I must admit that my bias against the hyper-masculinity displayed throughout the album threw me off at points — not unlike the hyper-masculinity that categorically finds a place within hip-hop and the black community on a larger scale. Often the mindset is that because black men have been historically emasculated — through castration of their bodies, limitation of power and the dismissal of their worth — that any criticism only eclipses the “real” struggle.

There is no denying this emasculation (and adherence to an inherently misogynistic system) is why rappers often refer to themselves as wielding power through the metaphorical use of their genitals. In the “For Free?” interlude, Lamar repeats through a rapid-fire explanation of his anger at white, capitalist America and the black woman, “This dick ain’t free.” This serves as subversion — a penetration and domination of White America, the antagonist. But this unwieldy concept spills over into the consciousness of black men, one that often covets the position of white men without grasping for respect and power on behalf of black women, as well.

To feminize the negative or to negate the feminine serves nothing new or revolutionary to hip-hop or art in general. The woman as muse concept has been used to portray womanhood and femininity as properties that must be organized and made sense of through the lenses and voices of men. Hip-hop, both as an artistic genre and a historic outlet for the black experience, is no different.

J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive”

Most recently, “No Role Modelz” of 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole, uses the image of a superficial, unintelligent, overly manicured woman as a stand-in for what many consider to be a degradation and dumbing down of today’s mainstream hip-hop. He opines, “Don’t save her, she don’t wanna be saved.” This is not the first time J. Cole has used the woman as a personification of larger concepts, but it must be acknowledged that when women are conflated with negativity — as is done here — there often is some misogyny that must be checked.

When we overlook the plight of other black individuals — particularly black women — we lazily dismiss other necessities of equality. If we encouraged these discussions rather than running from them, then we could start a much-needed ousting of misogyny from hip-hop. Perhaps a rapper of Lamar’s status could be a champion for more than just black men. We have the ability to tackle more than one issue at a time.

I’ve engaged in numerous discussions with black men on why I identify as a feminist, which is mistaken as me championing gender equality over racial equality. That, however, is a confused description of what I see as progress. I am not simply a feminist picking up bits and pieces of ideology from the mainstream feminism that often — in turn — champions gender equality without nuance. I come from the school of feminists like Patricia Hill Collins and bell hooks, who critically consider dismantling both of those oppressions at the same time. But I step into the honors courses of said school and reflect on the words and thoughts of Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Janet Mock, and Laverne Cox, black LGBTQ women who have had to consider something deeper than those other two oppressions. So for me, it is difficult to respect the privileged hierarchy that many black men place on liberation.

Going further, the insistence that black women are confused pawns in white supremacy when they speak out against how black men are capable of and often do wield misogyny just as “well” as their white counterparts is erasing a major part of Black American history. The same could be said of the Civil Rights Movement that stripped power and agency from black women and black LGBTQ individuals in order to “focus” on, again, the real struggle.

Overall, I appreciate Lamar’s confrontation of these issues and the album’s authenticity through describing the balance of purpose for different segments of humanity. Throughout the album, he uses the symbols of the butterfly and the caterpillar as two mutable forces that ultimately need each other to survive. In fact, he suggests that every individual encompasses elements of both. His ending salvo, “Mortal Man,” finally drives home the dichotomy he’s created of the black community and White capitalist America, but it also serves as a perfect representation of the inherent synergy between black men and black women.