Kendrick Lamar's New Album

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  • #45223
    Avatar photo897934-884
    Participant

    I was never really into California hip-hop after Snoop Dogg.   Then again, I’m not really a listener of the genre.   I just have to say,  Kendrick Lamar’s previous album [M.A.D.D. City] and his new album, To Pimp a Butterfly, are top notch.

    Both are available entirely for listening on Baidu music.

    #45225
    Avatar photoWoodWERD
    Participant

    Been meaning to check out TPAB, thanks for the head’s up re: Baidu!

    #45226
    Avatar photoRick in China
    Participant

    I’ve both – when I went thru TPAB I kinda skipped a bunch of songs, but I am a fan. He’s got some killers songs with really smart lyrics, storyteller for sure…reminds me a bit of some of the earlier NAS stuff except typically far different subject matters. I don’t even remember the song names I like best, but I know their track #.. lots of the other stuff is like pac without as nice of a voice. 😛

    #45234
    Avatar photo897934-884
    Participant

    Sounds like you’re much more initiated with the rap world than myself.  Though when you mentioned 2Pac I did hear some resemblance.  I’ve never heard NAS, maybe I should start listening.

    There’s a bar at JiuYanQiao that has some kind of open mic for rap, etc.  I stumbled into it once.  Some pretty interesting guys on stage.   Seems that the chinese languages naturally lend themselves to rap/spoken word.  Chinese pop, on the other hand, nearly unbearable!

    #45240
    Avatar photoRick in China
    Participant

    @goatboy

    Theres probably some nas greatest hits compilations, but sometimes his lyrics are *strikingly* intelligent, complex, and deep.. some of the KL lyrics made me feel exactly the same way when I heard it first..

    #45260
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    Amazing album for sure, a breakthrough for the genre of hip hop because it has so much crossover appeal and artistic legitimacy. Sonically, it doesn’t sound like your average hip hop album. It’s cool to see Kendrick Lamar fulfill the expectations put upon him after being groomed by Dr Dre and grow to make as much of an influence as everyone knew that he could be. This album has broken Spotify streaming records and been called fearless, unapologetic, and perfect.

    I’m really glad it’s Kendrick Lamar, who has something to say, and not a party rapper like 50 Cent. With that said, I’m looking forward more to Action Bronson’s Mr Wonderful (which comes out today) even though I know it has no chance to make as much of an impact as TPAB.

    #45272
    Avatar photoMaz
    Participant

    I listened to the Pimp A Butterfly album earlier tonight while doing my ironing from start to finish, and I’m sorry guys, I have to say this is a whole lot of hype. I was intrigued to know what KL had to say since his new album is at the number one spot in the UK. In my opinion the lyrics are ordinary at best. The style/theme, call it what you want, it seems like a literal cut-and-paste job of Eminem, Snoop, Dre and with 2pac phrases dropped in every now and then. I wouldn’t call this inspiration, it’s laziness.

    Everyone’s gotta eat I guess, and good luck to the man. If Pimp A Butterfly doesn’t leave a long lasting impact on music history, at least it will go down as a great album for getting your housework done 😀

    #45273
    Avatar photopikachu
    Participant

    I too think its a bit lousy, overhyped and generic

    its certainly no madvilliany or money store

    #45280
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    I listened to the Pimp A Butterfly album earlier tonight while doing my ironing from start to finish, and I’m sorry guys, I have to say this is a whole lot of hype. I was intrigued to know what KL had to say since his new album is at the number one spot in the UK. In my opinion the lyrics are ordinary at best. The style/theme, call it what you want, it seems like a literal cut-and-paste job of Eminem, Snoop, Dre and with 2pac phrases dropped in every now and then. I wouldn’t call this inspiration, it’s laziness. Everyone’s gotta eat I guess, and good luck to the man. If Pimp A Butterfly doesn’t leave a long lasting impact on music history, at least it will go down as a great album for getting your housework done

    Oh no you di’int!

    I’m not a gigantic fan of Kendrick Lamar as I said but it’s easy to see why everyone is saying this is such a lyrical achievement when a record-breaking hip hop album has lyrics like:

    Critics want to mention that they miss when hip hop was rappin’
    Motherfucker, if you did, then Killer Mike’d be platinum

    I can dig rapping, but a rapper with a ghost writer? What the fuck happened? Oh no, I swore I wouldn’t tell! But most of ya’ll share bars, like you got the bottom bunk in a two man cell

    Ain’t nothin’ but a flow of new DemoCrips and ReBloodlicans
    Red state versus a blue state, which one you governing?

    Did you know that the title of the album is a literary reference to To Kill a Mockingbird? A book about a black man (Tom Robinson) being unfairly prosecuted for rape. KL’s album is about the moral haphazard of categorizing black men as gangsters and hustlers. I think this album is anything but generic. It’s a 97 on Metacritic, the highest ever recorded for a rap album on that website. The next highest is Stankonia, an undisputed classic, which is 15 years old.

