Behind my side we lookin' at you from the face down What you want, a house or a car And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, nigga I'm at the preacher's door My knees gettin' weak and my gun might blow but we gon' be alright [Hook] What you want, you a house you a car [51], Kendrick Lamar made a cameo in a promo ad for ABC sitcom Black-ish. But if God got us we then gon' be alright We gon' be alright We gon' be alright And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, nigga Nigga, we gon' be alright Nigga, we gon' be alright We gon' be alright Do you hear me, do you feel me? [25], Pitchfork ranked it as the best music video of 2015, highlighting "Lamar's own flight above the streets of L.A., his inner-city Icarus providing one of the most arresting – and liberating – images of the year. So my record and my motherfucking gang can stand in silence for the record But we gon' be alright. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Nigga, we gon' be alright What pretty pussy and Benjamin is the highlight In more than one instance, the song's chorus was chanted at Black Lives Matter protests.
The rapper falls to the ground finishing his monologue from the beginning of the video, but ends the clip with a smile. "[6] The track opens with lines from Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "Alls my life, I had to fight". {{cite web|title = Geraldo Rivera responds to Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics on YAH.|url=, MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, "Kendrick Lamar Picks Fourth Single from "To Pimp a Butterfly, "Kendrick Lamar on the Grammys, Black Lives Matter and His Big 2015", https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-songs-of-the-2010s/, "Kendrick Lamar's civil rights anthem 'Alright' almost didn't happen", "A Track-By-Track Guide To Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly, "Some Snap Judgments on Kendrick Lamar's How to Pimp a Butterfly". Musically, it features marching band propulsion and a jazz band's breezy reeds. The hook, "We gon' be alright!" Only a song so brilliant in so many ways could earn the honor of becoming a protest song ... 'Alright' isn't about determination; it's about forgetting cold, harsh reality and hoping for something brighter and better if only for three minutes and 39 seconds. It's also showing how one man can basically spread positivity through all of the madness that's going on and how everything is gonna be alright [...] The video starts off so dark and it just progresses and gets lighter and lighter as it goes. It was also nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. I keep my head up high I was jibbing for a bottom, putting quarter pieces in the black caprice and make it holla (Alright) No releasing me, I got the piece in me, I gotta Keep … We gon' be alright But we gon' be alright. We gon' be alright. "[26] Consequence of Sound listed the video at number one on its "Top 5 Music Videos of 2015", concluding "The video works as a microcosm of the sad and wretched state of many cities: crooked cops, burning cars, abandoned buildings, and bleak backdrops of an urban sprawl. Too afraid, a lot of changes My knees gettin' weak and my gun might blow but we gon' be alright Nigga, we gon' be alright Nigga, we gon' be alright We gon' be alright Do you hear me, do you feel me? What you want you: a house or a car? We gon' be alright Diggin' in my pocket ain't a profit, big enough to feed you What mac-11 even boom with the bass down We gon' be alright I don't talk about it, be about it, everyday I see cool He is trying to get everyone on the same page by telling everyone “we gon’ be Alright.”. [19] In 2018, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 13 on their list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Century So Far."[20]. [5] In an interview with MTV News, Lamar said it was inspired by his trip to South Africa, witnessing other people's problems in the country: "their struggle was ten times harder. allowed Lamar to use the symbolism inherent to spur the rest of the song's lyrics that eventually resonated with an entire movement. A young African-American man is seen lying on the ground and Lamar begins speaking. Do you hear me, do you feel me? Kendrick Lamar - Alright Lyrics. I cross my heart and hope to die Schemin'! "[50] Protestors at a Chicago rally against Donald Trump chanted the chorus of the song in March 2016. Huh? "[10] Lamar later used audio of Rivera's comments in his song "DNA. A minute-long clip was released featuring Lamar's song in a music video the show's Johnson kids create to become an "overnight viral sensation."