Kendrick Lamar – Alright Music Video Analysis

 

Kendrick Lamar – Alright (2015)

The opening shot of the video is a bird’s eye shot of a car doing donuts. One thing to note is the video is in black and white which is consistent across the entire video, showing the contrast between the black and white races and creating an undertone of violence. The next shot is a close up of Kendrick driving and a child holding a stack of cash in the car dancing and singing the song, which is then followed up by a panning dolly shot of a floating pair of legs with loose timberland boots on the feet which are a common footwear of choice for the people Kendrick grew up around in Compton. A low angle shot is also used to show a big building which alongside the panning dolly shots of the car and legs are used repeatedly in different locations as the video continues. A horizon shot of the city is used with heavy clouds above creating an obscured and intimidating view of the city. This is then followed up by a shot of the original car still doing donuts but this time, around a police car that has three kids dancing on top almost signifying that the kids are above the law itself, slow motion is used to focus on the money being thrown out of the car. This is a very key shot for the music video as it is sticking to the theme of the lyrics of “we gon’ be alright”, as it shows Kendrick and the kids as successful by throwing money and being free of police oppression in that moment.

Shortly after it is finally revealed that the floating figure is Kendrick and the following shots portray him as a holy or Christ like figure with others smiling and pointing at him excitedly as he floats past them like a higher being entirely. This signifies the pressure Kendrick feels as many people around him and his listeners see him as their saviour which is more than any man can handle, he tackles this problem in his latest album, where in the final song “Mirror”, he repeats the line “I choose me, I’m sorry”, telling the listener he has gotten rid of the overwhelming pressure many people have put on him and how he has achieved this conclusion via therapy. This theme is continued in the video with him leading a large group of people and being the center of attention. This is another shot that stands out as in the “Family Ties” music video (2021) the opening shot is Kendrick in a mask blending into the crowd and staying lowkey which reflects the lyrics of “ducking” many things in his verse. The contrast of these two shots from different videos show how much Kendrick has changed throughout the almost 6-year gap between the two songs.

The video eventually climaxes at Kendrick rapping on a streetlamp at the top of a hill with kids gathering round excitedly all in white t-shirts, with white being commonly thought to symbolise innocence, pointing at Kendrick. Eventually an older white policeman comes out of his car and aims a finger gun at Kendrick and shoots him down off the lamppost which ends up killing Kendrick as you see blood spurt out of him and he falls to the ground, ending the video with his eyes shut and his body still. This scene is in slow motion to emphasise the savagery of the killing as Kendrick to our knowledge has done nothing wrong in order to be killed. The fact the policeman uses a finger gun instead of a real gun portrays how nonchalant the policeman is towards the killing as he treats it like a game by just killing him with no remorse. This video was extremely ahead of its time with its theming of Kendricks deepest struggles such as him being seen as a saviour, and the ending has only become more relevant recently due to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 after the brutal killing of George Floyd.