Peter Kaminski/WENN.com

Is Kendrick Lamar one of hip-hop’s latest saviors?

The critical acclaim and fan praise continues to pour in over his album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and is showing no signs of slowing down.  People love the way Lamar told the story of his life growing up in Compton and are able to easily visualize everything he describes.

For his effort, ASCAP is honoring him with a pretty big award.

According to EURweb, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will present Kendrick with its Vanguard Award on June 26th.

Paul Williams, ASCAP’s President and Chairman had this to say about Kendrick:

“Kendrick Lamar’s smart, structured story-telling and genre-bending sound make him stand out amongst his peers. He pushes boundaries with his creativity, perfectly illustrating everything that the ASCAP Vanguard Award recognizes.”

Past winners of the Vanguard include Santigold, Diplo and Janelle Monàe. Those are just a few of the most creative artists in the music business and it is no wonder Kendrick is being honored.

ASCAP’s VP of Rhythm and Blues added:

“Kendrick is one of the most exciting acts in the rap game today, and we know big things are in store for his career. It’s no wonder that he’s been dubbed ‘the new king of the West Coast’ by rap veterans like Snoop Dogg.”

The awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on June 26th. Singer Usher will also be honored that night with the Golden Note Award.

Are you a Kendrick Lamar fan? Do you think he’ll have longevity in the music business?

First, let me say that I never envisioned myself going to Summer Jam. I’m a Hip Hop fan as much as the next person but being around other Hip Hop fans, in certain settings isn’t necessarily something that appeals to me. In other words, there’s a certain level of hood that one should expect at these type of events; and though observing and participating in this behavior can be fun, in excess it’s a bit much for me. But even still when an associate said she might have tickets for my sister and I to attend the show, I said yes before I really thought about what I was agreeing to. By the time Sunday arrived, and we were sure we were going to get the tickets, I started feeling a little apprehension. But since my sister was so excited about going, I decided to take one for the team. And even though, I sucked it up and made the trek, my apprehension was warranted. There was confusion and plenty ratch to go around. But at the end of the night, I had to agree the entire experience was fun…very fun.

Here’s how it all went down.

First my sister and I had to figure out how to get from the city to New Jersey. We made it to Port Authority only to be sent on a whirlwind mission to buy bus tickets. First we were on the ground floor, then we went upstairs. Then an attendant told us we needed to go back downstairs. Once we found the correct place to buy our ticket, stood in line and got to the window, the attendant told us he only accepted cash, despite the fact there was both a Visa and Mastercard emblem on the window. So we had to leave Port Authority to get cash.

As we were walking out the door to get to the ATM, a man, who appeared to be homeless, looked up at me from his spot on the ground and asked with all sincerity,

“Excuse me miss, can I have some coochie?”

As someone who was already apprehensive about the whole day, this was a bad, bad omen. I was too ready to go home and might have even mentioned this fact to my sister a couple of times.

But we pressed on.

As we were waiting in line to purchase tickets, we had to endure a man describe his recent sexual excursion with an Asian woman from last week. After listening to him imitating her sex noises, we bought our tickets and headed for the bus. At this point, I’d calmed down from the earlier assault and decided to enjoy the day as a social experiment, a chance to people watch.

After a 15 minute drive, we got to Met Life stadium. Just walking through the parking lot was an experience in and of itself. There were several barbeque grills set up, red Solo cups littered the ground, men flexed in drop top cars that had just been washed and to top it all off, there was a woman standing on the roof of a car dancing for her life. I had to smile (and snap a few pictures) thinking this was a scene straight out of The Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff’s “Summertime.”

Peter Kaminski/WENN.com

Someone had to say it. And we’re glad the conscious boy wonder rapper, Kendrick Lamar had the balls gall to step to the podium and let the world know that this Molly thing is played out. He’s not the first though. Earlier this year, Joe Budden spoke about how his use of the drug caused a slew of negative side effects.

