Kendrick Lamar | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Indisputably the most acclaimed rap artist of his generation, Kendrick Lamar is one of those rare MCs who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him. After several years of development, Lamar hit his creative and chart-topping stride in the 2010s. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), the Grammy-winning To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and the Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. (2017), his three proper major-label albums, have displayed an unmatched mix of inventive wordplay and compelling conceptual narratives, examining internal conflict, flaunting success, and uplifting his community. The screenplay-level detail of Lamars writing has been enriched by a collective of producers, instrumentalists, singers, and rappers, a high percentage of whom -- including inspirations Dr. Dre and MC Eiht, and contemporaries Sounwave and Jay Rock -- represent Lamars native Los Angeles. Lamars cinematic and collaborative inclinations inevitably attracted the mainstream film industry. Black Panther: The Album (2018) was the source of three of Lamars Top Ten pop hits. Compton, California native Kendrick Lamar Duckworth grew up immersed in hip-hop culture and surrounded by gang activity. As a youngster, he gradually discovered an aptitude for writing stories, poems, and lyrics, which naturally led to rapping. He made a name for himself as K. Dot. At the age of 16 in 2003, he issued his debut mixtape, The Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year. While it merely hinted at the potential of the then teenager, it was impressive enough to catch the attention of Top Dawg Entertainment and led to a long-term association with the label that steadily propelled his career. Training Day, the Jay Rock collaboration No Sleep til NYC, and C4, issued from 2005 through 2009, likewise preceded Lamars decision to go by his first and middle names. The last of the three was issued the same year he became part of Black Hippy, a group whose members -- including fellow TDE artists Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and ScHoolboy Q -- frequently appeared on one anothers mixtapes and albums. The first tape credited to Kendrick Lamar was Overly Dedicated, released in September 2010. Also the rappers first commercial release, it reached enough listeners to enter Billboards R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart. After XXL magazine selected him for the 2011 Freshman Class feature, Lamar released his first official album, Section.80, that July, and crossed into the Billboard 200, reaching number 113. With deeper conceptual narratives and sharpened melodic hooks, as well as comparative multi-dimensional development from primary producer Sounwave, the set acted as a kind of warning flare for Lamars mainstream rap dominance. In addition to the dozens of tracks he had appeared on by then, Lamar had the support of veteran West Coast stars as well. During a concert later in 2011, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Game dubbed him "The New King of the West Coast," a notion Dre endorsed more significantly by signing Lamar to his Interscope-affiliated Aftermath label. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Lamars major-label debut, was released in October 2012 and entered the Billboard 200 at number two. Three of its singles -- "Swimming Pools (Drank)," "Poetic Justice," and "Bitch Dont Kill My Vibe" -- reached the Top Ten of Billboards Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop chart and went Top 40 pop. More significantly, the album showcased Lamar as an exceptional storyteller capable of making compelling concept albums. It led to Grammy nominations in four categories: Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for "Now or Never," a deluxe edition bonus cut featuring Mary J. Blige). Miguels "How Many Drinks?" and A$AP Rockys "Fuckin Problems," two tracks on which Lamar made guest appearances, were nominated as well. Rather than rest, Lamar remained active during 2013-2014, touring as well as appearing on tracks by the likes of Tame Impala, YG, and