Kendrick Lamar's politically charged performance at the 2015 BET Awards is stirring up conversation in the newsroom. The rapper opened up the BET Awards program with a performance of his new single, "Alright", which promoted a very anti-police sentiment, with Kendrick rapping on top of a vandalized police car. Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera had some very strong thoughts about this performance and its social-political impact.
Last night, on Fox News' The Five, Rivera criticized the performance saying that the message of the song is harmful. He stated, "This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years. This is exactly the wrong message."
He pinpointed a lyric from the song when Kendrick raps, "And we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure," and said for lyrics like those "to conflate what happened in this church in South Carolina with these tragic incidents involving excessive use of force is to equate this racist killer with these cops. It is so wrong, so counterproductive."
Kendrick Lamar has always been known to use his music platform to express his political views on current racial matters. He said that his inspiration for writing his song "Blacker the Berry" came from the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. In an interview with The Gaurdian, he stated, "These are issues that if you come from that environment it's inevitable to speak on. It's already in your blood because I am Trayvon Martin, you know. I'm all of these kids." Rivera, who previously stated that the hoodie was to blame for Trayvon Martin's death and urged "parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies," will probably never see eye-to-eye with Kendrick on this issue because of their opposing political positions.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think that Kendrick Lamar's BET Awards performance was sending the wrong message or do you believe his message was justified? Take a look at Rivera's commentary and let us know what you think.
