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Kendrick Lamar · S5 E5
Alright
Pharrell's beat, a BET performance hanging from a lamppost, and a chant that echoes through protests across America
Summer 2015. Across American cities, Black Lives Matter protesters begin chanting a single phrase from a rap album that dropped four months earlier: "We gon' be alright."
Kendrick Lamar, The Blacker the Berry (Kunta's Groove Sessions, 2015). Kendrick performing with a live band in a raw, stripped-back session. This is the sound of TPAB's political fury before "Alright" channels it into hope. Two sides of the same coin: rage and resilience.
The Blacker the Berry (Kunta's Groove Sessions), Kendrick Lamar (2015)
This session version strips away the studio polish and lets the band breathe. The bass is heavier, the drums hit harder, and Kendrick's delivery sounds like he's performing for the room, not the microphone. Listen for how the live arrangement shifts the song's energy from controlled anger to something more visceral and immediate. This is the fury that "Alright" was built to answer.
Sources
Kendrick Lamar. "To Pimp a Butterfly." Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope, 2015.
The Song That Became a Movement
Pharrell Williams sent Kendrick a beat that sounded almost joyful. Kendrick heard something darker in it and wrote "Alright" about police brutality, depression, and the stubborn persistence of hope when every system around you is trying to crush it. The chorus isn't naive optimism. It's survival: the decision to keep going when giving up makes more sense.
Sources
NPR Music, "Kendrick Lamar: 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Interview," 2015
“Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sung joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on. Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that 'Alright' is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are.”
— Kendrick Lamar
Microsoft Theater
On June 28, 2015, Kendrick climbed a lamppost on the BET Awards stage and performed "Alright" balanced above the crowd, turning a rap song into a declaration.
TAP TO REVEAL: How did Fox News accidentally make "Alright" an even bigger protest anthem?
Who produced the beat for "Alright"?
Complexion (A Zulu Love), Kendrick Lamar ft. Rapsody (2015)
Track twelve on TPAB. Where "Alright" is a declaration to the world, "Complexion" is a conversation within the Black community about colorism, beauty, and self-acceptance. Rapsody delivers one of the album's best guest verses, matching Kendrick bar for bar. The production is warm and lush, a love letter wrapped in a history lesson.
Complexion (A Zulu Love), Kendrick Lamar ft. Rapsody (2015)
Read the lyrics while you listen. Kendrick traces the history of colorism from slavery through modern beauty standards. Rapsody responds with a verse about dark-skinned women being told they aren't beautiful enough, matching Kendrick's intensity. The title uses "Zulu" to connect Black American identity to its African roots.
Alright: The Impact
You just heard "The Blacker the Berry" in session. But you haven't heard the final verse, the one where Kendrick accuses himself of the exact same hypocrisy he's been railing against. Next: The Blacker the Berry.
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