2014, https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/riot-on-the-set-how-public-enemy-crafted-the-anthem-fight-the-power-244152/.
Freddie Gray was arrested: Natalie Sherman, Chris Kaltenbach, and Colin Campbell, “Freddie Gray Dies a Week after Being Injured during Arrest,” Baltimore Sun, April 19, 2015, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-freddie-gray-20150419-story.html.
the body of Sandra Bland: Katie Rogers, “The Death of Sandra Bland: Questions and Answers,” New York Times, July 23, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/23/us/23blandlisty.html.
“Our mere existence”: Sharon Cooper, “Sandra Bland’s Sister: She Died Because Officer Saw Her as ‘Threatening Black Woman,’ Not Human,” USA Today, May 13, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/spotlight/2019/05/13/sandra-bland-sister-police-brutality-policing-the-usa/1169559001/.
In late July 2015: Dusty Henry and Alex Young, “Cleveland State University Conference Attendees Chant Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ in Protest against Police,” Consequence of Sound, July 29, 2015, https://consequenceofsound.net/2015/07/cleveland-state-university-protesters-chant-kendrick-lamars-alright-in-protest-against-police/.
“You might not have heard”: Andrew Barker, “How Kendrick Lamar Became the Defining Hip-Hop Artist of His Generation,” Variety, November 2017, https://variety.com/2017/music/features/kendrick-lamar-career-damn-to-pimp-a-butterfly-1202619725/.
Chapter 8: The Night Kendrick Ascended
To solve the 2009 crisis: Farhana Hossain et al., “The Stimulus Plan: How to Spend $787 Billion,” New York Times, accessed April 3, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/44th_president/stimulus.
“How can you take”: Colin Stutz, “Kendrick Lamar Responds to Geraldo Rivera: ‘Hip-Hop Is Not the Problem, Our Reality Is,’ ” Billboard, July 2, 2015, https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6620035/kendrick-lamar-responds-geraldo-rivera-alright-bet-awards.
“I don’t believe in none”: Steven Horowitz, “Kendrick Lamar Addresses Backlash over Refusal to Vote,” HipHopDX, August 28, 2012, https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.20924/title.kendrick-lamar-addresses-backlash-over-refusal-to-vote.
That December, President Barack Obama: Tierney McAfee and Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, “Kendrick Lamar Vs. Bruno Mars: POTUS and FLOTUS’ Favorite Songs, Movies and Moments of 2015,” People, December 9, 2015, https://people.com/books/barack-obama-and-michelle-obamas-favorite-songs-movies-and-moments-of-2015/.
“I think Drake”: Keith Wagstaff, “Obama Picks Kendrick over Drake in YouTube Interview,” NBC News, January 13, 2016, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/obama-picks-kendrick-over-drake-youtube-interview-n497571.
“The way people look”: Adelle Platon, “Kendrick Lamar Opens Up about Meeting President Obama: ‘No Matter How High-Ranking You Get, You’re Human,’ ” Billboard, February 4, 2016, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/6866105/kendrick-lamar-meeting-president-obama.
He had been nominated: “Kendrick Lamar,” Grammy Awards, Recording Academy, accessed April 3, 2020, https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/kendrick-lamar.
only two rap albums:
