Alright

Did Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Pop Out’ Concert Have A J. Cole Reference?

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Kendrick Lamar fans are convinced they found a J. Cole-related Easter egg in their replays of Kendrick’s Pop Out — Ken & Friends concert. You may remember that at the outset of the titanic conflict between Kendrick Lamar and his longtime rival Drake, J. Cole was actually the one who took up the gauntlet thrown down by Ken on “Like That” first. However, Cole bowed out relatively quickly, leaving the other two stars to battle it out over the course of several increasingly vitriolic diss tracks, including the megahit, “Not Like Us.” So…

Did Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out Concert Have A J. Cole Reference?

According to some fans, yes. During the intro to Kendrick’s 2015 anthem “Alright,” fans swear they noticed an ad-lib that isn’t on the original, meaning that the backing track played during the show was likely taken from “Black Friday,” a double single released by Kendrick and Cole in 2015 on which they rapped on each other’s beats (Ken used Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive track “A Tale Of 2 Citiez.”

Now, as for why Ken’s DJ would throw on that version of the backing track… who knows, really, other than Kendrick and his DJ? Maybe in pulling together the instrumentals for the performance, they dropped the wrong song in the folder. Or perhaps it was a nod and a wink to J. Cole himself, acknowledging him for withdrawing from the fight for his own personal reasons. Honestly, it was such a tiny moment (heck, it took people a week of rewatches to notice it in the first place), maybe it means nothing.

But the way the battle between Drake and Ken played out shows that the Compton native is nothing if not supremely calculating, so there probably is a reason… he’s just not going to tell us about it.

Victoria Monet Draws Comparisons To Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, & Beyonce In “Alright” Music Video

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Victoria Monet, veteran R&B singer and songwriter, really put a lot of people on notice after nabbing a massive GRAMMY win. At this year’s award show, the Atlanta, Georgia native took home the hardware for Best R&B Album. Her fifth overall project JAGUAR II, the sequel to the 2020 tape, dropped in late August 2023 and featured quite a few standout tracks. You have the horn backed “On My Mama”, “Smoke” with Lucky Daye, among others. The album won over some very respectable competition as well, including Summer Walker, Babyface, Coco Jones, and Emily King. However, the nominations do not stop there. She is also getting recognized by BET for the Best Female R&B/Pop Artist. With all of this well-deserved success, it seems to be trickling down to other areas of her career. For example, Victoria Monet is getting tons of praise for the music video for “Alright”.

One of the other hits from JAGUAR II, “Alright” has been a winner for Victoria Monet due to its bouncy and intoxicating vibe. Part of the credit goes to KAYTRANADA, who produced the banger. In the visuals, fans have been pointing out that she made some nods to artists like Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, as well as Beyonce. “The ode to Janet’s “Feedback” and “Alright” & Michael’s “Smooth Criminal” was so dope! I love the modern elements!”, one user writes. The inspiration is definitely there, and it is all sold well due to the incredible choreography. The moody tone of the video also complements “Alright”, as well as the album, to a tee. All of these standout qualities are why Monet has the number six video on trending right now.

Read More: Bad Bunny Finally Comes Home & Closes His “Most Wanted” Tour With Stellar Puerto Rican Shows: Review

Watch Victoria Monet’s “Alright” Music Video

Read More: Drake Accused Of Biting Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” Outfit

The post Victoria Monet Draws Comparisons To Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, & Beyonce In “Alright” Music Video appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” Music Video At The Center Of $100k Lawsuit Settlement

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Back in 2015, Kendrick Lamar released his critically acclaimed masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly. One of the standout songs from the project is “Alright” which proved to be a unifying anthem among fans and listeners and landed on many best songs of the decade lists for the 2010s. The music video attached to the song was controversial in some conservative circles for its depiction of police. A sample of Fox News criticizing a live performance of the song that recreated visuals from its music video eventually made its way into Kendrick’s song “DNA.”