fellow Top Dawg affiliate SZA. The proud single "i" was released in September of the latter year, became Lamars fourth Top 40 single, and won Grammys for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. Still rolling, he announced in early 2015 that his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly, would be out in March with tracks featuring Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Thundercat, and George Clinton. A technical error caused the digital version to be released eight days early, but the LP nonetheless topped the Billboard 200 with sales of 325,000 copies within its first week. It made numerous best-of lists at the end of the year and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. The defiant and life-affirming "Alright," which was quickly adopted by the Black Lives Matter activist movement, along with another single, "These Walls," took awards for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Riding high on his wins and a striking Grammy ceremony performance, Lamar followed up in March 2016 with untitled unmastered., consisting of demos recorded during the previous three years. Like the previous release, it debuted at number one, and seamlessly synthesized beatmaking and traditional musicianship from the likes of Sounwave, Terrace Martin, and Thundercat. Within a month, Lamar added to his ever-lengthening discography of featured appearances with his contribution to Beyoncés "Freedom." Led by "HUMBLE.," his first number one pop hit, DAMN. arrived in April 2017 and likewise entered the Billboard 200 at the top. Remarkably, all 14 of its songs entered the Hot 100, and it was certified multi-platinum within three months. Among the contributors were Rihanna and U2, but at this point, the supporting roles were beneficial more for the guest artists than they were for Lamar, whose artistic clout was unrivaled. Lamar snagged five more Grammys. DAMN. won Best Rap Album. "HUMBLE." took Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Video. Best Rap/Sung Performance went to "LOYALTY," the Rihanna collaboration. Another number one hit followed in February 2018. The soundtrack Black Panther: The Album featured Lamar on every track. "All the Stars" (with SZA), "Kings Dead" (with Jay Rock and Future) and "Pray for Me" (with the Weeknd), its three singles, eventually hit the Top Ten. That April, DAMN. won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. It was the first time the judges recognized a work outside the genres of classical and jazz. Months later, "Kings Dead" made Lamar a 13-time Grammy winner. The track took the award for Best Rap Performance. "All the Stars" alone was nominated in four categories, while Black Panther was up for Album of the Year. The film itself was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 14 Title: Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year Released: 2003 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (Hova Song) (01:59) 2 What the Deal (02:50) 3 Compton Life (06:13) 4 Go DJ (04:42) 5 Hovi Baby (04:04) 6 Put That on Somethin (04:08) 7 Ride Up (03:39) 8 How We Do (02:04) 9 Drop It Like It’s Hot (04:25) 10 Industry Niggas (skit) (01:23) 11 Biggie (03:43) |
 | Album: 2 of 14 Title: Training Day Released: 2005 Tracks: 26 Duration: 1:18:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 One Shot Kill (03:10) 2 Blame God (03:18) 3 Who Shot Ya (Freestyle) (02:49) 4 Good Morning America (04:04) 5 Blow Them Horns (03:59) 6 Gz and Hustlerz (03:43) 7 I Feel It (Freestyle) (02:46) 8 Interview With DJ Dave, Part 1 (00:13) 9 Imma G (Freestyle) (02:11) 10 Interview With DJ Dave, Part 2 (01:26) 11 Man of the Hour (03:01) 12 Interview With DJ Dave, Part 3 (00:22) 13 Never Die (03:34) 14 Hypnotiq (01:41) 15 J Dilla (Freestyle) (04:00) 16 Interview With DJ Dave, Part 4 (00:52) 17 Get Throwed (03:12) 18 Bloody Sport (Freestyle) (04:04) 19 Prototype (05:08) 20 Hard Body (03:59) 21 Grammy Fam (Freestyle) (03:24) 22 A Song 4 Buffy (Freestyle) (03:08) 23 Interview With DJ Dave, Part 5 (01:20) 24 Dreams (04:55) 25 The Best Rapper Alive (04:00) 26 Imagine (04:03) |
