The halftime show at Superbowl 59 featuring Kendrick Lamar has sparked a lot of emotions by the masses. Some racist. Well, many racist. Some ignorant. Some just unaware. However, I do love that the show has sparked healthy discourse as great art does.
Kendrick Lamar is an artist, a Pulitzer Prize winning artist might I add, and everything he does is intentional and thought provoking. Did you know that in most, if not all, of Kenny’s works he makes reference to great literary works? I’ve picked up on a few references, but not all so I was glad when the people over at Bond & Grace did the work and pointed out the great literary works referenced in Kendrick’s music like Shakespeare, Eckhart Tolle, Dr. MLK Jr., and even the Bible.
In the spirit of Black History Month, I wanted to take a moment and draw attention to the reference of the classic Black works of literature K Dot referenced in his 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly. I’m not going into details of each reference to each song. It’s been done by Bond and Grace. Please take a moment to read their blog. I simply want to add the books referenced in “To Pimp a Butterfly” to my TBR (To be read) list and encourage you to do the same, if you haven’t already.
I want to also bring recognition to Kindred Stories bookstore, a Black owned bookstore in Houston, TX. Click the links below to shop online if you aren’t able to shop in store. Also, if they don’t have the book you are looking for, feel free to contact them to source it for you.
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe | TPAB Track 3 – “King Kunta”
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison | TPAB Track 3 – “King Kunta”
- Roots by Alex Haley | TPAB Track 3 – “King Kunta”
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker | TPAB Track 5 – “Alright”
- The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman | TPAB Track 13 – “The Blacker the Berry”
So which of these books will you be adding to your TBR? I’m currently reading “The Blacker the Berry” and It’s a great read.
Happy Reading!
Starr
