
In Kendrick Lamar’s music video “Alright,” he looks to convey a message to African Americans all across the nation. I found this video to be so engaging, especially because it is so relevant to what is going on in today’s world. One of the reasons many people are fans of Kendrick Lamar is because of how he uses his fame and music. There are plenty of artists who make their claim to fame and simply don’t give back or relay a positive message that is most important to him. Not Kendrick, he uses his music and persona to convey an idea or a message. Kendrick, aside from his above-par music, is a voice for African Americans across the globe. Through his music and his music videos, Kendrick brings the issue of police brutality and the ongoing discrimination of African Americans, especially the shootings in the city to light.

The first scene that really interested me was towards the beginning of the video (2:34). The scene is a medium shot of Kendrick and his posse in a car cruising down the street. As the camera slowly pulls back away in to a long shot, you see four cops carrying the car. I love how they did this because the view think it’s just Kendrick driving until the camera pulls away and see they’re actually being carried by police. In the foreground you see a cop at the front and back wheel carrying the car. In the mid-ground is Kendrick and the car. The background consists of a wall with graffiti on it. As the camera pulls away, the lyrics are, “Boom, boom, boom, my nigga RIP”. This line is referencing a cop shooting one of his friends, simultaneously, the police is first brought in to the video. 

Kendrick’s use of color makes it easier for him to portray his message. A very important factor of this video is its black and white color. The significance of this is to show the viewer that no matter what race, we should be treated equally. It’s a way to represent equality amongst everyone. The motif in this scene is power. This because the police always have power but in this scene, roles are reversed and power is taken out of their hands and in to the hands of African Americans. The picture of the cops carrying Kendrick and his posse illustrates an idea that is somewhat comical, having cops doing that would never happen. Racial injustice is real and Kendrick brings it to life by showing the Blacks in power for a change. 

This same motif appears in a later scene in the video (3:10). The scene is of three African Americans dancing on the car. I would consider this shot to be a long shot, as it is taken somewhat far away. In the foreground you have a car swerving by with cash being thrown out of the window. The mid-ground has the cop car and the people dancing on top of it. Background of the scene is the sky, the bridge, and a crane. This is meant to show that the African Americans are going to stand their ground and aren’t going anywhere or changing their stance on law enforcement. One would think that because they stand up tall with their heads high and arms crossed. The lyrics during this scene is the chorus, “We gon' be alright, Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright, Nigga, we gon' be alright”. This backs up the motif of power. Even at the deepest lows, the emphasized theme is “we gon’ be alright”. The people on the cop car visually depicts the motif of power over the police. Dancing on top of it is supposed to show disrespect and who is in charge. Through these two scenes, you can see the reoccurring motif of power. 

Like all issues involving race, there is always another side to the story. One claim that many people like to point to in opposition to the problem is a recent study by Dyfed Loesche, a data journalist. His study consists of this: since 2016, 509 people have been killed alone by police. Of that group of people, 238 were white and 123 were black. Now with this, people are appalled by the whole idea of “Black Lives Matter”, when more white people are being killed than black. Also another, common argument against the cause, is with all these meaningless shootings, it makes people anti-police. In regards to the epidemic with the various police shootings, society has handed the majority of the blame on the police and have protested against them. This creates a dangerous setting for us to live in and puts our own lives at risk. In reality the police are the people who keep us safe and if society doesn’t have their back then how will they have ours? 

Now that I have presented two counter arguments often used, I will now debunk them. For the first one presented, yes those numbers are alarming, not because of the amount of whites that are killed over blacks but the number as a whole. It’s imperative to keep in mind that blacks are the minority and 123 blacks is a huge number when only 13% of Americans belong to that racial group. So 123 far exceeds 238 on an even scale. Open your eyes America, this is a problem. Next, the anti-police situation. Blacks seriously do have a reason to be scared of cops and not trust them. There have been too many instances recently of horrible killings of unarmed African Americans such as Travon Martin, Freddie Grey, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, to name a few. There’s no doubt that this raises a few hairs amongst African Americans to say the least, but violent protests aren’t the answer. Black activist, Stokley Carmichael, would ask, “Is it the responsibility of the victims to solve the problem?” There has to be a lot of change done within law enforcement itself and after that, it falls on African Americans and how they respond. Victims or not, the people need to get together for something greater than their selves to promote change. They can respond violently and get nowhere, or rationally think of a solution to promote change and peace and create a better world for our children to live in.

In conclusion, the visual motif is arguing that blacks are treated differently and often killed for no reason and power amongst black people will bring them together and end this racial injustice. The visual motif of power is a representation of what Kendrick Lamar is trying to get across with his theme. The entire point of this song/message is to address racial injustice and reiterate the fact that, we the minority, are going to be alright and persevere. The motif brings the theme together. The motif of power works in conjunction with other scenes in the video of police shooting African Americans. The video often goes back and forth between violence with police and protests where blacks present their dominance/power. It is an ongoing battle that is being fought with violence every day. There will always be a group of people who try to bring you down but it is always important to stand up for your rights and what you believe in, just like Kendrick.