Since its proper unveiling on this year’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar‘s “Alright” has slowly but surely grown into the people’s anthem — a song with legs stretching months, years, and decades ahead of Kendrick and all those impacted by its message of resilience. The track’s fittingly black-and-white video — directed by certified auteur Colin Tilley — is visual poetry at its finest, elevating the already floating track to untold heights. In July, students from Cleveland State University turned the track’s empowering hook into a chant of profound protest during a Black Lives Matter event in which local authorities reportedly forced a teenager to the ground before pepper-spraying the surrounding crowd.
Proving those aforementioned decades-long legs, “Alright” added another facet to its legacy this weekend during Kendrick’s headlining set at Osheaga Festival. Upon noticing Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) watching sidestage, Kendrick convinced the legend to join him for a contagiously energetic performance of “Alright” — during which Kendrick told the very-into-it audience that Mos Def was the reason he initially wanted to start rapping.