I was working on another piece – on the filmmaker Michael Moore, actually – and requested an interview with Simpson’s people just to get a quote about what O.J. I once did a story on O.J., almost by accident. I even had a flashback of when he turned himself into O.J. I re-watched the video you speak of, and as with most of Lamar’s videos, it’s hard to look away – especially with all those eerie deepfakes. So I’d be a stodgy middle-aged fool to say Lamar’s not okay by me. and Rakim fame – has given Lamar the legendary MC seal of approval, which is kind of like Michael Jordan saying he’d hate to guard you. But one of my MC heroes – Rakim, of Eric B. My hip-hop taste was mostly frozen in the late eighties through the early aughts. ML: Well, I’m not going to pretend like Kendrick Lamar has been one of my spiritual gurus, even if he is a wickedly talented lyricist. My point is, having seen these folks being used as useful idiots for what is essentially a culture war, shows a lack of order that reveals a culture being ultimately bitter and aimless. I can go on about how much I can't count up on my heroes throughout, especially when my interaction with them is through a screen. It's the colour of their skin that's used as a shield, while for Kanye, people use his heterodox thinking in his music and personal life, as an evasion of accountability. Meanwhile, Kanye is much more painful to bear and for a man who famously once said that 'slavery is a choice', he sure is living up to that standard by sucking up to a has-been that was going to be a darling of the conservative movement, before it turns out that he is a liability and a young white nationalist who is banned from taking a public flight. It hurts not just him, but the Oscars, an institution that people used to watch. Will Smith is the most interesting out of the bunch because his mistake was caused by a mistaken urge to honour his wife, before winning an award that could have validated his status as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. These men remind us of how they have fallen from grace and the lyric "In a land where hurt people hurt people, fuck calling it culture", reveals how much the excuses of victimisation and lack of accountability are deeply embedded. The Heart (Part V), is a bonus track that sees Kendrick shapeshift into a deepfake OJ Simpson, Jussie Smollett, Kanye West and Will Smith. He released an album called Mr Morale and the Big Steppers that was all about trauma and taking responsibility for yourself. My favourite song of 2022 is The Heart (Part V) by Kendrick Lamar, and one of the reasons why is its music video. Let's talk about what is happening with the culture this year.
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