 | Album: 3 of 14 Title: No Sleep Til NYC Released: 2008-06-15 Tracks: 20 Duration: 53:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:49) 2 The Show (03:37) 3 I Aint No Joke (02:53) 4 Enjoy Life (03:15) 5 C.R.E.A.M. (03:43) 6 The Real Hip Hop (Freestyle) (01:22) 7 Dead Presidents III (03:36) 8 It Aint Hard 2 Tell (02:48) 9 Smooth Operator (02:25) 10 Kick In The Door (02:49) 11 Half Way Crooks (03:27) 12 Calis Finest (03:39) 13 OG Julio G (00:37) 14 Top Dawg Ent. (03:08) 15 Death Around The Corner (03:18) 16 Gangsta Party 08 (02:43) 17 New Pimpin (03:15) 18 Preach (02:25) 19 Outro (01:08) 20 Cant Be Faded (02:51) |
 | Album: 4 of 14 Title: Kendrick Lamar Released: 2009-12-31 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:02:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Is It Love (03:59) 2 Celebration (03:51) 3 P and P (04:42) 4 She Needs Me (03:30) 5 Iam (01:19) 6 Wanna Be Heard (04:37) 7 I Do This (04:08) 8 Uncle Bobby and Jason Keaton (03:59) 9 Faith (04:51) 10 Trip (03:50) 11 Vanity Slaves (04:15) 12 Far from Here (03:53) 13 Thanksgiving (03:39) 14 Let Me Be Me (07:19) 15 Determined (04:31) |
 | Album: 5 of 14 Title: Overly Dedicated Released: 2010-09-14 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:09:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Heart, Part 2 (04:54) 2 Growing Apart (From Everything) (03:41) 3 Night of the Living Junkies (03:32) 4 P & P 1.5 (06:02) 5 Alien Girl (Today with Her) (04:00) 6 Opposites Attract (Tomorrow, W/O Her) (04:32) 7 Michael Jordan (05:51) 8 Ignorance Is Bliss (03:28) 9 R.O.T.C. (interlude) (02:43) 10 Barbed Wire (04:25) 11 Average Joe (04:16) 12 H.O.C. (05:17) 13 Cut You Off (to Grow Closer) (06:04) 14 Heaven and Hell (03:12) 15 She Needs Me (remix) (03:16) 16 I Do This (remix) (04:08) |
 | Album: 6 of 14 Title: Section.80 Released: 2011-07-02 Tracks: 16 Duration: 59:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Fuck Your Ethnicity (03:44) 2 Hol Up (02:53) 3 A.D.H.D (03:35) 4 No Makeup (Her Vice) (03:55) 5 Tammys Song (Her Evils) (02:41) 6 Chapter Six (02:41) 7 Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils) (03:36) 8 Poe Mans Dream (His Vice) (04:21) 9 The Spiteful Chant (05:21) 10 Chapter Ten (01:15) 11 Keishas Song (Her Pain) (03:47) 12 Rigamortis (02:48) 13 Kush & Corinthians (His Pain) (05:04) 14 Members Only (03:35) 15 Ab-Souls Outro (05:50) 16 HiiiPoWeR (04:39) |
| Section.80 : Allmusic album Review : Kendrick Lamar Duckworths proper debut album followed mixtapes dating back to 2003, when the Compton rapper was a teenager known as K-Dot. A portion of Section.80 is linked by recurring narrative threads, including a tragic story about a young woman sexually abused as a child and later slain as a sex worker. Introduced early in the album with "No Make-Up" ("Dont you know your imperfections is a wonderful blessing"), the empathically spun storyline clashes with demeaning terms the rapper frequently uses elsewhere, though he preemptively counteracts criticism by recognizing the existence of the bad and good, the "evil and spiritual" in him. Kendricks conceptual aptitude is part of what makes him stand out, but he thrives most at relating defiance in dealing with his circumstances -- the effects of coming up in an environment with drugs and gangs as present as oxygen -- and bucking life expectancy. Another strength is the ruthless nature in which he goes after the competition, heard most potently in "Rigamortus." The "dope-ass instrumentation" of which Kendrick later boasts over Terrace Martins tense and fiery post-bop is provided by a crew of roughly a dozen, most prominently Sounwave (on five tracks), who specializes in layering entrancing atmospheric touches with beats that alternately bump and crunch. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 14 Title: good kid, m.A.A.d city Released: 2012-10-21 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:35:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter (04:33) 2 Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe (05:10) 3 Backseat Freestyle (03:32) 4 The Art of Peer Pressure (05:24) 5 Money Trees (06:26) 6 Poetic Justice (05:00) 7 good kid (03:34) 8 m.A.A.d city (05:50) 9 Swimming Pools (Drank) (extended version) (05:13) 10 Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst (12:03) 11 Real (07:23) 12 Compton (04:08) 1 The Recipe (05:52) 2 Black Boy Fly (04:39) 3 Now or Never (04:16) 4 Bitch, Dont Kill My Vibe (remix) (04:39) 5 Collect Calls (03:57) 6 County Building Blues (04:18) |
