Fake Vs. Real Artist: The Conscientious Individual
One of the things I value most in a person is someone who is honest and doesn’t portray a person they’re not. I want to know that I can trust the words coming out their mouth and the intention behind their actions. If a person supports a social cause, what is the reasoning behind it, is it because they truly care about societal issues, or do they want to seem like a conscientious individual. It’s hard to tell, especially when there’s so much benefit to being perceived as a good person. The music industry is full of people, who desperately want to be seen in this light, but many of the time their words don’t match their actions.
Katy Perry is a prime example of a musician who isn’t as conscientious as you might think. Back in 2013 at the American Music Award she was heavily criticized for dressing like a geisha when performing “Unconditionally”. People took this as her appropriating a culture that she wasn’t apart of. Now in my opinion I find nothing wrong with this and I actually thought it was cool that she appreciated Japanese culture and wanted to represent it in her performance. However, certain people refused to acknowledge this as a possibility for her reasoning for wearing the outfit and perceived it in the most negative light possible. People ran with the narrative that she was just trying to profit off a culture and a people, which somehow results in her being perceived as a bigot. America is a melting pot or so I’m told, people from around the world come here with ambitious of starting a new life and taking part in the American dream. This means people bring their wonderful cultures and customs here, which enriches the overall culture in America. So, I don’t understand why people lose their minds when a person wears a kimono during a performance. If anything, it shows an interest in that culture and the want to express that feeling. Also, I have a hard time believing money was the main reason for Katy Perry dressing like a geisha, she’s literally one of the wealthiest and most famous musicians in the world.
There was enough social pressure for her to apologize for her actions and she promised to do better. She even apologized for tweeting a picture of a Hindu goddess with the caption “current mood.” She apologized for wearing a sunflower dress which was perceived as a slight against the Taiwan’s Sunflower Student Movement. At this point just say that she’s doing something racist and she’ll apologize for it, her intention don’t matter, right? The main problem I have with this is that she seems spineless and unable to think for herself. Just tell her what to think and believe, and she’ll do it. So when she’s at the Hillary Cliton campaign and pushing for social issues, her voice doesn’t carry any weight. It also doesn’t help that former staff recounted time that she would call black employees the N-word and found it funny. Katy Perry is merely a symptom of this societal problem, which is people masking their true thoughts and intentions behind a carefully constructed mask.
If Katy Perry represents the spineless and so-called conscientious artist, Kendrick Lamar represents the artists who actually care about the societal issues they’re speaking about. Kendrick, other than being on a completely different level than Katy Perry, is one of the realest artists and people out there. His music is so meaningful and his lyrics so powerful. Many of his songs talk about the unfair treatment of his people and the hardships of growing up in Compton.
“My Pops said I needed a job I thought I believed him”
“Security guard for a month and ended up leaving”
“In fact, I got fired 'cause I was inspired by all of my friends”
“To stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in”
“Projects tore up, gang signs get thrown up (wassup?)”
“Cocaine laced in marijuana”
“And they wonder why I rarely smoke now”
“Imagine if your first blunt had you foaming at the mouth”
“I was straight tweaking the next weekend we broke even”
“I made allegiance that made a promise to see you bleeding”
“You know the reasons but still won't ever know my life”
“Kendrick AKA Compton's human sacrifice (yeah)”
This is an excerpts from one of Kendrick's most famous songs titled “m.A.A.d City” which also happens to be one of my favorite songs by him. The lyrics illustrate a harsh reality that a lot of inner city children go through. He wanted to get an honest job, but the environment around him wasn’t supportive and influenced him to stage a robbery instead. He was also surrounded by a lot of drug use, which can have a huge impact on a person’s chances of using and becoming addicted. Kendrick overcame these obstacles and became a music icon, with massive influence.
Even though he gained money and fame, he still has strong ties to his community and the people around him. This is shown by him donating his money to the school district that he grew up in, which would help support after-school programs. He did a five-stop world tour in which all the proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity. I could talk about his charity and service to his community all day, but the fact is that he cares, and it shows. The last thing I want to mention about Kendrick Lamar is that he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his album “Dam.” This is a huge deal because this is the first time a non-jazz or classical album has ever won the Pulitzer Prize, which goes to show you, his importance.
In conclusion, I believe a person’s integrity is extremely important to their character, which will influence the way I perceive them. In the music industry we have artists that are spineless and don’t actually think about the issues they’re talking about. These people are concerned about their image not the quality of the person they are. One the other hand we have artists that really care about the communities they come from and the problems that plague them. Both of these are trends in the music industry and in society as a whole.













