While this album's week-early release may be an accident, Kendrick Lamar's rise to fame certainly isn't. The release of his 2012 sophomore album Good Kid, M.a.a.d City launched Kendrick from the streets of Compton straight into the limelight. Many fans, myself included, would even consider it an instant classic. Let's not forget about his debut, Section.80, another album that could be considered a classic in due time.
Shortly after the release of Good Kid, M.a.a.d City, Kendrick Lamar became a major draw at several music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Firefly, Lollapalooza, and Hangout. In late 2013, he drew controversy for his guest verse on Big Sean's "Control", where he vowed to "lyrically murder" every rapper in the game right now. I'm not about to name drop all the rappers he called out in the song, so if you're curious, I encourage you to look up the verse for yourself.
In the year since that guest verse, Lamar has been hard at work, including a headlining performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in the summer of 2014 and work on some new music. In late September, he released what would be the first single from his new album, simply titled "i". Sampling the Isley Brothers song "That Lady", it was definitely different from anything Kendrick had ever put out before. It was more introspective than what we were used to hearing from him. Like "Swimming Pools (Drank)" before it, it seemed to be made for radio. While some may not have been totally thrilled with his new sound, I think we were all excited at the fact that a new Kendrick Lamar album was on the near horizon.
Shortly after being announced as a headliner at the 2015 editions of both Sasquatch! and Bonnaroo music festivals, Kendrick released the second single from his next album, "The Blacker the Berry", an angry song that skewers racism. It was very different from "i"; it was more raw and aggressive than his first single. Shortly after that, he officially announced the name and release date of his next album, and by then, hype levels were at maximum. On March 16, his album was released to iTunes and Spotify, accordingly by accident, and everyone went nuts, including me. Without any further adeu, here are my thoughts on the album.
Throughout this album, we get angry, complex, and sonically experimental songs addressing racism and classism in America. Each song itself is like an onion, with many layers that you have to peel away to get to the core meaning of the song. You will have to take each song a bite at a time. Since that's a cliche metaphor, I'll rephrase it and give you something more direct: You'll need to listen to each song multiple times and will probably have to consult Rap Genius several times.
Speaking of albums that tackle social issues in America, I'm ready for Run the Jewels 3.
Honestly, I wish I could review this track-by-track. This album is so dense, that even after a few listens, I still don't know what it is. It's more than just a hip-hop album, it's a work of art. It's something that is going to mean something different to everyone who listens to it. I do have to point out the line in "Hood Politics" in which Kendrick gives praise to Run the Jewels' Killer Mike: "Critics wanna mention that they miss when Hip-Hop was rappin' / muthaf***er if you did, then Killer Mike would be platinum." Killer Mike has acknowledged this praise on Twitter.
The beats are incredible, with co-production from Pharrell, Flying Lotus, Boi-1da, Terrace Martin, and Thundercat, who also kills the bass playing on this whole album. Bilal and Anna Wise's vocals add a lot to the album's sonic qualities, and I hope we hear more from them in the future.
This is an album that, while completely different from both Good Kid, M.a.a.d City and Section.80, does everything that those two albums do right. It's very complex, and strangely accessible. It's not an easy album to listen to, and yet you still love listening to it. It's for those reasons that I like the album so much. It's an album that America needs, not just for the music industry, but for society too. We need more albums like this that are brutally honest and don't hold anything back.
Conclusion: This album has me wondering how Kendrick Lamar could possibly top this current effort. I'll definitely be revisiting this album several times over the next couple of years.
Overall: 10/10
Favorite songs: All of them are equally good!
In the year since that guest verse, Lamar has been hard at work, including a headlining performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in the summer of 2014 and work on some new music. In late September, he released what would be the first single from his new album, simply titled "i". Sampling the Isley Brothers song "That Lady", it was definitely different from anything Kendrick had ever put out before. It was more introspective than what we were used to hearing from him. Like "Swimming Pools (Drank)" before it, it seemed to be made for radio. While some may not have been totally thrilled with his new sound, I think we were all excited at the fact that a new Kendrick Lamar album was on the near horizon.
Shortly after being announced as a headliner at the 2015 editions of both Sasquatch! and Bonnaroo music festivals, Kendrick released the second single from his next album, "The Blacker the Berry", an angry song that skewers racism. It was very different from "i"; it was more raw and aggressive than his first single. Shortly after that, he officially announced the name and release date of his next album, and by then, hype levels were at maximum. On March 16, his album was released to iTunes and Spotify, accordingly by accident, and everyone went nuts, including me. Without any further adeu, here are my thoughts on the album.
Throughout this album, we get angry, complex, and sonically experimental songs addressing racism and classism in America. Each song itself is like an onion, with many layers that you have to peel away to get to the core meaning of the song. You will have to take each song a bite at a time. Since that's a cliche metaphor, I'll rephrase it and give you something more direct: You'll need to listen to each song multiple times and will probably have to consult Rap Genius several times.
Speaking of albums that tackle social issues in America, I'm ready for Run the Jewels 3.
Honestly, I wish I could review this track-by-track. This album is so dense, that even after a few listens, I still don't know what it is. It's more than just a hip-hop album, it's a work of art. It's something that is going to mean something different to everyone who listens to it. I do have to point out the line in "Hood Politics" in which Kendrick gives praise to Run the Jewels' Killer Mike: "Critics wanna mention that they miss when Hip-Hop was rappin' / muthaf***er if you did, then Killer Mike would be platinum." Killer Mike has acknowledged this praise on Twitter.
The beats are incredible, with co-production from Pharrell, Flying Lotus, Boi-1da, Terrace Martin, and Thundercat, who also kills the bass playing on this whole album. Bilal and Anna Wise's vocals add a lot to the album's sonic qualities, and I hope we hear more from them in the future.
This is an album that, while completely different from both Good Kid, M.a.a.d City and Section.80, does everything that those two albums do right. It's very complex, and strangely accessible. It's not an easy album to listen to, and yet you still love listening to it. It's for those reasons that I like the album so much. It's an album that America needs, not just for the music industry, but for society too. We need more albums like this that are brutally honest and don't hold anything back.
Conclusion: This album has me wondering how Kendrick Lamar could possibly top this current effort. I'll definitely be revisiting this album several times over the next couple of years.
Overall: 10/10
Favorite songs: All of them are equally good!