Out of the Past
In “The Story of O.J. 
,” Jay Z brings James Baldwin’s quote shown below to the relativity of the White perception of Black America in the twenty-first century.
JAY-Z - The Story of O.J.
Dawning the second decade of the twenty-first century, Black music in America has finally gained its due among the great majority of American popular music.
In late January 2018, the Compton, California, rapper Kendrick Lamar lost the Grammy Award for album of the year to Bruno Mars. DAMN., Lamar’s fourth LP, was his third straight to be nominated but ultimately fell short of the trophy, considered by most to be the top prize in popular music.
But significantly it received other music accolades. In April of 2018, Lamar’s DAMN. took home an even more elusive honor, one that may never have even seemed within reach: the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Lamar is not only the first rapper to win the award since the Pulitzers expanded to music in 1943, but he is also the first winner who is not a classical or jazz musician.
The board called the album “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life” (Craven 2018, n.p.).
From the Pulitzer committee, David Hajdu, one of the music jurors this year and a critic for The Nation: “That led us to put on the table the fact that this sphere of work”—rap music—“has value on its own terms and not just as a resource for use in a field that is more broadly recognized by the institutional establishment as serious or legitimate” (Craven 2018, n.p.).
Lastly, the following review of Kendrick Lamar’s work by Rodney Carmichael from NPR sums up the project's genius:
From the birth of the Old Negro Spiritual, black America has crafted hymns to get over the confounding hardships of this world. Lamar complements that tradition, but he also complicates it. DAMN. embodies a year in which hip-hop—and America at large—finds itself wrestling in public with its inner demons. He could've made another Black Lives Matter anthem-like 'Alright' to quell our fears. Instead, he held true to his prophetic vision and laid his vulnerabilities on the line.
(Carmichael 2017, n.p.)
Further, in the following video, you will learn about how the fortieth annual Kennedy Center Honors recognized hip-hop for the first time: LL Cool J Kennedy Center Honors 2017 .
LL Cool J Kennedy Center Honors 2017
In December 2017, LL Cool J (James Smith) became the first rapper to earn a prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, one of America’s highest achievements for any performer. In addition, LL Cool J previously received a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016 for his achievement in music.
First introduced to the world in 1984 as a Def Jam Records flagship artist, LL Cool J is the first rap artist to amass ten consecutive platinum-plus selling albums. Furthermore, the multi-platinum artist and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee is currently tied for third place for the most Billboard chart debuts by a rapper.
In a career spanning more than three decades, the Queens-born MC helped pioneer the burgeoning rap genre while often cited as hip-hop's first heartthrob. As Def Jam Recordings' first signee, LL Cool J is best known for hits like " Mama Said Knock You Out " and " Doin' It."
Similarly, Nelly was honored with the “I Am Hip Hop” award at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 5 for the influence, leadership, and memories he’s provided over his twenty-year career. Watch the interview here: Nelly Talks About the Evolution and Everlasting Impact of Hip Hop.