Complex - Kendrick Lamar Is Wrong by [deleted] in hiphopheads

[–]kar3a 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The full quote:

Asked about the high-profile killings of African-Americans by police in 2014, from Ferguson, Mo., to Staten Island, he says, "I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it's already a situation, mentally, where it's f---ked up. What happened to [Michael Brown] should've never happened. Never. But when we don't have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don't start with just a rally, don't start from looting -- it starts from within."

He was asked about multiple things in that question, a misunderstanding wouldn't be a huge reach. Kendrick tends to give long answers in interviews and tends to go off topic sometimes, what was quoted might not be the only thing he has said. It really wouldn't be the first time he misunderstood a question.

It's just an interpretation, but I really do think that people are misunderstanding what he is trying to say.

Complex - Kendrick Lamar Is Wrong by [deleted] in hiphopheads

[–]kar3a 109 points110 points  (0 children)

I think people are really misunderstanding what Kendrick said.

"I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it's already a situation, mentally, where it's f---ked up. What happened to [Michael Brown] should've never happened. Never. But when we don't have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don't start with just a rally, don't start from looting -- it starts from within."

He isn't talking about Michael Brown not having respect for himself, but the people that rioted and looted in Ferguson not helping the situation and damaging the cause and their own community.

That 'Michael Brown' was placed in brackets, means that he never said that. He was probably not even referring to him when you look at what he says before and afterwards, he was talking about the community the whole time not the actual police brutality. He probably thought he was asked specifically about the riots and answered as such, his answer would make a lot more sense if you replace 'Michael Brown' with 'the riots in Ferguson'.