Marc Lamont Hill Calls Kendrick Lamar the Gold Standard of Rap

As hip-hop fans continue to consume Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore LP, To Pimp A Butterfly, two weeks after its release, just about everyone is debating the meaning of the album. With jazz and funk influences, militant social commentary and K. Dot’s impressive lyricism all on display, it’s obvious why these conversations have continued to boil rather than fizzle away.

Among a plethora of music industry opinions, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, journalist, professor and activist, has joined the conversation. Before his days as a host on HuffPost Live and BET News, Hill pulled from his love of hip-hop to start music literacy programs in his native Philadelphia and penned the 2009 book Beats, Rhymes and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and Politics of the Identity. Dr. Hill frequently appears as a guest commentator on Fox New Channel and CNN, most recently alongside former XXL Freshman Trinidad Jame$ to address the use of the n-word in society.

With the powerful content of To Pimp A Butterfly stirring discussions larger than hip-hop itself, XXL spoke with Hill about why Kendrick’s message is important in this moment. —Sidney Madden