At the end of Kendrick’s “B!+ch Don’t Kill My Vibe” video, the words “Death to Molly” flash across the screen. In an interview with MTV’s Sway, Kendrick recently discussed how the consistent references to the drug, MDMA, are compromising the culture of Hip Hop.

“When everybody consciously now uses this term or this phrase and putting it in lyrics, it waters the culture down. So it’s really just time to move on.”

Kendrick also mentioned that many of the rappers including the drug in their lyrics don’t really use it to know the severe and harmful side effects it can cause.

“You may have certain artists portraying these trends and don’t really have that lifestyle and then it gives off the wrong thing. And it becomes kinda corny after a while.”

Though Kendrick is just now starting to get major shine, in his short career he has spoken and rapped openly about his anti drug stance. In his song “Swimming Pools (Drank)” he discusses his grandfather’s and his own personal struggles with alcoholism, including how peer pressure played a role in all of that. Kendrick has also been very vocal about the fact that he doesn’t smoke weed, the stereotypical Hip Hop drug of choice.

Kendrick is one classy guy. He could have easily taken the immature route and started naming the litany of artists who’ve glorified Molly use but instead he kept it professional and anonymous while simultaneously petitioning his peers to do better. Kudos.

Watch Kendrick express his thoughts on the drug and trends on the next page.

Source: WENN

Guess we know why Drake is all about “no new friends,” he doesn’t need them! BET just released it’s list of nominees for the 2013 BET Awards set to air June 30 and Drake has clearly arrived after starting from the bottom. The Canadian rapper leads the pack with the most nominations — 12 — mostly due to being a part of some of the hottest musical collaborations this year. But 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar, who are the other half of some of those collabs, are quickly gaining on Drizzy with eight nominations each.

Here’s the full list:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyoncé
Tamar Braxton
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Elle Varner

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Chris Brown
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Justin Timberlake
Usher

Best Group
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Mary Mary
Mindless Behavior
Slaughterhouse
The Throne (Kanye West & Jay-Z)

Best Collaboration
2 Chainz f/ Drake – “No Lie”
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Problems”
French Montana f/ Rick Ross, Drake and Lil Wayne – “Pop That”
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – “Poetic Justice”
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – “Suit & Tie”
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – “Mercy”

Best Male Hip Hop Artist
2 Chainz
A$AP Rocky
Drake
Future
Kendrick Lamar

Best Female Hip Hop Artist
Azealia Banks
Eve
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Rye Rye

Video of the Year
2 Chainz f/ Drake – “No Lie”
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Problems”
Drake – “Started From The Bottom”
Drake f/ Lil Wayne – “HYFR”
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – “Poetic Justice”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz – “Thrift Shop”
Miguel – “Adorn”
Rihanna – “Diamonds”
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – “Suit & Tie”
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – “Mercy”

Video Director of the Year
A$AP Rocky & Sam Lecca
Benny Boom
Director X
Dre Films
Hype Williams

Best New Artist
Azealia Banks
Joey Bada$$
Kendrick Lamar
Trinidad Jame$
The Weeknd

Best Gospel Artist
Deitrick Haddon
Lecrae
Tamela Mann
Mary Mary
Marvin Sapp

Best Actress
Angela Bassett
Halle Berry
Taraji P. Henson
Gabrielle Union
Kerry Washington

Best Actor
Don Cheadle
Common
Jamie Foxx
Samuel L. Jackson
Denzel Washington

YoungStars Award
Gabrielle Douglas
Jacob Latimore
Keke Palmer
Jaden Smith
Quvenzhané Wallis

Best Movie
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
Sparkle
Think Like a Man

Subway Sportswoman of the Year
Gabrielle Douglas
Brittney Griner
Candace Parker
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

Subway Sportsman of the Year
Victor Cruz
Kevin Durant
Robert Griffin III
LeBron James
Ray Lewis

Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Problems”
Drake – “Started From The Bottom”
Kendrick Lamar – “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
Miguel – “Adorn”
Rihanna – “Diamonds”
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – “Suit & Tie”

