Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Album: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Label: Aftermath/Interscope (2012)
Key Jams: "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", "Sing For Me/Dying of Thirst"
The Skinny: On GKMC, Kendrick Lamar tells the story of LA's most infamous suburb through the eyes of a sometimes shady but ultimately well meaning young man, highlighting the dizzying heights of street life as a means of underpinning his reflections on it's sobering realities. The smooth, soulful beats and Lamar's penchant for creative flows reminds me a lot of Aquemeni era Outkast, but with a distinctly modern edge to it.
Pros: Creative lyricism, surprisingly experimental for a major label rap record, those fucking beats, maaaan!
Cons: Songs have a tendency to get too long/weird.
Verdict: Would recommend to anyone slightly interested in rap music.
This is easily the best new rap record I've heard in a long time. That may be because the only new rap music I've heard is either of the Two Chainz "radio thug" variety, or that incomprehensible gibberish hardcore kids pretend to like (*coughwakaflockaflamecough*), but I digress. Lamar's versatility on GKMC is outstanding -- "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", "Backseat Freestyle" and "The Art of Peer Pressure" couldn't be much different from each other stylistically, yet somehow the three don't sound out of place on the same album, let alone back to back to back. I also love the beats, but that might be 'cause Aquemeni is mah favrite cd that I play in mah crib. The only flaw I can find is that sometimes the songs run on for too long, or go off on these weird tangents that don't necessarily add anything to them. However, that's to be expected from a young artist finding his groove, and more often then not, when Lamar steps outside his comfort zone the results are promising. As long as he can stay grounded and continues to work on his trade, Kendrick Lamar will be a name to watch in hip-hop.
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