ABSTRACT
K.Bae.Tré is an analysis of three music videos (including a televised performance) featuring Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé. With the release of their albums, To Pimp a Butterfly and Lemonade, respectively, concurrent and in part consonant with the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, these artists became emblems for a “return” to politically-infused popular Black music. K.Bae.Tré is a triptych of ekphrastic recordings signifyin(g) on and amplifying the aural and visual imagery of “Alright” (Lamar), “Formation” (Beyoncé), and “Freedom” (their duet from the 2016 BET Awards), in an attempt to play the sociocultural thematics, problematics, and motifs from each.
