Kendrick Lamar is a man after our own heart. After penning the honest, yet tragic “Keisha's Song (Her Pain)” song about women caught up in the cycle of prostitution, the Compton rapper follows up with a concert to benefit L.A.'s Downtown Women's Center and Project RISHI.
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In the track, off his latest project Section 80, Kendrick spits,”See a block away from Lueders Park, I seen the El Camino Parked/In her heart she hate it there/But in her mind she made it where/Nothing really matters, so she hit the back seat/Rosa Parks never a factor when she making ends meet.”
Lamar then touches on the patterns of abuse that often lead to these type of lifestyles and hints at a need for these women to have a support network that shows them that they are capable of attaining a better life: “At first/It became a practice, but now she's numb to it/Sometimes she wonder if she can do it like nuns do it/But she never heard of Catholic religion or sinners' redemption/That sounds foolish, and you can blame it on her mother/For letter her boyfriend slide candy under her cover.”
The DWC is one of these outlets. The center aims to provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community fostering dignity, respect and personal ability and advocates ending homelessness for women. While Project RISHI takes the task abroad. The nonprofit organization, based at UCLA, focuses on improving the quality of life in rural Indian villages where prostitution is not only legal but sometimes enforced by tradition.
Not enough is being said about Kendrick's initiative in delivering this concert, especially in consideration of how much is being said about everything else he has going on this month, including the rumored collabs with Just Blaze and Hit Boy, his last minute addition to Drake's Take Care, and his preparation for heading out on the road next month to open for Drake during the Young Money star's upcoming Paradise Tour. However, it's a good look for Kendrick who's bringing along Azad Right, SchoolboyQ, TiRon, Ayomari, DJ Green Lantern and Fuze the MC for the ride.
The show, presented by 93.5 KDAY, is sure to be a spectacle either way, although we're not sure if Lamar can live up to the standard set at his last show at The Music Box, where he brought out Game, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Big Sean, Kurupt, Warren G and more.
The Music Box is definitely the place to be for hip-hop fans tonight. However, if you can't make it to the show, you can still donate to the individual organizations and check out Lamar at an in-store meet and greet at Dope Los Angeles, 454 N. Fairfax, from 4 to 6 p.m. (RSVP required: Ke***************@gm***.com.)
