The margins speak: Kendrick Lamar, identity, and Bhabha's third space

This research is an analysis of rapper Kendrick Lamar’s works in his albums Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp a Butterfly, and Damn, through Homi K. Bhabha’s concepts of hybridity and third space. The album displays the intersections of different social experiences and cultures providing a unique perspective of the African American cultural experience within America which has for been, for long, marked by racial tensions and historical trauma. Lamar’s work draws from African American artforms and musical styles such as jazz and funk, while addressing themes of oppression, racism, materialism and identity influenced by the greater mainstream American culture, creating a dynamic ‘third space’ where African American identity is both affirmed and redefined while also exemplifying Bhabha’s notion of hybridity, revealing the complexity of identities shaped by multiple cultural influences and historical legacies.