How do you get an entire military hyped? When you think of all the responsibilities they deal with, it’s hard to feel especially jazzed about it. They have to defend the country’s best interests, even at the expense of their own lives. South Korea motivates its armed forces with special entertainment. It looks like this time, they used Kendrick Lamar to try and drum up enthusiasm in their ranks.
In a video circulating on social media, Corporal Eom Jun, serving in the 19th Fighter Wing’s Military Police Battalion, performed a couple of Kendrick’s biggest hits. He rapped “Not Like Us” and “tv off” to rapturous applause from his fellow soldiers.
However, some people online in America are a little dubious about watching South Koreans rap certain Kendrick Lamar lyrics. For instance, one reply saw someone recoil at them reciting “40 acres and a mule,” a post-Civil War promise to newly freed African Americans that was never kept. Additionally, another person argued there would be inevitable hypocrisy. “But let a black person cover a kpop song and we’ll hear slurs that’ll make jim crow look progressive,” they said.
Still, plenty of Kendrick enthusiasts were especially jazzed to see his influence go overseas. “‘Not Like Us’ the new ‘We Are The Champions’”, one person declared.
Kendrick Lamar Performance From South Korean Soldier Draws Mixed Reactions
Despite the optics, it’s undeniable that Lamar’s hit songs have had a massive impact on culture worldwide, especially “Not Like Us”. No other diss song has reached such acclaim, eventually making it to the Super Bowl.
In an interview with SZA and Harper’s BAZAAR, the Compton MC himself argued the song was the fullest manifestation of his “superpower.” In tapping into his “feminine energy,” he’s able to communicate to every part of his audience. “I need to be able to sit in front of SZA and talk to you in a way where you feel comfortable, in a way where it feels authentic from me to you, you to me, and I can’t do that with a wall up. I can’t do that with my full masculinity,” Kendrick Lamar explained.
“This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering,” he added. “He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man. If I’m thinking of ‘Not Like Us’, I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.”
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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