| good kid, m.A.A.d city : Allmusic album Review : Hip-hop debuts dont come much more "highly anticipated" than Kendrick Lamars. A series of killer mixtapes displayed his talent for thought-provoking street lyrics delivered with an attention-grabbing flow, and then there was his membership in the Black Hippy crew with his brethren Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock all issuing solo releases that pleased the "true hip-hop" set, setting the stage for a massive fourth and final. Top it off with a pre-release XXL Magazine cover that he shared with his label boss and all-around legend Dr. Dre, and the "biggest debut since Illmatic" stuff starts to flow, but Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City would be a milestone even without the back-story, offering cool and compelling lyrics, great guests (Drake, Dr. Dre, and MC Eiht) and attractive production (from Pharrell, Just Blaze, Tabu, and others). Here, Kendrick is living his life like status and cash were extra credit. It is what makes this kid so "good" as he navigates his "mad" city (Compton) with experience and wisdom beyond his years (25). Hes shamelessly bold about the allure of the trap, contrasting the sickness of his city with the universal feeling of getting homesick, and carrying a Springsteen-sized love for the home team. Course, in his gang-ruled city, N.W.A. was the home team, but as the truly beautiful, steeped-in-soul, biographic key track "The Art of Peer Pressure" finds a reluctant young Kendrick and his friends feeding off the life-force of Young Jeezys debut album, its something Clash, Public Enemy, and all other rebel music fans can relate to. Still, when he realizes that hero Jeezy must have risen above the game -- because the real playas are damned and never show their faces -- it spawns a kind of elevated gangsta rap thats as pimp-connectable as the most vicious Eazy-E, and yet poignant enough to blow the dust off any cracked soul. Equally heavy is the cautionary tale of drank dubbed "Swimming Pools," yet that highlight is as hooky and hallucinatory as most Houston drank anthems, and breaks off into one of the chilling, cassette-quality interludes that connect the album, adding to the documentary or eavesdropping quality of it all. Soul children will experience déjà vu when "Poetic Justice" slides by with its Janet Jackson sample -- sounding like it came off his Aunts VHS copy of the movie its named after -- while the closing "Compton" is an anthem sure to make the Game jealous, featuring Dre in beast mode, acting pre-Chronic and pre-Death Row. This journey through the concrete jungle of Compton is worth taking because of the artistic richness within, plus the attraction of a whip-smart rapper flying high during his rookie season. Any hesitation about the horror of it all is quickly wiped away by Kendricks mix of true talk, open heart, open mind, and extended hand. Add it all up and even without the hype, this one is still potent and smart enough to rise to the top of the pile. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 14 Title: Fragile Released: 2013-07-17 Tracks: 4 Duration: 15:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Fragile (04:00) 2 Fragile (Explicit) (04:00) 3 Fragile (Instrumental) (03:56) 4 Fragile (Acapella) (03:47) |
 | Album: 9 of 14 Title: King of New York Released: 2014-02-17 Tracks: 31 Duration: 1:17:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Genesis (intro) (02:14) 2 Control (02:58) 3 Compton (01:26) 4 Talib Kweli Interlude (00:38) 5 Get Bizy (05:24) 6 Textbook Stuff (01:28) 7 Rigamortus (02:42) 8 Wanna Be Heard (04:38) 9 The Heart, pt. III (04:04) 10 The Heart, pt. II (03:53) 11 100 (01:44) 12 Street Dreamin (01:32) 13 Thanksgiving (01:31) 14 TDE Roll Call (Black Hippy) (03:30) 15 Young & Black (02:01) 16 R.I.P. (01:30) 17 Celebration (02:22) 18 Homage to DPG (01:45) 19 Blessed (02:47) 20 Cartoons & Cereal (02:36) 21 U.O.E.N.O. (Black Hippy) (04:34) 22 Rossi Wine (01:25) 23 Taking Me Down (01:14) 24 Fight the Feeling (01:18) 25 M.A.A.D. City (02:24) 26 Say Whassup (Black Hippy) (04:10) 27 Backseat Freestyle (02:29) 28 Collard Greens (02:46) 29 The Jig Is Up (02:15) 30 Dying of Thirst (02:37) 31 The City (01:17) |
