A couple of days ago, something had entered mainstream media that had caught the attention of myself and my people, even the people foreign to this community had been exposed to the spine-shaking phenomenon that had occurred. Few a times has the story of my people been of interest in the media and sparked discussions among all groups. I will soon explain what the story is along with my opinions on the matter, but first I will share with you why I think this group’s story is often ignored by larger society.

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Musicians are the most left out group in society. There are often times we are forced into hanging out with other muzos so that we can discuss the significance of counterpoint, circle of fifths, polyrhythms, phenomenological listening, equal temperament, omni tonality other crazy musical concepts, terminology and gear… gear muzos are the worst. If you've ever hung around muzos you would know this to be the case. Because we have dedicated our lives to learning this strange and convoluted language, followed by a laugh when someone mentions John Cage, it is hard for us musicians to have a normal conversation about your declining relationship without bringing up the relationship between cossonance and dissonance, or talk about any sports without... actually we just don't talk about sports. Which is why when Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize this year, musicians were finally welcomed with open arms into the public arena to discuss the divisions between so called “high” and “low” art.

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For those of you who still don't know what I'm talking about, the Pulitzer Prize is an American award given to the best works in the categories of journalism and musical composition established in 1917, and a few days ago Kendrick Lamar, a popular rapper had swept the prize for music for his latest album, 'Damn!' Most of you will probably know him, but many of you will not know what the Pulitzer Prize is about and why there is hype around K-Dot winning this prize.

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Though the Pulitzer Prize has never overtly labelled itself as a prize for classical compositions, if the music of the past winners was to be given to the general public to be heard, most people would call it classical music and would only assume that it is a prize exclusively for classical compositions... and they would be right. What?! Then why has a rap album just won the prize for best classical composition. Let me explain.

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At the core of the discussion lies the way in which we define classical music. If the prize was only meant for classical compositions in the historicists sense, music from 1750 to 1830 that emerged from the European court music traditions namely Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn etc, then by a number of musical requirements and criteria, Kendrick Lamar’s album should NOT have won the Pulitzer Prize this year, nor should any music created after 1830. But if we were to use another definition of classical music “music within a musical culture that has long-established conventions and is played inside a court setting as oppose to the folk traditions” otherwise known as “high art” by pretentious music elitists such as myself, then we can begin to understand the decisions made to award the prize to K-Dot, though this wasn’t the first time the nature of the Pulitzer Prize has come into question.

In 1965, a suggestion was made for the award to go to none other than jazz legend, Duke Ellington but because the adjudicating board for the prize were hung up on the historicist’s definition of classical music and were disturbed by this new musical aesthetic, he was rejected the prize. It wasn’t until 1997, when Wynston Marsalis wrote the first jazz composition to win the prize, the nature of and image the Pulitzer Prize began to change from a traditional historicist definition of classical music to a broader definition of “high art music”. From this time on, jazz can be studied academically at many prestigious music colleges around the world and is considered to be high art or America’s classical music. But a few days ago, a rap album had achieved a place among the ranks of the Pulitzer Prize winners, asking us once again to reconsider what is high art music, classical music and the nature of this award.

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From what I’ve read on the interweb, there have been a large number of people commending the decision to place this award on Kendricks shelf, and as a musician trying to push art forward, I would consider myself one of them. However, it is important to any discussion to have read and to understand both sides of the narrative. There are people out there who are enraged by this decision and cannot disagree more with it but regardless of what I think of their opinions, I do respect them for having at least listened to the album and forming an opinion after, and not before. If you have not listened to the album Damn! by K-Dot you cannot even enter in the discussion, but if you have please join me.

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The first criticism is that that Kendrick's main genius on the album is in the lyrics of his raps and that falls under poetry not music. Whether you think that a lyricist is contributing to the music or not, it’s the same as a libretto contributing to an opera. There’s also a compositional technique called word painting, where the music reflects the meaning of the word/sentence (e.g. singing “falling down from the clouds” in a descending melody) and is used extensively through Kendrick’s music. Though not apparent in all lyrical music, if done well like K-Dot, the lyrics can be as much a part of the music as any instrument line.

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The second criticism is that even when you don’t take notice to the lyrics, the background music is filled with repetitive patterns in a 3-4 minute pop song format. How can this fall under high art music? If Steve Reichs and Philip Glass’s minimalistic repetitive patterns can be allowed to be placed under high art music, then loops and repetition in and of itself should not be the disqualifier for being considered high art music. There’re a plethora of sound experiences to be had when listening to Balinese gamelan music or Hindustani classical music. Just instead of traditional instruments playing these patterns, he has carefully selected samples to emphasise the motif and emphasise the mood and emotion of the music. The layers in his music is like an egg hunt that offers something new every time you listen to it. Not to mention the rhythmic counterpoint happening in his rap, or as rappers call it, flow.

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The third criticism is the vulgarity of the language used in his raps. This causes concern because the winner of the Pulitzer Prize usually becomes the subject of study for future students and academic scrutiny, as seen when the prize was given to a jazz composition. To this, I say that kids will be listening to his music regardless of the award, his music is everywhere, “my left stroke just went viral!” This is part of his genius, who else can sing about these themes and be as ubiquitous? Also, to anyone thinking that giving him an award gives validation to the obscene language used, do you also think that giving an Oscar to Schindlers List gives validation to genocide?

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The fourth criticism and the one I agree most with is that even though I like the album, I prefer some of his earlier works, To Pimp a Butterfly for example. But this is just a personal preference, there’s no doubt that any one of his albums could've been nominated for the award and been considered high art music.

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http://lowellhohstadt.com/what-is-classical-music/

This is a link to an article that tries to define high art music as classical music. If you really want to get into it, try listening to the album and read through the list and see if you think the album fits the criteria. You might find that some things do, or nothing does.

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To understand a piece of music, you have to understand it's context and analyse it on it's own terms and this album is no different, you have to take Kendrick on his ELEMENT. Some traditional historicists might be comfortable with the aesthetics they're familiar with, but art will grow with or without them and that's what I believe the award has been about, welcoming ideas that are foreign but relatable and complex in their own right.

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Those who think that the discipline of music practice will cease and disappear, don't appreciate the craft of production or the layers of detail that a master like Kendrick puts in each of his songs.

This is exciting for the industry, as high art music will no longer have an aesthetic preference but is based purely on the dedication of the composer. Though I can see some backlash, I think we're stepping into a new age of music that is backed up by all the universal truth that classical music in the traditional sense has to offer. The innovations that science, technology and the internet has allowed in terms of musical creation and new age philosophy, using music to reflect and shape how we live together on this planet.

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Anyway, I’m done with my short essay rant on Kendrick winning the Pulitzer for now. Please drop me an opinion if you have one, especially if it’s a clashing one. Cheers.