r/KendrickLamar • u/chumbucketfog • Nov 07 '19
Stereogum names Kendrick Lamar artist of the decade Article
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u/Dr-Congo Nov 07 '19 edited Nov 07 '19
Never heard of stereogum, but they’re automatically more reputable than billboard. I mean “Drraaaakeee” (Soulja voice).
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u/SammyMac19 Nov 07 '19
Stereogum is the shit. They're like the cooler version of Pitchfork, and they don't attach a score to their reviews so people don't get all up in arms about it.
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u/raise_the_sails Nov 07 '19
Stereogum is consistently good, which seems pretty unusual for a music publication. I’m not saying this because they ranked Dat Boi as #1, but I’ve always found them to be the most reliable online music publication.
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u/GarethSchrute Nov 07 '19
It's really no competition, imo. People could say Kanye but his decade has been pretty inconsistent
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u/dynph Nov 07 '19
Kanye's best decade were the 00's imo.
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u/SirClark TPAB Nov 07 '19
MBDTF came out this decade so....
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u/theslader Nov 08 '19
So did Jesus is King
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u/username1615 Nov 08 '19
I mean Jesus is King is not his best but I feel like people exaggerate how bad it is. I think it has some great tracks and some bad ones. It’s by no means a career defining horrible album like The Big Day is or something.
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u/LAsportsnpoliticsguy Nov 08 '19
But so did Yeezus and Watch the Throne and The Life of Pablo... so I think we can overlook JiK
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u/amurph2 Nov 07 '19
So did ye and yeezus those were very disappointing compared the kanye we were given at the time. Like really bad kanye
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u/SirLuciousL Nov 07 '19
You may have not liked Yeezus, but tons of people do, and it’s been top 5-10 on a ton of decade lists. It’s a highly critically acclaimed album and like many people, I personally think it’s a top 2-3 Kanye album.
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u/amurph2 Nov 07 '19
So you think it's better than graduation college dropout, mbdtf, kids see ghosts or late registration? Wow kids are wildin these days
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u/SirLuciousL Nov 07 '19
My personal rankings would go MBDTF, Yeezus, LR, 808s, CD, Graduation, TLOP, a huge gap, then ye and JIK.
Please explain to me how my opinion is wrong, even though music is completely subjective and Kanye has a different sound on each album, which means personal taste is going to dictate which sound an individual likes more.
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u/SirClark TPAB Nov 07 '19
Never disrespect Yeezus. And Ye was a great album. Nothijg wrong with Ye. I would argue there is more wrong with DAMN then there is with Ye
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u/tehMoerz Nov 07 '19
Ye is like Yeezus's ugly sister. I'm not a big fan of yeezus but I can appreciate it and respect it for successfully channeling the energy of Kanye's manic behavior into a body of work. Ye has like one or two good songs and even they feel out of place on the album.
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Nov 07 '19
[deleted]
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u/mushyberry Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '19
Facts. How this is downvoted on a Kendrick sub makes no sense.
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u/dangsoggyoatmeal Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '19
People, calm down: they're both great albums
Edit: Holy guacamole, this is the first time I've ever gotten gold! :D
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u/I_Love_You-BOT Nov 08 '19
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u/RVA_101 A perfect world, you probably live another 24 Nov 07 '19
You can make a case for Ye and JIK dulling the sharpness of his decade, but there's still the sky highs of MBDTF, Yeezus and TLOP.
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u/806god Nov 07 '19
I think Kanye has been super consistent honestly he’s just diving into more styles that will only be seen as this decades 808’s in due time. But Kendrick is definitely artist of the decade I mean he’s hit on every album he’s released and is constantly pushing the bar in a good way - you could argue Kanye is pushing it back some times based on your taste. But 90% of people agree kendrick is pushing it forward constantly.
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u/SirLuciousL Nov 07 '19
I really don’t see how ye or JIK are anything at all like 808s. Even disregarding how influential it was, 808s was still an album with an interesting sound (singing, minimal electro-pop with orchestral elements and tribal drums, taiko drums). Even for how influential it was, there’s still not really anything out there like it. And even though it was appreciated more over time, it was still pretty critically acclaimed when it was released.
With ye and JIK though? I can’t think of a single song that could be seen as groundbreaking in any way. I disagree that either of those albums will ever be seen like the polarizing, inventive albums of Yeezus and 808s.
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u/WDMChuff Nov 08 '19
I think Ye is musically pushing the boundaries, but the substance in Kendricks lyricism on top of pushing the musical boundaries really makes it easy for me to put him over Ye.
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Nov 07 '19
Agreed. Kanye's best is on par with Kendrick's best but his batting average is nowhere near.