Centric Award
Tamar Braxton – “Love and War”
Fantasia – “Lose To Win”
Miguel – “Adorn”
Nas – “Daughters”
Charlie Wilson – “My Love Is All I Have”

Best International Act: Africa
2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
Toya Delazy (South Africa)
Donald (South Africa)
Ice Prince (Nigeria)
R2Bees (Ghana)
Radio and Weasel (Uganda)

Best International Act: U.K.
Marsha Ambrosius
Estelle
Labrinth
Rita Ora
Emeli Sandé
Wiley

We already learned last month that Chris Rock would host this year’s show, and MTV just confirmed Chris Brown and R. Kelly will hit the stage as performers. Wonder what else is in store! What do you think about this year’s nominees?

Source: YouTube.com

If you’re a Kendrick Lamar fan, it would have been hard for you to avoid his single “B!+ch Don’t Kill My Vibe” from his good kid, m.A.A.d city album. Despite the expletive in the title and throughout the song, it’s gotten much radio play.

Now there’s a video to go along with it. Kendrick dons all white in a church, a field, in a limo. There’s a moment of comic releif when Mike Epps appears to baptize Kendrick in a pool of liquor.

It’s interesting and at times feel sacrilegious.

But I’ll let you be the judge.

Check it out.

Source: Vimeo

25-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar showed that he knows the importance of eduction and imparting positivity into the youth when he took over Mt. Pleasant High School in Rhode Island as Principal for a Day.

“Without education you don’t have anything. My teachers were great positive influences in my life. My middle school English teacher was probably the reason I became a rapper. He used to encourage me to write poetry and would challenge me, which helped me improve my vocabulary and made me enjoy writing,” said the Compton rapper.

Lamar was joined by 106 and Park hosts Paigion and Shorty Da Prince during his visit. The students were awarded the celeb visit for completing the Attendance Challenge, which is a program sponsored by Get Schooled, a non-profit organization “aimed to use the media and messengers of popular culture to inspire and engage students in an effort to improve high school graduation rates and empower more students to go to and succeed in college.”

The “Poetic Justice” rapper’s visit is a part of a 37-city tour coordinated by the organization, where different celebrities assume the role as Principal for a Day at various high schools across the nation.

“We’re really excited to have Kendrick at Mount Pleasant,” said Nala Cadet, a senior at the Rhode Island high school, who won a one-on-one moment with Kendrick.

It appears that Kendrick was equally excited about being at the high school.

“I’ve always wanted to do this, and now, I’m going to give the students a treat,” he said before announcing his arrival over the school’s PA system.

“Any time I can make a difference in the lives of students, it matters to me. Knowing that these students earned this event because they took the time to come to school daily and work hard on a daily basis for the attendance challenge is impressive,” said Kendrick.

There was also a main event where Kendrick spit a few rhymes and danced  with students to some of his popular tracks.

Sounds like fun!

Check out footage from Kendrick’s visit on the next page. 

Any time you’re trying to describe an artist, there’s always a temptation to compare them to someone else. It’s easier to say “Keyshia Cole is like Mary J. Blige” than to say “Keyshia Cole makes raw, soul-infused R&B filled with themes of pain and personal transformation.” I get that. But sometimes the comparisons go too far, and we try to place up-and-comers in the same category as legends whose legacies have left an indelible mark on the musical landscape.

The late, great Michael Jackson is probably the most frequent victims of suspect comparisons. It seems that anyone who can dance and sing reasonably well is at some point dubbed the new or next version of The Gloved One. Usher is the new Michael Jackson. Chris Brown is the new Michael Jackson. Beyoncé is the new Michael Jackson. In the name of all that is holy, this must stop. I have seen all three of these “new Michael Jacksons” live, and I can attest that any one of their shows will change your night, if not your life. Usher is a consummate entertainer, Chris Brown is the best dancer I have ever seen anywhere, and Beyoncé
will leave you out of breath just watching her.

