A year ago, he was a respected west coast player. Today, he’s hip-hop’s most wanted emcee, with his breakthrough record still reverberating through popular music and zero haters in sight.
n L.A. screenwriter couldn’t have scripted it better: young emcee emerges from humble beginnings, eschews possible life of crime and skyrockets to fame and fortune, carrying the expectations of an entire coast on his back. A true Hollywood story, so to speak.
Except that the Kendrick Lamar story wasn’t made in Hollywood – it was made in Compton.
And as Lamar alludes to in Backseat Freestyle, the third single on his major-label debut, it all started with a dream.
His good kid, m.A.A.d city was named the number-one album of 2012 by Complex and New York magazines, BBC and Pitchfork. It was on virtually everyone’s top 10 list. It’s being called the best record of its kind since Nas’s seminal 1994 debut.
“If they call it the Illmatic of the West Coast, I’ll take that,” says Lamar. “But in my mind, I’m just tryna make a storyline that actually represents the West Coast as far as the lifestyle we live and my generation.”
The hype hinges largely on his impeccable rapping and storytelling skills. But the utterly unique Kendrick Lamar sound is equally worthy.
The album put California back on the rap map, yet only one song, Dr. Dre-featured lead single The Recipe, sounds much like the 90s Cali-rap glory days. There are no juicy piano hooks that suck in the casual listener or make it particularly suited to radio. You can never get comfortable with m.A.A.d city’s sound – there’s something like a pea beneath a mattress that has you alert and agitated at all times.
There are moody synths, quiet hi-hats and chilled-out piano-drum combos. No trap bangers, no dub mashups. Swimming Pools is the closest thing the album has to a party anthem, but the lyrics spilling around the “Pour up, drank / head shot, drank” chorus are actually quite sobering.
The cinematic concept album documents a day in the Compton life of a 10th-grade Kendrick, and co-stars a crew of endearing troublemakers, a would-be religious saviour and a dubious love interest named Sherane.
The record is framed around messages left in Kendrick’s voicemail box. At first they’re funny: Kenny’s mom and dad want their van and dominoes back respectively. By the end, they’re thoughtful and sad, as Kendrick’s day takes a grave if not unexpected turn.
“That was my vision, for sure – something I had on my mind for a while,” he says of the concept.
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