    #45282
    Avatar photoRick in China
    Participant

    @Charlie

    If you don’t pay attention to the lyrics, though, I think a lot of the ‘music’ portion of TBAP isn’t exactly the..I don’t know, lots of the songs ‘sound’ shit, if you completely neglect the words/story itself. I’ve always been mostly interested in the lyrics and stories, though, which is why I love some of his stuff.

    BTW one of the most vivid/striking songs I found on TBAP was “How much a dollar cost”..

    #45283
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    If you don’t pay attention to the lyrics, though, I think a lot of the ‘music’ portion of TBAP isn’t exactly the..I don’t know, lots of the songs ‘sound’ shit, if you completely neglect the words/story itself.

    It has an unprocessed live band sound, like D’Angelo’s recent album Black Messiah. They’re not club bangers, for sure. I think it sounds good.

    #45285
    Avatar photosquirrel suit
    Participant

    I don’t listen to a ton of rap, and when I do, it’s mostly Southern or older stuff. I had never heard of Kendrick Lamar before this thread, but his comparison to Outkast got me interested so I looked him up on Spotify.

    I can appreciate some of the lyrics and he seems really intelligent, but his delivery was hard for me to follow and there was too much going on for me soundwise. I love the idea of getting George Clinton on a track but the mix felt way too choppy for me, but again, I’m not much of a rap fan, so take that all with a grain of few grains of salt.

    Not rap, but the newest releases I’m digging these days are Houndmouth’s “Little Neon Limelight” and Diamond Rugs’ “Cosmetics”

    #45286
    Avatar photoMaz
    Participant

    I did listen closely, and checked the lyrics sheet whenever I heard something that sounded familiar, like what you brought forward Charlie about DemoCRIPS and ReBLOODlicans: No More Gangs in Government which is the title of a book written by former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura whom I respect. Still, there is no execution.. Where is KL going with that reference.. What’s the punchline?

    I was aware of the album’s title and its reference to the Mockingbird book, but come on, it’s a nonsense album name and doesn’t do much favour in extinguishing stereotypes about black America, if Kendrick is really about that. Could’ve called it anything else positive..

    Maybe I hold my bar too high. If you want to be political and insightful in your lyrics, you better understand and believe in what you are saying so you deliver it convincingly. Examples of such lyricists include Immortal Technique, Lupe Fiasco, Lowkey and one person who has been brought to my attention recently by Johnny5, and that is Childish Gambino! Also, I created a fictional rapper who is part of one of my stories about the entertainment industry based on Lupe Fiasco’s lyrics and persona and Tupac’s final year. His lyrics pack more punch than KL! A young man under personal pressure to succeed, who knows so much, but understands he may only have a short time to do it.

    #45290
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    The emphasis you guys place on lyrics is interesting. Just this afternoon I was listening to one of my favorite bands, Anti Flag. Big fan of these guys, even tho I cringe at the awfulness of many of their lyrics. Similarly a band like Agnostic Front. I find their lyrics (and by extension their politics) to be repugnant and loathsome, but I still enjoy the power of their music…

    #45292
    Avatar photoRick in China
    Participant

    The emphasis you guys place on lyrics is interesting.

    That’s partially what I was referencing before.. some people pay close attention to lyrics to find wonder in music, a message of sorts, but sometimes music itself regardless of the ridiculous lyrics is powerful in of itself, or music with no lyrics whatsoever even — nobody can listen to Ride of the Valkyries and not feel a building building building BOOM sense of power. In the best rap I’ve always felt lyrics was a huge part of my favorite songs..the message. There were also a lot of good songs that just felt really good, but the *best*, were those with amazing lyrics to accompany. Some of the TPAB music, to me, is tragic..like, I get jolted at the feeling of oddly pieced beats smashed together and lots of sudden changes in a way that just doesn’t physically feel right, but lots of the lyrics are great (altho I like some of the previous KL lyrics a lot, also, even some of his albums like j. kole’s song lyrics are great). I guess some people feel the music differently and enjoy the weirdness/randomness/unproducedness or whatever you wanna label it, but unlike dubstep, the immediate changes in some of TPAB songs just don’t feel good to me.

    #45295
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    I did listen closely, and checked the lyrics sheet whenever I heard something that sounded familiar, like what you brought forward Charlie about DemoCRIPS and ReBLOODlicans: No More Gangs in Government which is the title of a book written by former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura whom I respect. Still, there is no execution.. Where is KL going with that reference.. What’s the punchline? I was aware of the album’s title and its reference to the Mockingbird book, but come on, it’s a nonsense album name and doesn’t do much favour in extinguishing stereotypes about black America, if Kendrick is really about that. Could’ve called it anything else positive.. Maybe I hold my bar too high.

