Kendrick Lamar is back at it again this time providing visuals for his popular track “ELEMENT.” off his new album. Opening with a hand reaching for the surface this video takes a dark turn showing a what made him the man he is today. From gang fights to poverty, Lamar takes you on a stroll through the Compton streets that made him.
After becoming one of the biggest names in rap today Lamar expresses the struggles of fame. Lamar has a constant inner battle with himself, feeling a sense of responsibility he wants to shy away from the stereotype and be a force of positivity. At the same time, Lamar reminisces about his time in the streets being young man trying to survive by any means. While Kendrick isn’t stuck in Compton anymore he reassures everyone that there is no fake to his funk. Sporting the old school jerry curl of the N.W.A era, Lamar chokes and beats men senseless showing he’s still capable of holding his own.
“I been stomped out in front of my mama
My daddy commissary made it to commas
B***h, all my grandmas dead
So ain’t nobody prayin’ for me, I’m on your head, ay”
This music video is shot in a similar style to “HUMBLE.”, featuring the raw and uncut story of life in the projects. The Grammy Winning Artist employed the services of German fashion icon Jonas Lindstroem to help with the project along with T.D.E. president Dave Free. The trio also paid homage by recreating some of the famous artwork of Gordon Parks. Parks was the first black photographer to work for Life and Vogue.
With the commercial success of DAMN., Kendrick Lamar took the opportunity to show audiences that it is not all peaches and cream on the other side of the color wheel. Regardless of this, the Compton Native wouldn’t change it defending the beautiful chaos in the same song. With this, we finally get to see the fire that’s inside Lamar. We see the dual personality of Kung Fu Kenny to K – Dot. We see the struggle of being a black man in America with all its violence, drugs, sex, and police. Kendrick didn’t water it down and that’s what makes this project so beautiful. “ELEMENT.” is soulful ballad filled with anger and pain to encapsulate the experience of being black and in the ghetto.
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