 | Album: 10 of 14 Title: To Pimp a Butterfly Released: 2015-03-16 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:18:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wesley’s Theory (04:47) 2 For Free? (interlude) (02:10) 3 King Kunta (03:54) 4 Institutionalized (04:31) 5 These Walls (05:00) 6 u (04:28) 7 Alright (03:39) 8 For Sale? (interlude) (04:51) 9 Momma (04:43) 10 Hood Politics (04:52) 11 How Much a Dollar Cost (04:21) 12 Complexion (A Zulu Love) (04:23) 13 The Blacker the Berry (05:28) 14 You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said) (04:01) 15 i (05:36) 16 Mortal Man (12:07) |
| To Pimp a Butterfly : Allmusic album Review : Becoming an adult ultimately means accepting ones imperfections, unimportance, and mortality, but that doesnt mean we stop striving for the ideal, a search thats so at the center of our very being that our greatest works of art celebrate it, and often amplify it. Anguish and despair rightfully earn more Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, and Pulitzer Prizes than sweetness and light ever do, but West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar is already on elevated masterwork number two, so expect his version of the sobering truth to sound like a party at points. Hes aware, as Bilal sings here, that "Shit dont change til you get up and wash your ass," and dont it feel good? The sentiment is universal, but the viewpoint on his second LP is inner-city and African-American, as radio regulars like the Isley Brothers (sampled to perfection during the key track "I"), George Clinton (who helps make "Wesleys Theory" a cross between "Atomic Dog" and Dantes Inferno), and Dr. Dre (who literally phones his appearance in) put the listener in Lamars era of Compton, just as well as Lou Reed took us to New York and Brecht took us to Weimar Republic Berlin. These G-funky moments are incredibly seductive, which helps usher the listener through the albums 80-minute runtime, plus its constant mutating (Pharrell productions, spoken word, soul power anthems, and sound collages all fly by, with few tracks ending as they began), much of it influenced, and sometimes assisted by, producer Flying Lotus and his frequent collaborator Thundercat. "u" sounds like an MP3 collection deteriorating, while the broken beat of the brilliant "Momma" will challenge the listeners balance, and yet, Lamar is such a prodigiously talented and seductive artist, his wit, wisdom, and wordplay knock all these stray molecules into place. Survivors guilt, realizing ones destiny, and a Snoop Dogg performance of Doggystyle caliber are woven among it all; plus, highlights offer that Parliament-Funkadelic-styled subversion, as "The Blacker the Berry" ("The sweeter the juice") offers revolutionary slogans and dips for the hip. Free your mind, and your ass will follow, and at the end of this beautiful black berry, theres a miraculous "talk" between Kendrick and the legendary 2Pac, as the brutalist trailblazer mentors this profound populist. To Pimp a Butterfly is as dark, intense, complicated, and violent as Picassos Guernica, and should hold the same importance for its genre and the same beauty for its intended audience. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 14 Title: Straight Outta Compton Released: 2015-08-14 Tracks: 11 Duration: 38:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 2Nite (04:14) 2 Texas Man (02:52) 3 Vegas (01:35) 4 All Day (remix) (04:48) 5 Heaven Help Dem (05:00) 6 Thuggin (05:00) 7 YBNB (03:09) 8 Shake It Off Freestyle (04:36) 9 LiftOff Lunch Table Freestyle (01:45) 10 PrettyONP (04:06) 11 Dollar Arm Soundtrack (01:15) |
 | Album: 12 of 14 Title: untitled unmastered. Released: 2016-03-04 Tracks: 8 Duration: 34:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 untitled 01 | 08.19.2014. (04:07) 2 untitled 02 | 06.23.2014. (04:18) 3 untitled 03 | 05.28.2013. (02:34) 4 untitled 04 | 08.14.2014. (01:50) 5 untitled 05 | 09.21.2014. (05:38) 6 untitled 06 | 06.30.2014. (03:28) 7 untitled 07 | 2014 - 2016 (08:16) 8 untitled 08 | 09.06.2014. (03:55) |
