At Sunday's BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar delivered a rousting performance of "Alright" that featured a vandalized cop car and a huge American flag, but apparently, not everyone was a fan. The most vehement (and absurd) takedown of the show came from a very predictable place, namely FOX News, where hip hop is routinely villainized by out-of-touch talking heads. A whole roundtable was hosted on the subject, but the most striking accusation came from Geraldo Rivera.
"This is why I say that hip hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years," he said, referring directly to the performance. "This is exactly the wrong message," he said of "Alright," "And then to conflate what happened in the church in Charleston, South Carolina with these tragic incidents involving excessive use of force by cops is to equate that racist killer with these cops."
Rivera's whole point is ridiculous, especially when you read recent stories about various law enforcement officials in the South still revering KKK members, but beside that, why attack Kendrick? He's one of the rappers who seems to make the most effort to be a positive force in the lives of youth, and although he makes accusations and lays down platitudes that can be hard to swallow at first, he's currently one of most vital voices in rap.
Watch the discussion below, and let us know your take on this.
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