by stillmatic » Jul 4th, '11, 11:47
So I'm up a few hours early today, went for a run and now back and got a few free hours before work to listen to this album, made some time for it. To put things in perspective of how much I'm feeling for this, I still haven't heard BME and Tech's new album, both of which are still in my drawer. Copped this from Itunes, I think Kendrick deserves it.
1. Fuck your ethnicity - Loving the soulful production. From the outset I'm expecting a very lyrical and artistic album. Wisdom throughout. Dope start. 4/5
2. Hol' Up - Kendrick's fucking dope. I love how he aligns his voice with the horns used in the beat, that's creative as fuck. This is opera music. Hol' up, little homie is popping. 4.5/5
3. A.D.H.D- Oh man, I'm in awe right now. Fucking walking around the house, smoking a cigar and just rocking with every word. This is Wiz Khalifa, with a dope beat and great lyrics. It's easy to get lost in the sounds, but his lyrics are enchanting. 4/5
4. No Make-Up (Her Vice) - Honestly, get THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. First 30 seconds of this, and I'm worried of how it's gonna turn out, fast forward 4 minutes and I'm feelin like a 16 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. This nigga is fucking hyp-no-ti-zing! What a message! Little homie is FROM COMPTON! No gun talk, no gangbanga shit, this is Kendrick motherfucking Lamar. Black girls lost, listen to this. 5/5
5. Tammy's Song (Her Evils) - Cool song, won't listen to it a lot. Not a hiccup, just not that good of a song. In all honesty, I needed for him to drop it a bit, I was going crazy, time to get breath back. Probably feel this more later. 3/5
6. Chapter 6 - Oh man, I'm vibing to this. This is like Devin the Dude at his best, where you're cruising, and bang, it hits you because the message is so strong, so strong it makes your heart beat. This is more than an album. I'm happy I made it past 21. 4.5/5
7. Ronald Reagan Era - - Man, fuck this nigga. Again, little homie tricks me with the first 30 seconds. Let me say first, I've heard this story from rappers a million times, so this is nothing new, so it has to be different for me to feel this. Oh and I feels it, most def. Product of the 80's music, fuck Ronald Reagan. Lyrical onslaught. 4.5/5
8. Poe Mans Dans - - I've only been to that part of LA once, and it's everything you expect it to be. If I was in LA right now, I'd ride to this in Crenshaw on a Friday night, it's that type of music. GLC with a good feature. If this album dies down in the second half, I'm gonna lose it because this better not be a tease. 4/5
9. The Spiteful Chant - Banga, banga, banga. This nigga was born in New York in another lifetime, I'm fucking sure of it. From the start he's reminded me of another big artist, and I'll say it in the end who it is, this dude is him, not a doubt in my mind. Hard hitting. God damn, I need to hit a bag right now. 4/5
10. Chapter 10 - Pretty much an interlude. 80's video game music. Haha. N/A
11. Keisha's Song (Her Song) - Man, I can't handle this shit. The last time I was this out of it was when I first heard 'Patience' off Distant Relatives. This is more than a song man, this is a movement, everyone who understands this and has been through this shit will feel this hit them so hard, and everyone who has a heart and understanding of the struggles people pace will hit them. This is my favorite song. Somewhere Brenda is listening to this with her baby. RIP Tupac Shakur.
5/5
12. Rigamortis - - Another lyrical onslaught and another unique track. He's changing it up on every fucking track, there's no duplicates here. 3.5/5
13. Kush & Corinthians - More conscious raps from a Compton rapper? HA, how we've grown. More jazz and more soul, and more unique delivery. And more creativity. And more dopeness. More Kendrick, to be honest. Again, more of that rapper that he reminds me of here again. 4/5
14. Blow My High - This nigga is playing. Is he paying tribute to Queen Aaliyah? Are you fucking serious. I've loved Aaliyah for as long as I can remember. Someone send this to Missy and Timbo, they'll love it. What a sample. RIP Aaliyah 4/5
15. Ab-Soul's Outro - Again, these fucking horns are crazy. Hip hop is not goin in a good direction, huh, Kendrick? Homie you just straightened it up. This is hip hop, this is jazz. This is music man. 4.5/5
16. HiiPower - I got 3 fingers in the air. At this point, I know every word to this song, and I'm waking all the people on my floor. I don't give a fuck, cause there's visions of Martin Luther staring at me. 5 star dishes, food for thought bitches, I mean this shit is....HUEY NEWTON going stupid. RIP to the black kings mentioned on this. I'm loving this. 5/5
Conclusion - I'm almost speechless. Kendrick Lamar is a superstar, he is a future legend. I haven't been this impressed with a new artist for almost a decade, probably since Kanye West. As I was saying, Kendrick reminds me of a certain rapper, that rapper is Kanye West. Kendrick is Kanye. It's frightening. You know what, he's just a little better too because when it comes to him picking up his pen, he's fucking great too.
HiiPoWeR” stands for heart, honor, and respect and this album has all of it. Kendrick is going to be huge. This is my favorite album of the year. Nothing will beat it. I'm certain of it. If this was the Source, I'd give it 4.5 mics. This is an album for the times. Forget just a star, a superstar is born. Thank you, homie.
The New York Times - "Lloyd Banks may have stealthily become the most important rapper in New York".