| untitled unmastered. : Allmusic album Review : Issued without advance notice 17 days after Kendrick Lamars riveting 2016 Grammy Awards performance, untitled unmastered. consists of eight demos that are simply numbered and dated. Apart from segments previewed at the Grammys and late-night television appearances, there was no formal promotion. A postscript, its (artfully) artless in presentation -- not even basic credits appear on the Army green liner card in the compact disc edition -- yet its almost as lyrically and musically rich as To Pimp a Butterfly. The dates indicate that the majority of the material was made during the sessions for that album, and the presence of many of its players and vocalists is unmistakable. This was assembled with a high level of care that is immediately evident, its components sequenced to foster an easy listen. Track-to-track flow, however, is about the only aspect of this release that can be called smooth. After an intimate spoken intro from Bilal, the set segues into an urgent judgment-day scenario with squealing strings and a resounding bassline as Lamar confronts mortality and extinction with urgent exasperation. He observes terrifying scenes all the while sensing possible relief ("No more running from world wars," "No more discriminating the poor"). untitled unmastered. offers this and other variations on the connected themes of societal ills, faith, and survival that drove the output it follows, with Lamar at his best when countering proudly materialistic boasts with ever-striking acknowledgments of the odds perilously weighted against his people. Remarkably, this hits its stride in the second half. The stretch involves a rolling, ornamented retro-contemporary production from Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (with vocal assists from Bilal and Cee Lo Green), a stitched suite that is alternately stern and humorously off the cuff (featuring Egypt, five-year-old son of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, as co-producer and vocalist), and a finale of Thundercat-propelled funk. Even while coasting over the latters breezy and smacking groove, Lamar fills the space with meaning, detailing a confrontation with sharp quips and stinging reprimands. While Lamar referred to these tracks as demos, and not one of them has the pop-soul appeal of "These Walls" or the Black Lives Matter protest-anthem potential of "Alright," untitled unmastered. is no mere offcut dump. Its as vital as anything else its maker has released. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 14 Title: DAMN. Released: 2017-04-14 Tracks: 14 Duration: 55:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 BLOOD. (01:58) 2 DNA. (03:05) 3 YAH. (02:40) 4 ELEMENT. (03:28) 5 FEEL. (03:34) 6 Loyalty (03:47) 7 PRIDE. (04:35) 8 HUMBLE. (02:57) 9 LUST. (05:07) 10 LOVE. (03:33) 11 XXX. (04:14) 12 FEAR. (07:40) 13 GOD. (04:08) 14 DUCKWORTH. (04:08) |
| DAMN. : Allmusic album Review : To Pimp a Butterflys proper and oft-biblical follow-up arrived on Good Friday, 13 months after untitled unmastered., an intermediary release that eclipsed the best work of most contemporary artists. If Kendrick Lamar felt pressure to continue living up to his previous output, theres no evidence on DAMN. Hes too occupied tracing the spectrum of his mental states, from "boxin demons" to "flex on swole," questioning and reveling in his affluence, castigating and celebrating his bloodline, humble enough to relate his vulnerabilities, assured enough to proclaim "Aint none of yall fuckin with the flow." Throughout, he intensely examines most of the seven deadly sins, aware all along that his existence is threatened by anyone who objects to the color of his skin or clothes -- or, in the case of the blind stranger who shoots him during the albums opener, nothing that is apparent. Compared to the maximum-capacity, genre-twisting vastness and winding narratives of Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN. on the surface seems like a