Kung Fu Kenny A Modern-Day Prophet

Abstract

In the last ten years, Kendrick Lamar has cemented himself as one of the greatest hip/hop artists in the game. Audiences thoroughly enjoy the construction of his beats and the quality of his flow. However, upon a deeper investigation of his lyricism and album construction, the listener finds a foundational undercurrent of faith as well as an imaginative interaction with Biblical imagery. This short essay will trace the narrative of Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer prize-winning DAMN. and show how the character “Kung Fu Kenny” is initially patterned on the prophet Jonah in order to imagine a modern-day prophet of God.