That said, to compare these entertainers to the King of Pop, a man who was arguably the most innovative, groundbreaking and important artist of all-time, hurts my feelings in ways I can’t begin to describe. I could possibly tolerate something more specific like “he can sing and dance well, kind of like a young Michael Jackson.” But to compare artists to someone who was incomparable won’t fly.

Another questionable comparison involves Trey Songz. I’ve heard him described as the next R. Kelly and/or D’Angelo. I’m sorry, what did you say? Just because you take your shirt off and sing sex-laced ballads does not make you heir to the throne of Kells or the inimitable D’Angelo. So I’m going to need people to cease and desist equating any crooner with a sexed up catalogue and a six-pack to either of these two very unique and musically-gifted individuals.

And then, there is perhaps the most egregious comparison I’ve heard yet: that Frank Ocean is this generation’s Luther Vandross or Marvin Gaye. For the love of Tyler Perry, we must stop this madness. I think we’ve all heard more than enough Luther and Marvin to know that Frank is neither, so I will kindly ask the people making these comparisons to have a seat for eternity.

Young Frank and his unique brand of R&B has certainly taken the world by storm. But to compare an individual with a mixtape and an album to legends who shaped entire eras, who left us with some of the most memorable music we have, whose musical styles don’t even resemble Ocean’s, is simply ludicrous. In the words of Claudette Wyms, one of my favorite characters on the former FX drama The Shield, “You’re stretching, son. Try yoga.”

These ridiculous comparisons also occur in the rap spectrum. I think we all laughed off the idea that Ja Rule was the new DMX, but among the more outlandish claims I’ve heard is that Kendrick Lamar is the new 2Pac. Girl, bye. I can’t even dignify that with a response.

Sure, there are similarities between artists, and comparisons are inevitable. Nicki Minaj is like Lil Kim or Foxy Brown, female rappers who blend sexuality with serious bars. Justin Bieber is like Justin Timberlake; they’re both white r&b/pop artists who got their start as teen idols. Lady Gaga is like Madonna; they’re fearless females who push the envelope and weave religious imagery and sex into their music.

But no one is the new or next anyone, much as each generation might want to lay claim to their own version of some superstar. Chris Brown is not the new Michael Jackson and Frank Ocean is not the new Luther Vandross. There is one Michael and one Luther and one Marvin and one 2Pac, and there will never be some newfangled knockoff. They’ll come through and create their own lane and legacies. But we lessen the legacies of certain icons by claiming there is some updated version, like they are a line of soft drink or an old computer program. What these people did is unmatched and will remain unmatched. Without taking anything away from these talented young artists — who deserve to be seen in their own light, and not in someone else’s shadow — let’s not pretend a legend who brought us something we’d never seen before and will never see again can somehow be duplicated.

What’s the craziest musical comparison you’ve ever heard? Sound off in the comments.

Lauren Carter is a Boston-based wordsmith who writes about music, pop culture, race and relationships. Connect with her on Twitter @ByLaurenCarter or check out her blog at www.bylaurencarter.com.

From StyleBlazer

Kendrick Lamar and Miguel set sparks with their stellar projects, and the initial flames are only catching momentum. The two rising stars share cover duties for VIBE‘s new issue. Dubbed “The New Classics,” the sensations with substance span three covers, with spreads showing off their individually fly fashion sense.

When asked about to define musical genius, they both nodded each other’s talents:

Kendrick: “Somebody that don’t really have any boundaries, that’s not confined to the traditional structure of a song or traditional sounds. When you listen to “Adorn,” it feels like he’s not even trying to structure a radio j-oint. He just felt the music, felt the instrumentation and wrote the track.”

Miguel: “Good looks, bro. My favorite artists always took whatever they loved out of music and made it their own. It was their take on it. Kendrick is one of those people where I can hear Ice Cube’s first two albums’ influence. I get the street edge, but then I hear like the poetic player, smoothness, creativity and smart street savvy of Andre on Aquemini. That juxtaposition is what I hear in Kendrick, but it’s his own take. If you listen to my Isht, you’re gonna hear Prince, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin or a little bit of the Beatles. That’s where I’m pulling from.”

