(For the purpose of this review, I will mostly be discussion the "main" 12 tracks of album, not the bonus ones. Although I did purchase the iTunes deluxe edition).
A quick backstory, though I'm positive the majority of people reading this are already pretty familiar with Kendrick's background. Born Kendrick Duckworth, Lamar started rapping as early as a teenager. Releasing several mixtapes early in the 2000s, Kendrick eventually signed to Top Dawg Entertainment at the age of 16, eventually forming the now famous conglomerate Black Hippy, with fellow members Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q. It wasn't until Kendrick Lamar released the critically acclaimed mixtape O.verly D.edicated in 2010, gathering significant critical praise and attention from Dr. Dre himself. When Kendrick released his debut album Section.80 (c'mon, it's basically an album. Name me a mixtape that fits the name better), Kendrick reached significantly huge status in the Hip Hop community. Many people consider him to be the new "King" of the west coast. Being a pretty east-coast guy, I must admit I'm not as familiar with west-coast emcee's as their right-coast counterparts. If there ever is a king, in terms of popularity and attention, however, Kendrick's as good a choice as any.
Kendrick Lamar has found himself in a position that only a handful of emcee's ever reaches; swaths of attention from the Hip Hop community, both mainstream and underground success, and, perhaps most importantly, the direct stewardship of one of the genre's most influential producers, Dr. Dre. Through the arrival of this quick rise in the ranks, Kendrick is tasked with registering his position as a premier voice in the young Hip Hop community. With co-signs from nearly every corner, I think it's safe to say that "good kid, m.a.a.d city" was number one on a lot of peoples anticipated albums.
One of Kendricks best strengths, as demonstrated by the seminal Section.80 project he dropped last year, is his superb ability to establish a concept and follow through with it. This strength comes out in full force with Kendricks new album. The concept of the project, when I first heard it, came off as slightly under whelming: a walkthrough of a typical day in Kendrick's drug-ridden, crime infested hometown of Compton. I must admit, on strictly surface appearances alone, this has been done plenty of times before in the past. What separates this project from others is Kendrick's superb skills as an emcee. Frequently, he will give transitions to flows and voices while making the whole thing appear seamless. With the exception of perhaps two songs, the introspective and thought-soaked lyrics do an excellent job in guiding the viewer through the story of the album, which follows Kendrick on a nighttime escapade involving sexual adventures, belligerent behavior covering his personal vulnerability, and letters from fans and onlookers alike, with all the lyrical dexterity he's proven he possess before. This lyrical strength never really falters on any particular song, honestly. I suppose if I were to nitpick, some of the lyrics on Poetic Justice can off a little corny if you're not in the mood for it. But any, Kendrick's rappng hasn't really changed since Section.80, so much as gotten a shit-ton better.
Throughout my many times listening to this album, the production gave me the mage of a dark, abandoned garage where we're sitting on the cold ground as Kendrick relay's to us his life story. Suffice to say, the music sounds impeccable. The instrumentals swing from a huge range of moods; Tracks such as m.a.a.d city and Backseat Freestyle sound brutish and desperate, furthering a sense of urgency. Quieter, more subtle songs like The Art of Peer Pressure, Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst, and Swimming Pools (Drink) will make you throw your head back and find yourself absorbed in the rhythm. Personally, the production on the track good kid takes the cake for me. The slow drumming and eerie vocal sample, combined with a voracious verse and sultry flute playing makes Kendrick sound absolutely insane in a good way. Kendrick also makes a wise decision to stray away from any trends currently in Hip Hop, but this album is by far not a throwback. The production sounds as vibrant and colorful by today's standards as ever.
An interesting thing to note, I think, is that for a major label debut, the album only has four guest rappers; Black Hippy comrade Jay Rock, young money friend Drake, the veteran emcee MC Eiht and, obviously, Dr. Dre himself. Only Drake and Dre, arguably, would be the ones that could be expected to garnish attention from the "mainstream" crowd. Instead of just throwing these features on whichever track they happened to be working on when they stopped by, all the guest verses contribute something extremely valuable to the album. All guest rappers find themselves on topical tracks that practically line up right in their proverbial alley ways. Jay Rock sounds great on Money Trees, adding excellent perspective on the vicious drug-dealing circles many people find themselves falling into. MC Eiht brings a very tempered sturdy flow to the second half of the track m.a.a.d city. Dre sounds as vibrant and refreshing as ever with Kendrick penning his verses on the finale track Compton. Even Drake, who I tend to fall asleep on, sounds perfectly appropriate and even pretty good on Poetic Justice. In my opinion, Jay Rock comes out on top with his verse, though he does have the advantage of already having an established chemistry with Kendrick.
What really ties the project together, as typical of concept-heavy albums in general, are the skits. Instead of making them their own tracks and thus inflating the project, Kendrick wisely decides to put them at the end of the songs. For those who want to experience the album as a full project (which I recommend for the best possible listening experience), the option is there. For folks who want to get right to the meat of the album, however, also have the ability to skip around after a song ends.
If it wasn't already obvious at this point, I really love this project. Kendrick Lamar delivers a stellar album, there's no debating it in my mind. The entire flow of the record has more passion in its delivery then giving birth. Kendrick knew exactly what type of album he was doing and did and tremendous job in the process, somehow topping his already amazing project from just a year ago. For many people, myself included, this solidify's Kendrick's position as one of the best emcee's the new generation has to offer. His lyrics and songwriting ability are as sharp and as vivid as ever, and backed by the Interscope machine, his resources are as vast as his potential. If you consider yourself a fan of Hip Hop, or really just a fan of music and wish to be introduced to one of the best projects to come out this year, go pick this up. I'm not saying this album is an instant classic. I don't really believe in instant classics. But if there was ever a Hip Hop album capable of being classic, it's good kid, m.a.a.d. city.
Score: A
Favorite Track: Swimming Pools #Drink#
Least Favorite Track: Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
Producers: Tha Bizness; Sounwave; Hit-boy; Tabu; DJ Dah; Scoop DeVille; The Neptunes; THC; Terrace Martain; T-Minus; Nikhill "Kromatik" S.; Pac Dva; Skhye Hutch; Just Blaze
Guest Emcee's: Drake, Dr. Drake, MC Eiht, Jay Rock
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