On February 6, 2016 Beyoncé surprised the world yet again with the release of her newest single “Formation.” She took it another step further by performing the song at the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show. Not even two weeks later on February 15, Kendrick Lamar created a display about being black in America through his Grammy performance; the set was filled with reprises of his most popular “To Pimp A Butterfly” album songs. Unfortunately, between the beautiful and honest displays of the two artists, there has been a rise in negative views of them, claiming Beyonce and Kendrick are racist and display hatred.

This is not the first time that Kendrick has shown the struggle of black lives through his work; it is a common theme throughout the various music videos of his “To Pimp a Butterfly” album. However, the “Formation” music video is really the first occurrence in which Beyonce creates work through this theme.

In Beyoncé’s song, not once does she mention the #BlackLivesMatter movement.  Through her song, she aims to correct all the rumors and hearsay about her, basically creating a diss track to her haters. It is her music video that aims to inform the black community that she is a part of the movement. It is hard to believe that she is being considered racist by taking the classic stereotypes of the average black person in America and personifying them to make the stereotypes beautiful. Beyoncé does this with the commentary throughout the song by referring to the “ghetto-country” black person and Hurricane Katrina.

Through the use of various music videos and tracks from his sophomore album, “To Pimp A Butterfly,” the words of Kendrick have helped uplift the black community, being the soul food that everyone has needed for decades. At the start of the album, Kendrick does a phenomenal job of showing the life a black person in America to those who are not black, as well as in a way that is relatable to those who are black in America. In the middle of his album, he stops pointing the finger at the police and those who oppose the movement and begins to point the finger at black people by calling us hypocrites, specifically in his song “The Blacker the Berry,” saying that we as a black community are always against one another. Yet, the moment that a black person is wrongly murdered, we come together and sing “Kumbya”, then the next day we go back to fighting. Then Kendrick ends the album by saying that we must all come together as a nation and end the hatred that separates this nation.

Artists like Beyoncé and Kendrick are very popular among teenagers and young adults, and as they grow more politically motivated, we become more aware of what is going on in the world and especially in this country. Artists like these two help make our generation understand how to make the world better for our generations and the many that will soon follow.