vavava - แกเคยสัญญาว่าจะมาด้วยกันใหม่
Title Translation- You Promised You Would Come Back or You Promised We Would Get Back Together
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
RMH
Stranger Things
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Product Placement
Cosmic Funnies

izzy's playlists!
Claire Keane
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH

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Andulka
Peter Solarz
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
Not today Justin
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Kaledo Art

JBB: An Artblog!
trying on a metaphor
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@interntlmusicrecs
vavava - แกเคยสัญญาว่าจะมาด้วยกันใหม่
Title Translation- You Promised You Would Come Back or You Promised We Would Get Back Together
pink pony club full performance at grammys 2025
A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman
Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.
Let's start with the first visual we get:
UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic.
Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:
THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.
This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.
Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.
The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more.
THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do.
The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."
TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.
STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...
DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.
NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.
SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.
ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...
"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.
So what does Kendrick say?
IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.
40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.
THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.
NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes.
TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!
GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…
In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Watching white tumblr users interact with black things is funny because they will always misapprehend things and just generally be reductivist.
So I’m seeing a lot of people going “haha Kendrick got awards for being a hater,” “Drake lost so bad lol.”
And I’m just massaging my temples at the irony of nonblack people en masse misunderstanding a song called “They not like us.”
Kendrick has a whole verse in the song breaking down the commodification of blackness and the history of colonization apropos to Black Americans. That’s what the whole Drake beef was about btw. It was about Drake’s pattern of ripping off black culture just to peddle it to the uncaring masses and make millions off of it, while the smaller artists he steals from get no recognition (money). Drake was getting called the rap goat by nonblack people, he was getting looked at as the greatest in a tradition he has no roots in. Kendrick’s distaste for Drake was years in the making. FdSignifier has some great vids from like 2020 about Drake’s rise in the rap world. There’s also Pusha T’s diss from 2018 called “The story of Adidon.” My point is, Drake is a culture vulture and the Drake v. Kdot beef was about reclaiming what Drake (and other culture vultures) stole.
Drake is also problematic for other reasons, e.g. sexually exploiting women, allegedly participating in sex trafficking, and so on.
It does a disservice to Kdot’s message to reduce this beef to an apolitical 1v1. It was never a 1v1, it was always political, it was always about the broader culture, it was always a culture war, etc.
We owe it all to them.
To repeat the message louder: musicians, journalists, radio stations, listeners, record companies, streaming sites, discos; anyone remotely involved with popular music, you probably owe a big chunk of it to black musicians.
Gjuha- The Last Dinner Party
Details (from genius.com)-
"“Gjuha,” meaning ‘language’ in Albanian, is sung by Aurora Nishevci (keyboardist) and reflects on her shame of not knowing Albanian, her mother tongue, well.
Regarding the writing process, the band have said in an Unclear Mag interview:
"‘Gjuha’ was written together in a practice room then Aurora went away and added the vocal line. It’s a mix of sharing songs, producing demos and jamming out in a practice room.”"
What a Devastating Turn of Events- Rachel Chinouriri
Details from Genius.com:
"“What A Devastating Turn of Events,” arguably the darkest track of Rachel Chinouriri’s newest project as well as being its namesake, deals with a taboo topic in Western culture: suicide. Story-like, the four verses relate the real-life tale of Rachel’s cousin. She met a new guy, lost her virginity with him (another taboo topic, especially in African culture!) and realized after he broke up with her that she might be pregnant. This already-devastating turn of events brings the listener to the last two verses, where Rachel addresses African views on abortion (again, checking even more taboo topic boxes) and explains the impossible situation her cousin found herself in. Either option would lead to heartbreak and disgrace in her life, so she took a third option and the one nobody ever should take: suicide.
Her self-inflicted death caused even more heartbreak and pain among the people around her than the first two options ever would have. Although, as Rachel sings in the last chorus, she lives on in the memories of her friends and family, her loss was devastating and unnecessary. Even in the darkest times, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Rachel discovered this in her own experiences with suicidal ideations, which she channeled while writing the song. It’s simply a shame for all involved, Rachel concludes, and she certainly wishes she had had the chance to meet her cousin who was gone all too soon."
ALEMEDA I hate your face (Official Music Video)
Neva Play (ft. RM of BTS) Megan Thee Stallion
LOONA (Yves)- New
Details from Genuis.com:
"The title track “new” is a song where Yves declares that she will be herself no matter what kind of hardships, pain, and frustration faces her. It is the first track released in the genre of Soultronica in Korea, with Yves’ confident voice laid on top of bold beats to prove LOOΠΔ’s new concept and quality."
fuck killing a victorian child by making them listen to hyperpop all you gotta do is make a white tumblr user listen to rap
LMAO
the jokes write themselves
fuck killing a victorian child by making them listen to hyperpop all you gotta do is make a white tumblr user listen to rap
LMAO
the jokes write themselves
this is physically painful to me like please listen to kendrick lamar or meg thee stallion or missy elliott or flo milli or donald glover or even fuckin nicki minaj like listen to SOMETHING outside your tiny little music bubble. expand your horizons. listen to music made by people of color. LISTEN TO MUSIC MADE BY PEOPLE OF COLOR!!!!!
here's some recs bc these tags are causing me real physical pain:
Me Gustas Tu- Manu Chao
Translation- I Like You
Details (from genius.com):
"“Me Gustas Tú” (I like you) is the 2nd single from Manu Chao’s second solo album, Próxima Estación: Esperanza. It has proven to be one of (if not) the artist’s most popular song worldwide. Its lyrics show a catchy structure and it is primarily sung in Spanish, but on the chorus French is also spoken. The song and two other tracks from the album, “La Primavera” and “Infinita Tristeza”, feature the same background music. In fact, “La Primavera” fades and leads into “Me Gustas Tú”."
ขวัญเอยขวัญมา- Palmy
Romanization- Kwan Aei Kwan Mah (or Kwun Oey Kwun Muh)
Translation- Oh, Spirit, Come On/Oh, Spirit, Come Back
Explanation (from deungdutjai.com):
"The notion of “kwun” is a bit difficult to translate; essentially it’s the embodiment of your emotional well-being that makes you feel happy and like yourself, so I guess “spirit” is the best English equivalent? So this song is a touching sad song about how empty, dull, and emotionless life is when you’ve lost your “spirit”"