    I’m a fan of Jesse Ventura also (I listen to his podcast, although he goes off the deep end sometimes) but that line is an analogy to describe how American politics are primarily concerned with defeating rivals and not improving conditions. As someone who’s been listening to rap for 25 years and DJ’ing it for 15 years, here’s my metric for good lyrics in hip hop: you can read them without music and not lose interest three lines in. If you want to see what meaningless lyrics look like, here you go. From a new Snoop song, since you mentioned above that Kendrick Lamar is guilty of copying and pasting lyrics from Snoop & Dre:

    She’s ’bout to go in
    She likes that low end
    Damn, her ass is so big
    Just keep it bumpin’
    Peaches and cream

    Snoop is not a particular eloquent lyricist in my opinion, neither is Dre. That doesn’t mean their music is bad (actually, it’s great), it’s just not lyrically profound.

    Examples of such lyricists include Immortal Technique, Lupe Fiasco, Lowkey and one person who has been brought to my attention recently by Johnny5, and that is Childish Gambino!

    Immortal Technique, though a very skilled writer, does not have a legendary album, let alone a timeless one. He is perhaps the angriest rapper in the game. Revolution Vol. 2 is his best album and Dance With the Devil is his best song. And it is an amazing song (the Youtube video is below), but he has nothing on the album level that is really remarkable imo.

    No disrespect to Immortal Technique, a lot of great rappers don’t have a legendary album. By legendary album, I’m talking one that influenced the art form like The Chronic, Midnight Marauders, The Score, The Blueprint, Life After Death, etc. By the way, Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 album Good Kid MAAD City is probably also in there when you talk about most influential hip hop albums of the last 5 years.

    The emphasis you guys place on lyrics is interesting. Just this afternoon I was listening to one of my favorite bands, Anti Flag. Big fan of these guys, even tho I cringe at the awfulness of many of their lyrics. Similarly a band like Agnostic Front. I find their lyrics (and by extension their politics) to be repugnant and loathsome, but I still enjoy the power of their music…

    This lyricist is the centerpiece of hip hop, it’s different from rock music in that way. Jay-Z’s band is comprised of amazing, world-class musicians but no knows who they are because Jay-Z overshadows all of them since he is the guy speaking and they are not. There aren’t really bands in hip hop, there are rappers with bands behind them.

    When I was a teenager I listened to grunge. Good luck understanding anything that Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, or Alice in Chains are talking about. Most of the time it’s unintelligible nonsense, but no one cares because it sounds good. That’s rock music, as a generalization.

    Some of the TPAB music, to me, is tragic..like, I get jolted at the feeling of oddly pieced beats smashed together and lots of sudden changes in a way that just doesn’t physically feel right, but lots of the lyrics are great (altho I like some of the previous KL lyrics a lot, also, even some of his albums like j. kole’s song lyrics are great).

    This is true. KL deals with heavy subject matter. So does Immortal Technique, so do Jedi Mind Tricks, so does Eminem and Dead Prez. Action Bronson just released a new album two days ago which is completely off the wall and silly. It’s fun, ridiculous NYC rap. Every rapper has their own style. Here’s a single from Action’s new album called Actin’ Crazy:

    #45304
    Avatar photoMaz
    Participant

    Fair points Charlie.

    I disconnected from rap back when I was in college 10 years ago. Around that time The Game was fresh on the scene. He ressurected the West Coast for about a year, then silly beefs and arguments with G-unit and Fiddy killed it all for me haha..

    By the way, I was scanning through the story of mine I told you about, and the record producer for my rapper is named Charlie 😀 I think I based that on you, because I completed that story last August before coming to ChengCity.

    We shall see if any one will remember To Pimp A Butterfly in 5 or 10 years as they do All Eyez On Me, Ready To Die and 2001 etc..

    #45308
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    Fair points Charlie. I disconnected from rap back when I was in college 10 years ago. Around that time The Game was fresh on the scene.

    That was a good time to disconnect. That was when 50 Cent and G-Unit was the most popular thing in hip hop. It was a horrible chapter for hip hop. That was around the time that Nas released “Hip Hop is Dead” which led to a serious debate about whether or not hip hop was creatively bankrupt.

    #45315
    Avatar photoJohnny5
    Participant

    I made it through the first 4 tracks of TPAB and I wasn’t all that impressed. Stylistically it felt a bit tired, perhaps KL was rushed in the studio to get something out in time. I didn’t feel like the album was telling any kind of story but I will revisit it. I am more of a fan of Childish Gambino’s stuff, I feel like its smarter more biting than anyone else right now and his free style blew me away.

    I will listen to the KL album again

    #45346
    Avatar photoRick in China
    Participant

    This is true. KL deals with heavy subject matter.

    I meant the music not the lyrics 😀 I like most all the lyrics.

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