PROMISE THAT YOU WILL SING ABOUT ME

An in-depth biographical and historical contextualization of one of the decade’s most heralded rappers.

“Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” was the heartfelt testimonial standout track from Kendrick Lamar’s debut studio album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, a massive success upon its release in 2012. The album cemented Lamar as one of the new “top dawgs” in the game, much like the record label that incubated his talent, Top Dawg Entertainment. Lewis introduces Lamar via his first interactions with the musician, composing a promotional interview for his second album, the jazz-influenced To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). That award-winning album’s biggest hit, “Alright,” organically synced with the growing Black Lives Matter protests unfolding across the country. Joining Marcus Moore’s The Butterfly Effect (2020), this book uncovers avenues for understanding Lamar’s craft, which potently reveals the upheaval within Black communities and the music industry. A respected intergenerational chorus of Black cultural voices—Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ivie Ani, Greg Tate, Farrah Jasmine Griffin, Jay Smooth, Alicia Garza, and kris ex—offer illuminating commentary, while original artwork and reprinted photography reinforce the magazine-profile aesthetics of the text. Like all good hip-hop fans, Lewis recounts how his own life experiences are enmeshed with the music, and the biography lovingly challenges Lamar, as needed, on themes of political ideology and gender relations. All fans of Lamar recognize that he is incredibly honest, transparent, and vulnerable on his records, all of which so far could be defined as classic for the genre. Yet at the same time, his increasing unavailability to media outlets has created the conditions for veteran cultural insiders to fill in the gaps. Lewis does that well and also creates a shadow historiography of an entire generation of Black urban culture while leaving room for Lamar to remain the master lyricist of his own life.

Feel the wide cultural reverberations of the decade’s lyrical legend from those who felt, wrote, and listened.