Being placed on a pedestal is rarely a final destination. People are always looking up at you, noticing everything you do right – but, more crucially, everything you do wrong. Then there are those who would love nothing more than to knock you off. It’s a precarious situation to navigate.

Rap superstar and critical darling Kendrick Lamar is beginning to see the cracks in this precarious position. Fresh off his mega-feud with Drake – where he taunted the Canadian rapper and accused him of various nefarious things – and a standout Super Bowl halftime performance, Lamar is ostensibly on top of the world.

Lamar’s feud with Drake drew clear battle lines: Drake was painted as a purveyor of façade and immorality while Lamar stood as the righteous force destined to take him down.

But now, everything Lamar does is under a microscope. The immense goodwill he’s earned has fostered the illusion of him being some flawless saviour. And many fans feel entitled to dictate his next move, as if they alone know what his career should ultimately mean.

These fans made their voices heard when Lamar was announced as a brand ambassador for luxury fashion house Chanel.

Confusion followed. Is this the same Lamar who spoke for the voiceless, stood up for the marginalised, and confronted systemic........

© Herald Scotland