Kendrick Lamar ? good kid, m.A.A.d. city [Album Preview]
In a matter of just a few short weeks, my fellow California native, Kendrick Lamar, will be dropping his debut major label album entitled good kid, m.A.A.d city, which will be, as he said in an interview with Fuse, a place for him to ?tell [the] stories that [he has] never told.? These stories, he says, are what first inclined him to make this album, almost as a therapeutic process to liberate the negative images and emotions that have been repressed in his memory since his childhood in Compton.
Despite the contract that was inked this year between Top Dawg Entertainment and Dr. Dre?s Aftermath Entertainment, Kendrick has told sources that instead of working with mainstream production artists, he?ll primarily be working with producers from past projects. Which ones he chose have yet to be revealed, however, one of the fresh names on his upcoming effort is renowned Canadian producer, T-Minus, who has laid down tracks for everyone from Ludacris? ?How Low?, to DJ Khaled?s ?I?m On One?, and Wale?s ?Ambition.? With the albums second single, T-Minus applies a cracking snare and quick hi-hat matched with a spacey synth on ?Swimming Pools (Drank).?
Now I done grew up
Round some people living their life in bottlesGranddaddy had the golden flask
Back stroke every day in ChicagoSome people like the way it feels
Some people wanna kill their sorrows
Some people wanna fit in with the popular
That was my problem
A lot of rappers today attempt to glorify the act of consuming drugs (*cough*Juicy J*cough*); Kendrick is the complete opposite. In these verses, he is referring to the memories he has of a family dependent on alcohol, and how he was brought up in this environment. As a child, he was lead to believe that drinking was normal, that it was the way to get women and become cool, when in truth, this only creates a distorted view of reality. Lamar says that at the end of the day, he came to a decision, ?[he] can either become a drunk or a casual drinker.? This image of innocence became the inspiration behind his album cover, which features a young, wide-eyed Kendrick sitting on the leg of a family member next to a table with both a baby bottle on the far end, and a 40oz bottle on the closer end.
Do you remember when Kendrick released the albums first single back in April with Dr. Dre called ?The Recipe???Originally, I, like thousands of other people, believed it was going to be part of Dr. Dre?s imaginary upcoming third studio album Detox. Well, it appears that it has officially made the cut, not for Dr. Dre, but for good kid, m.A.A.d city. I?m hyped to see where this track will fit into the album.
Another released single, ?Art of Peer Pressure?, discusses a typical night with the homies. ?Bumping Jeezy first album looking distracted/Speaking language only we know, you think is an accent/The windows roll down all I see is a hand pass it/Hotboxing like George Foreman grilling the masses/Of the working world, we pulled up on a bunch of working girls/And asked them what they working with ? look at me/I got the blunt in my mouth.? Here, he talks about how an evening with his friends can easily turn him into a different man, one caught up with women, drugs, and other obstreperous acts (an activity which is easily relatable).
Other recently released singles that could easily have made the album, include ?Cartoon & Cereal??featuring Gunplay,?and ?Westside, Right On Time??featuring Young Jeezy. Not to mention a track with Lady Gaga (yes Lady Gaga), called ?PARTYNAUSEOUS,? which Kendrick decided not to put on the album because it didn?t quite mesh with the artistic concept.
Just a few days ago Kendrick released the tracklist for good kid, m.A.A.d city, which is availible for pre-order now. Unwilling to let up any momentum going into the album?s release, Kendrick also just dropped off yet another awe-inspiring track. The big homie, and fellow Metrojolt writer, Osamagbe offers his thoughts:
It?s really nice to see an emcee of Kendrick Lamar?s caliber transition from being an underground no name a few years ago, to an up and coming (somewhat) mainstream artist today. Since his March signing to Dr. Dre?s Aftermath label, Kendrick has dropped a series of radio-friendly singles for his October 22nd debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, while still retaining his underground appeal and conscious integrity. Keeping this quality in mind, Kendrick is back with his latest single, the Just Blaze-produced, certified BANGER, ?Compton?. With a dramatically powerful horn-loop that is reminiscent of Just Blaze?s phenomenal production on Jay Electronica?s Exihibit C, Kendrick wastes little time bearing his teeth and commencing a fluid verbal attack all over this beat:
Now everybody serenade the new fate of Kendrick Lamar,
This is King Kendrick Lamar,
King Kendrick and I meant it
My point intended is raw,
Fix your lenses forensics woulda told you Kendrick got killed pretend its a massacre
Overall this song hits several high notes for me. It?s simply great production and great lyrics from two talented artists. My only complaint is the obvious ghostwriting that Kendrick does for Dr. Dre who features on the song. Now Dr. Dre?s been getting verses ghostwritten for him since forever, but on this song it gets to be a bit annoying to hear two artists use literally the exact same flow right after each other when you know only one of them actually deserves credit. I think if Kendrick had kept Dre off the feature and just spit those verses he wrote for Dre himself, this would easily be a five star song. Not to take anything away from it though, it is definitely worth a few listens plus the beat fucking bangs.
I am putting up a link to buy this on iTunes. If you like the song, you definitely need to be commercially supporting artists like Kendrick Lamar, so that the music industry starts backing artists with some actual talent.
?It?s not just music to me,? Kendrick says. ?This is a story about the youth and the people that they called delinquents in my city.?
Keep your eyes peeled for Kendrick Lamar?s good kid, m.A.A.d city dropping on October 22. It?s sure to be a classic.
- Larry Mac and Osamagbe
Source: http://metrojolt.com/kendrick-lamar-good-kid-m-a-a-d-city-album-preview
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