Kendrick Lamar wants to have hard conversations. The rapper has released a chilling music video for his song “Alright,” from his critically-acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. Shot in rich black and white, the video starts with a series of grim images before cutting to a police officer shooting at a young black man. In true Lamar style, the video is also a love letter to Compton, the rapper’s hometown. He flies through the city, cruises in a car with friends, and showers the streets with money. Police imagery features heavily throughout the video with kids dancing on a cop car, cops carrying Lamar and friends in a car, cops shooting at black men. It’s heavy material, but it comes at a time when conversations about police brutality seem to dominate every other news cycle.