Back in 2022, a lawsuit was filed with the songs music video right at the heart of the issue. The suit claims that in 2020 a teacher in a Connecticut middle school showed a documentary called Hip Hop: Songs That Shook America in their class. The video for “Alright” is included in the doc. A student with a parent who is a police officer claims that watching it caused them emotional distress. The claim argues that “the video depicted officers as murderers and contained other shockingly violent scenes and controversial statements about police officers.” The town is now settling the lawsuit and paying $100k as a part of the settlement.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Scores This Milestone For Feature On “Like That”

Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” Video Leads To Lawsuit

Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake dominated the past month in hip-hop. That isn’t likely to slow down any time soon. Two songs from the beef “Not Like Us” and “Like That” have spent time at the number one spot on the Hot 100 this year. They’re both still high on the charts as well. The former is at number two and the latter still in the top 15. “Not Like Us” in particular has been popping up all over the place in the weeks since it dropped.

What do you think of the music video for Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” leading to a lawsuit after a teacher played it in class? Are you surprised the school district is paying $100k to settle the case? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” Lyrical Breakdown

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Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” Tops Spotify’s List Of Greatest Rap Songs Of The Past 10 Years

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Many fans online have been waiting by their phones all weekend as Apple Music counts down their official Top 100 Albums of All Time. Stans have honed in on where some of their favorite artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish will land among classics from bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd. But that isn’t the only countdown recently published by a streaming service. Spotify shared their list of the best rap songs of the streaming era earlier today. It won’t surprise many to know that the most critically adored rapper of the past 10 years, Kendrick Lamar, tops the list.

Kendrick appears on Spotify’s list a leading 6 different times. Three of his appearances come as features on other artist’s songs. Jay Rock’s “King’s Dead” comes in at number 59, Baby Keem’s “Family Ties” at number 35, and Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” at 13. Three of Kendrick’s own songs also land on the list. Two DAMN hits drop in the top 30 with “DNA” at number 28 and “HUMBLE” at number 16. But the biggest achievement of all is that his anthem of perseverance “Alright.” The song lands at the very top spot on their countdown. It shares a top 5 spot with Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” Drake’s “God’s Plan,” Lil Uzi Vert’s XO Tour Lif3,” and Future’s “March Madness.” Check out the full list below.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Scores This Milestone For Feature On “Like That”

Kendrick Lamar Tops Spotify’s Hip-Hop List

Kendrick Lamar has been even bigger than usual on Spotify recently. He’s racked up some incredibly impressive streaming numbers as a result of his beef with Drake. That’s even included breaking a few streaming records previously held by his adversary. His entire streaming catalog has seen a sustained boost since the beef began back in April.

What do you think of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” landing at number one on Spotify’s best rap songs of the streaming era list? Is there a song that didn’t make the list at all that you think should be included? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” Lyrical Breakdown

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The post Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” Tops Spotify’s List Of Greatest Rap Songs Of The Past 10 Years appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ Almost Didn’t Appear On ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’

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Philip Cosores

Last month, Kendrick Lamar, along with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, and Anderson .Paak, performed at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. Lamar’s portion of the show was rather short, as he only played “M.A.A.D. City,” “Alright,” and a cover of “Forgot About Dre” with Eminem. One of those songs, “Alright,” has become one of Kendrick’s most impactful songs, often used during social justice protests. However, according to a recent episode of Alex Pappademas’ Spotify podcast The Big Hit Show, the song almost didn’t appear on his landmark 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly.

Sounwave, who co-produced “Alright” and other songs on the album, joined The Big Hit Show podcast to share the story behind the song. Sounwave was approached by Sam Taylor, a Sony Music executive, as he sat in a meeting that featured Pharrell playing beats for Kendrick and others. “I just remember my guy, Sam Taylor said, ‘Hey come check this one out,’” Sounwave recalled. “He takes me to another room and he plays me the skeleton of ‘Alright.’”

“And I just remember my jaw drop,” Sounwave continued. “It was just like literally just the 808s and the keys, and Pharrell had the melody of ‘We going be alright.’ And I was like, ‘Bro what is this?’ Oh my goodness, I’m freaking out. And I immediately run, I was like, ‘Dot, you have to come hear this.’”

Kendrick himself loved what he heard, but the next task was finishing the song and making sure it was a cohesive fit with the album. While completing the song was a breeze, making it fit on was difficult at first.

“It was super amazing, super fitting, sonically it was not, like no matter what we did, it just could not fit with the rest of the album,” Sounwave explained. “But we loved that record so much that I said, ‘Okay, I’m not letting this record die.’”

Thankfully, after some minor changes and some additional contributions from famed producer Terrace Martin, “Alright” found its place on To Pimp A Butterfly, and the rest is history.

You can listen to the full episode of The Big Hit Show here.