comparatively simple rap album that demands less from the listener. Theres relative concision in the track titles and material, and a greater emphasis on commercial sounds -- such as Mike WiLLs lean and piano-laced trap beat for the strong-arming "HUMBLE.," Lamars first Top Ten pop hit, and a couple productions that are merely functional backdrops lacking distinction. In a way, however, DAMN. is just as lavish and singular as the preceding albums, its quantity and weight of thoughts and connected concepts condensed into a considerably tighter space. It contains some of Lamars best writing and performances, revealing his evolving complexity and versatility as a soul-baring lyricist and dynamic rapper. Although its occasionally distorted, stretched, smeared, and reversed to compelling and imagination-fueling effect, his voice is at its most affecting in its many untreated forms. Take "FEAR.," in which he switches between echoing hot-blooded parental threats to enumerating, with a 40-acre stare, various death scenarios. His storytelling hits an astonishing new high on "Duckworth," the albums finale. Over ethereal funk sewn by 9th Wonder, Lamar details a potentially tragic encounter between his father and future Top Dawg CEO Anthony Tiffith -- and the conditions leading to it -- that occurred long before Kung Fu Kenny was known as K. Dot. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 14 Title: Black Panther: The Album (music from and inspired by) Released: 2018-02-09 Tracks: 14 Duration: 49:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Black Panther (02:10) 2 All the Stars (03:52) 3 X (04:27) 4 The Ways (03:58) 5 Opps (03:00) 6 I Am (03:28) 7 Paramedic! (03:39) 8 Bloody Waters (04:32) 9 King’s Dead (03:45) 10 Redemption Interlude (01:25) 11 Redemption (03:42) 12 Seasons (04:02) 13 Big Shot (03:41) 14 Pray for Me (03:31) |
| Black Panther: The Album (music from and inspired by) : Allmusic album Review : A culturally momentous film directed by a black man, featuring a black lead actor and a predominantly black supporting cast, Marvel Studios Black Panther is augmented with an album powered by Kendrick Lamar. Its an unprecedented convergence of the mainstream film industry with an uncompromising musician thriving commercially and artistically. Director Ryan Coogler sought Lamar out to contribute to the album, but the artist ended up involved with every track, credited in varying combinations as headliner, featured artist, co-songwriter, and co-producer, with long-term producer Sounwave a factor in all but three cuts. Subtitled "Music from and Inspired By," this is not a soundtrack in the strictest sense. Indeed, a significant portion of the content -- from whole tracks like the Travis Scott turn "Big Shot," to the part where Future quotes Juicy Js "Slob on My Knob" -- has no relation to the film, though theres a reflectively militant quality to a high percentage of the verses. Elements that are alternately obvious and subtle, including tribal-futuristic drums, audio-logo-like mentions of character names, and ululations (the last instance via the Weeknd on the despairing but proud finale), are threaded throughout to maintain the connection. They frame Lamar, a central figure as he proclaims his sovereign rank and examines its pitfalls -- not a stretch for him. The set has a major crossover single bid in the form of "All the Stars," an elegantly crafted SZA showcase that sounds at once like a defiant heros anthem and a love theme. Another canny aspect in the albums assemblage is its inclusion of several artists from South Africa. The most notable appearance is made by Yugen Blakrok, "half-machine" Johannesburg native who boasts of "crushing any system that belittles us," references Millie Jackson, and leaves a pile of smoldering rubble in her wake. Lamar also enlists Englands Jorja Smith and James Blake, and a Stateside crew that includes Mozzy, Ab-Soul, and Anderson Paak, as well as SOB x RBE, who, like Coogler, represent the Bay Area. Given the level of the performances, the majority of the guests evidently approached this as a Kendrick Lamar album, not as a soundtrack. Black Panther: The Album serves both purposes well. | ||