Freedom - Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

Freedom - Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

4:49

Lemonade, 2016

Written by Jonathan Coffer, Beyoncé, Carla Williams, Arrow Benjamin, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Tirado, Alan Lomax, John Lomax, Sr.

Let's celebrate Juneteenth

Hey, how did folklorist and ethno-musicologist Alan Lomax get in there?  Well, the song incorporates three samples, including elements of "Stewball," a traditional recording (performed by a prisoner) collected by the Lomaxes, though as usual I'm not sure this deserves writing credit,  Anyhoo, this song was used as Kamal Harris' official campaign song, and was an unofficial anthem of the George Floyd protests.  "I'ma riot through your borders / Call me bulletproof / Lord, forgive me, I've been runnin' / Runnin' blind in truth."  The song is one of the most powerful statements in Beyoncé's catalog, which I am admittedly not very familiar with. Built around pounding drums, distorted organ textures, and a relentless groove, it's a pounding anthem and a declaration, not a pop song.  The lyric is both a declaration of resilience and a refusal to accept limits imposed by others. Lamar's verse is an equally urgent protest. "Eight blocks left, death is around the corner / Seven misleadin' statements 'bout my persona" — a rejection of mainstream demonization of black victims of police violence.  Abolish ICE!

HUMBLE. - Kendrick Lamar

HUMBLE - Kendrick Lamar

2:57

DAMN., 2017

Written by Kendrick Lamar, Michael Williams II, and Asheton Hogan

I know very little about Lamar, except what I heard from his beef with Drake last year, and a few tracks from To Pimp a Butterfly, all of which I liked.  With a sparse beat featuring guitar, bass, and piano, this one is light on the beat switches he seems to be known for and is more about the message.  Although the chorus "Sit down / be humble") is repeated way too many times for my liking, I like that even amidst all the boasting, Lamar is reminding himself to stay grounded.  Rap doesn't do that much.  "Ay, I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances / Finesse on 'em with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin' this."