How does one rise above Compton’s violent gang culture?

Kendrick Lamar’s childhood mirrored a majority of his generation who grew up in gang ridden cities throughout the 80s, especially Compton. However, after achieving enough success to escape Compton, Lamar continued to base his career and music on his hometown. Lamar only knew Compton’s violence as a child, so how can he see the city’s beauty and potential within the pain (Lamar, 2015)?

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17th, 1987 in Compton, California. His parents left south side Chicago to escape its prevalent gang culture, hoping that Compton would be a safe, black suburb for their young children (Eells 2015). However, they couldn’t have been any further from the truth. 

Compton’s homicide rate grew to unprecedented heights throughout the 80s and peaked in 1992 with an astonishing 424 homicides in the year (Los Angeles Sheriff's Department 2012). However, the city's violent reputation was not always present. In fact, the Lamar family correctly identified that Compton was a quiet suburb for much of its history.

Compton began as a small white neighborhood but became popular among young Black families for its affordable housing and strong education. Simultaneously, the Civil Rights Movement also gained traction in the 60s, with influential figures like Malcolm X visiting. Compton, as a result, soon became known as a Civil Rights hotspot where residents increasingly clashed with the LAPD. During this time, the black population of Compton surged to roughly 75%, driven by rapid white flight following the Watt Rebellions (Johnson, 2022). By the 80s, social hardships, including Reagan’s (arguably discriminatory) war on drugs exacerbated Compton’s problem with crack, crime, and corruption (Johnson, 2022). Compton native rap group N.W.A exposed America to the city's violent police brutality and gang warfare, solidifying Compton's reputation for brutal street life (Tse 2015). 

Kendrick Lamar grew up as a “Crack Baby”–children who often were surrounded by crack. Despite this, he matured fast and developed a strong understanding of his community, eventually gaining hope for his city. Lamar witnessed the Rodney King Riots and his first murder outside of his apartment when he was five years old (Danver 2011). Additionally, his father narrowly escaped a robbery at his workplace.; he was spared since he previously showed the robber kindness (Eells 2015). Lamar from a young age realized that he would soon be accustomed to the violence gangs, notably the Pirus and Crips. However, some of Lamar’s experiences demonstrated that the city could improve, as showing compassion is what spared his father.

These events seemed to have helped Lamar to mature more than it harmed him. His parents called young Lamar a “Man-Man” as he developed a nuanced perspective on society (Moore 2020, 7-9).  Compton wasn’t just a place of violence for Kendrick. It was also a place where people lived with purpose, community, and strength in opposition to the corrupted system.

Despite the negativity around him, Lamar excelled academically and discovered poetry in middle school, applying his skills to songwriting. Lamar always enjoyed listening to Compton and other West Coast artists such as DMX and Tupac. Lamar even witnessed how Dr. Dre and Tupac, by filming their “California Love,” music video brought together the Compton community and metaphorically became an “offspring” of Tupac’s conscious artistry (Barnes 2015). Lamar soon combined his poetry background with his love for West Coast “gangsta rap” to not only make sense out of the chaos but also tell the story of those affected by the crack epidemic.

During high school, Lamar became involved with drugs and crime. After losing a close friend to gang activities, he realized the street life wasn't for him and pursued music, eventually being recruited by Top Dawg Entertainment. Here, Lamar begun to understand how he could voice the daily violence he encountered and represent his generation

After releasing several smaller projects, Lamar released his first studio album Section.80 where Lamar already demonstrated his desire to create a safer community. Lamar realizes that the violence in Compton wouldn’t be perpetuated if citizens could look past their differences and confront greater issues such as police brutality (Alridge and Stewart 2005, 192). Kendrick acknowledges the deep history of gangs, but states, “Fuck your ethnicity… We gon' talk about a lot of shit that concerns you” on “Fuck Your Ethnicity." Despite becoming a local celebrity, Lamar still encourages everyone to recognize one another as just another human who needs to help each other navigate their traumas (Dev'l 2020). 

Lamar tells his story on GKMC, recounting events that shaped his perspective on Compton’s gang culture. This monumental album illustrates how Lamar and his generation are forever influenced by their chaotic experiences growing up in Compton. Lamar narrates the drugs he indulged in and crimes he committed with his friends, eventually resulting in his friend being shot dead. As a result, Lamar is confronted with the question of what they should do, to which his mom answers by telling Lamar he should make music about his experiences to give back to the city.

GMKC explores how Lamar’s experiences are not unique within Compton. It is an album that exposes the “Crack Baby” narrative to a broader audience. In all of his projects up to this point, Lamar successfully illustrated how the city’s violence forever changed his generation, eventually discovering purpose and hope for Compton. On TPAB, he teaches his community all of the lessons he’s taken away. He establishes himself as a force of change on this album. By utilizing tracks such as “u” and “i”, Lamar gives hope to “Crack Babies” struggling with their experiences and reminds them that they “goin’ be alright.”