When you think of the greatest protest songs of all time, what comes to mind? Immediately, “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy in 1989 enters the discussion. Ditto for a record like “F**k The Police” by N.W.A that same year. For a more modern example, “FDT” by YG and Nipsey Hussle has become a staple during every protest against the Trump Administration. But “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar has become the great rallying cry for anyone rebelling against the system in the world today.
Released 11 years ago today, it was the fourth single on Lamar’s highly acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly. Produced by Pharrell and Sounwave, the jazzy horns with sweet vocal refrain make for a sticky, unbelievably catchy loop. It’s equal parts soulful and unifying, all glued together by Pharrell’s chant that “we gon’ be alright” in the end.
Eventually, that refrain became deeply empowering amidst a deeply turbulent time in America. “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar became the soundtrack for every Black Lives Matter protest because of how it captures how we can triumph over a shared struggle for justice. As one Denver organizer told Complex in 2020, music is the easiest way to uplift ourselves amidst our plights.
“Music uplifts our community,” they told the outlet. “So we were playing different songs that have been our ‘struggle anthems’ to equality so that black people can say their lives matter. And so Kendrick’s song is something that is a rallying cry.”
Kendrick Lamar Releases an All-Time Protest Anthem 11 Years Ago Today
None of the To Pimp a Butterfly collaborators knew that they would be such a pivotal part of history. Sounwave expressed that its life as a protest song caught him off guard. However, he did know that it would mean something to a lot of people because of the deeply turbulent times in America due to police violence.
“One of the biggest moments was seeing kids marching to ‘Alright,’” musician Terrace Martin said in an interview. “We cried like babies because we were doing something. This is [our] vessel to get the message out. We had to use art for the message to help heal and help love.”
Critics were and are deeply enchanted by the record. Consequence of Sound declared the Kendrick Lamar track as the best song of 2015, musing about whether or not we would be alright like the song suggests. But the song introduces a unity that makes you believe, even for a moment, that it’s possible.
“But the point of gospel is having faith in what isn’t there. You have to have faith in something that isn’t exactly tangible, a deep and spiritual faith. ‘Alright’ isn’t about determination,” writer H. Drew Blackburn shared. “It’s about forgetting cold, harsh reality and hoping for something brighter and better if only for three minutes and 39 seconds.”
Similarly, Pitchfork argued that Kendrick Lamar made the best song of the 2010s with “Alright”. “Here, as horns wail and drums snap, there is a sense that the “we” is actually unfathomable, a force that can overcome anything when banded as one,” journalist Sheldon Pearce wrote.
The post 11 Years Ago Today, Kendrick Lamar Released What Would Become One of the Biggest Protest Songs of the 21st Century appeared first on VICE.
