Was Kendrick Lamar's White House gig actually subversive?

q's pop culture panel weighs in on the worthy, contentious, and mind-boggling stories from the week in arts and entertainment. Opinionated and irreverent, our panel takes pop culture seriously (but not too seriously).

Today's panellists are Esquire columnist Stephen Marche, Little Brother Magazine's Emily Keeler, and Amanda Parris, host of CBC's Exhibitionists. Up for discussion: 

• Was Kendrick Lamar's Fourth of July performance at the White House a subversive move by the Obama administration? Noting that Lamar dropped some of his most political lyrics, Marche believes he blew his shot to speak truth to power. "To me, radical artists make power uncomfortable" says Marche. But Parris disagrees. She points to Lamar's performance of Alright, a protest song adopted by the Black Lives Matter movement. "To have somebody come in and sing literally the anthem that protesters use in the streets, where they also called [Obama] out for his silence on particular issues ... I think it is very political," says Parris.
  
• Goodbye Nancy Grace. As the American legal commentator signs off, our panel looks at her strange, contentious legacy on television. Known for her rants on the verdicts of controversial court cases, Marche noted that everyone on Twitter has a "Nancy Grace moment," when it comes to judging others on social media. "We should all look in the mirror...there's a little Nancy Grace in all of us," says Marche.
  
• Is Drake the new M.J? It seems almost implausible but the Canadian rap sensation is the first artist since Michael Jackson to concurrently have the No. 1 song and album for seven consecutive weeks. Although our panelists don't believe the 6ix God is on the artistic level of Michael Jackson (yet), they do feel that he has helped elevate Toronto on the global stage. "One of the things I do appreciate about Drake...is how great he's made Toronto seem, to everyone." says Keeler.