Review Summary: Kendrick's major weaknesses are hidden by flashy flows and brilliant production.
In the year 2012 Hip Hop was in a state of emergency. Rapper Kendrick Lamar, formerly "K-Dot", and former member of Alvin and the Chipmunks, brought interest to a dying genre by releasing what is known as the unanimous hip hop album of the year in 2012 with the release of
Good Kid, b.A.A.d CD, an album that received both high commercial and critical acclaim by pretentious critics looking to gain "street cred". Fans absurdly praised Kendrick's nasally voice, his verbose lyricism and, most of all, Kendrick's minor contributions to the production.
This album tells a story where a lot of things happen, but nothing
really happens. Individual songs like "Sing About Me/ Dying of Thirst" are excellent by themselves, but nothing ties the songs together on this album except a number of clumsy skits. The album is supposed to be a somewhat-realistic depiction of Kendrick's life growing up, but in reality half of this album is spent reinforcing stereotypes about black people, and the second half is a gross romanticizing of black victimhood. Kendrick brags, then he ironically laments about things directly caused by stuff he was just bragging about, and then he tries to subtly imply religion is the answer. Faux emotion is injected into the album with clumsy allusions to religion. Then just to make sure you got the only message/theme in the entire album, an incredibly longwinded skit featuring an old woman praying is thrown into the album.
Kendrick Lamar excels in many ways. He is able to select beats that fit his rapping perfectly and deliver a variety of flashy flows. The production and features on this album sound so smooth that the lyrics become an afterthought. Kendrick is a great storyteller as well. The problem is that this album's story has the plot of a cheap action flick. It may be an outstanding action movie like Mission Impossible, but it's not a drama. The album does not explore the depth of emotions. When it is not frivolous, the album has one emotion: fear. It describes Compton as a very scary place. This black and white description of a complex situation does a disservice to the very cause Kendrick seems to be so concerned in solving. The moral message of this album becomes contradictory and confusing. He describes Compton as a type of hell, then he goes out with an upbeat outro about how 'ain't no city quite like good ol' Compton'. He implies religion is the answer while bragging about blatantly non-religious behavior. He makes a song with an anti-drinking message that is routinely played by binge drinkers in bars and clubs. What Kendrick is is a hipster. On this album he is simply reusing old themes clumsily, polishing up frivolous aspects of his craft and proclaiming wildly contradictory but trendy messages. His negatives go unnoticed by many, but his positives are heralded as the greatest thing since sliced bread by an ever-evolving media that rewards hyperbole. We were once told this album isn't truly contradictory, because the beginning of this album was meant to represent Kendrick growing up. Kendrick was painted as some sort of genius exploring the emotions of adolescent disillusion. Yet, after subsequent releases and feature tracks it is now quite clear his music has not matured passed the level of the beginning half of this album.
This album is overrated. The Best Movie of the Year Award shouldn't go to a lowbrow action flick, and the Best Album of the Year Award shouldn't go to the musical equivalent of an action flick. Kendrick is a promising young talent like Kyrie Irving, he is not a legend like Michael Jordan, and he has not yet established himself as a hall of famer. There have been a number of rappers who have released 1-2 so-called "classic" albums, only to disappear into obscurity in hip hop history. I said at the time when this album came out that Kendrick was limited topically. He is beating a dead horse with his story of black victimhood at a time when racism and victimhood have become commodities that sell out shelves. He has not really explored any deeper topics or other issues, he has simply continued to harp on the most banal messages in all of hip hop. These message need to be heard, for sure, but critics are generally giving Kendrick Lamar too much credit for doing what has already been done many times. Classic albums should succeed in every aspect and be relatively original. Despite raising the bar for 2012 rappers, this album is severely lacking in originality, emotion and lyricism. Kendrick is ultimately just another Hollywood star making a minor effort at fixing society by "bringing awareness" with demagogic lip service typical of award ceremonies. His next album will surely deal with gun control, climate change and (drumroll) more racism. I wouldn't be surprised if George Clooney was featured on a track or two. Kendrick is not the reincarnation of 2pac or anything remotely resembling 2pac. Get off my lawn.