Read more on StyleBlazer.com.

Peter Kaminski/WENN.com

After a lot of thought and consideration of things that seem to have a lot less to do with lyrical ability and more about whose buzz is the biggest in Hip-Hop, the MTV “Brain Trust” (Sway Calloway and some other folk from MTV who like Hip-Hop music) has finally rounded out their list of hot MCs, and picked the number one “Hottest MC in the Game.” Out of all the people on the list, Kendrick Lamar came in at number one, with the Compton kid besting 2 Chainz at number two and Rick Ross at the third spot.

When Lamar got the news from Sway with MTV’s cameras following, it was nice to see that the young spitter was genuinely surprised by his win, and checked it off as a goal accomplished. “You know what’s crazy, we were looking at the years of the different MCs, and we were always like, ‘Man, we gotta get on there. We gotta at least get on the list.’ But to make it #1, that’s a whole ‘nother thing.” Lamar was probably able to nab the number one spot due to all the positive chatter surrounding the recent release of his second studio album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, which has been critically acclaimed and done pretty good on the charts (as good as albums can do nowadays if you’re not Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber). When asked by Sway how the album came to life, Lamar commented that it’s pretty much something that has been in the works not for a few months or for a few years, but since he was 13:

“It wasn’t a six-month process; really a whole life experience. And that’s what really made this album: All my mistakes, all my thoughts, all my ideas of being a dreamer, all my homeboys’ faults, all the scoldings that my father used to give me. All that made up this album.”

If you ask me, Lamar is the right choice for the number one spot, but not everyone thinks so. Now, you probably already know that Kanye West wasn’t too happy with his placement on the list (7), nor was A$AP Rocky (8), and word was that Drake might not have been a fan of his fifth place ranking either, but 2 Chainz did express gratitude for his second place status via Twitter saying, “Thanks MTV, headed to the lab…”

So what is the full list? Goes a little something like this:

10. Meek Mill

9. Future

8. A$AP Rocky

7. Kanye West

6. Big Sean

5. Drake

4. Nas

3. Rick Ross

2. 2 Chainz

1. Kendrick Lamar

Do you respect the order? Who would you move to what spot? Who’s missing? Let us know your thoughts below!

Instagram

Kendrick Lamar has been hailed as one of hip-hop’s latest “saviors” with his razor sharp skills and ability to make the listener visualize the story he’s trying to tell. He seems keenly aware that he’s doing great things for the state of music.

K-dot, as he’s affectionately known, recently released a video for his latest song “Poetic Justice” and it featured a beautiful young lady named Brittany Sky.  Ironically enough, she was not the original lead chosen but when Kendrick was finally involved with the process, he revealed a different vision. As he told Miss Info:

“We had another girl for the lead but I had an idea where I just wanted a little bit of a darker tone [girl] in the video. It’s almost like a color blind industry where there’s only one type of appeal to the camera.

“I give [Brittany] the credit, too, for just being there, and being a natural, genuine young lady. She wasn’t  all in the open, trying to jump in [front] of the camera. She was cool, just chilling. I always kept in the back of my mind  like ‘you don’t ever see this tone of a woman in videos.  No disrespect, I love all women, period. But at the same time, I still feels like it needs that balance.”

Kendrick wanted to be clear that he wasn’t trying to add to the whole “light-skinned vs. dark-skinned” argument that often happens so he tweeted to Miss Info, who originally alluded to it being a “light vs. dark” issue:

“Not Light “Vs” Dark tho. More about “BALANCE”..Givn every shade of woman life, not jus what da industry thinks is “Hott” 4 camera. When u put the term light “Vs” dark continues it as a BATTLE. My point 4 poetic was to spark the idea of making it an EQUAL.”

He went on in his interview with Miss Info saying that he knows his video is just a drop in the bucket and he was just glad he could do his part to counteract colorism in the music industry.