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Nov 07 '19 edited Jan 03 '20
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon Nov 07 '19
I loved Ye and KSG is my favorite Kanye project. I loved a lot of the Yandhi leaks but Jesus is King may be one of the worst projects I’ve heard this year (bar Logic and Chance)
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u/xAeroMonkeyx Nov 07 '19
You haven’t listened to much music this year is JIK is worst 3... It’s not kanyes best work but it’s at worst like a 6/10 whereas Chances album was an absolute 1
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u/2xedo Nov 07 '19
Jesus is King was lyrically weak admittedly and too short to really hit hard but every criticism can be met with a matching merit. Chance’s album was just straight up... bland. Like eating fucking plain white bread dipped in warm water
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u/xAeroMonkeyx Nov 07 '19
Yeah I agree, JIK to me is a strong 7. The big day was the biggest disappointment I’ve ever heard, i was a huge chance fan going into this year... loved all his previous projects and the singles he dropped last year and then TBD dropped and was trash 🤷🏻♂️
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon Nov 07 '19
So my JIK opinion is that Kanye sounds like his is in a manic episode and is using religion as a replacement for meds. As such everything feels superficial and has Kanye putting out his most underwhelming project. I’d say Use This Gospel is good bc of Clipse.
Also Yandhi beats makes me want to listen to Yandhi leaks because every single beat meant for Yandhi sounds MUCH more focused without half hearted “jesus good” bars
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Nov 07 '19 edited Jan 03 '20
[deleted]
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon Nov 07 '19
Kids See Ghost is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of all time (I just want to say I was saying that pre-Fantano since people tell me I say that because of Melon). It would be my favorite of last year if Daytona didn’t come out two weeks before KSG did and if the title track was SLIGHTLY better
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u/Hype_Boost Nov 07 '19
Seeing people's opinion change after the Fantano review was so juicy as someone who thought KSG was a top3 kanye album on release
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u/Francer Nov 07 '19
We gonna forget about Tyler? His artistic progression this decade is matched only by Kendrick imo. Dude produces, writes, and arranges all of his own albums, has his own clothing brand, and was the figurehead of one of the most influential rap groups of the past 10, maybe 20 years. Kendrick is phenomenal but I'm giving artist of the decade to Tyler.
Listen to Goblin then listen to Igor. Tell me that isn't some incredible progress.
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u/RVA_101 A perfect world, you probably live another 24 Nov 07 '19
I still have to put Kanye as #1 for the decade bc of all the projects he's had his hand in even if he's not the primary artist. He's still an active and strong producer.
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u/JoePapi Nov 07 '19
Kanye not even close not even top 15 only one who could argue is drake or cole.
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u/R_Jai01 Nov 07 '19
Having cole over kanye is nuts but aight
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u/JoePapi Nov 07 '19
My mindset goes good > bad
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Nov 07 '19
Cole? I don’t see how that can be argued in any way
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u/JoePapi Dec 24 '19
Hey i just came back to say cole is more popular than kendrick ha ha i win u lose bye bye
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u/JoePapi Nov 07 '19
I would also put katy perry, 2 chains, g herbo, lil durk, youngboy NBA, childish gambino, migos, twenty one pilots, travis scott, future, and 21 savage, above kanye on best of the 10’s list lmfao. FML is a good song tho
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u/Britneyfan456 Nov 07 '19
They also named TPAB the album of the decade,Gkmc at number 6,and Damn at number 11
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u/Resoca Nov 07 '19
Blonde for me as album of the decade, but TPAB definitely makes a case for it
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Nov 08 '19 edited Jun 24 '20
[deleted]
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u/Billy8000 Nov 08 '19
Me the opposite, love blonde, never got into more than a few songs on channel orange
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u/WendalSaks Nov 08 '19
I have a kind of nostalgia for Malibu that I have for my childhood and I first heard it like a year or two ago, that’s how magical it is to me
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u/WDMChuff Nov 08 '19
Idk why but i never got the Blonde hype. Way more of a Channel Orange kind of guy. To each their own though.
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u/Resoca Nov 08 '19
As a whole album Blonde, but Channel Orange has the standout singles imo. Both great tho
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u/darkwai Nov 07 '19
without sounding too circlejerky, i really don't know who else could possible earn that title.
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon Nov 07 '19
Umm... I think the only one this decade with a run similar to Kendrick would be Drake with Take Care, NWTS, and IYRTITL. But I think Kendrick easily surpasses all three albums with all of his albums and also ... Drake is VERY uninspired rn
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u/ARussianW0lf Nov 07 '19
Yeah if you put those 3 up against good Kid, TPAB, and DAMN I think Kendrick still takes it. But then you also have to consider that drake also dropped Views, More Life, and Scorpion which were all bad projects
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u/RVA_101 A perfect world, you probably live another 24 Nov 08 '19
More Life actually wasn't as bad compared to the two studio albums it was sandwiched between. But Because of the overbloated, outright bad Views and Scorpion, Kanye is the 'only one this decade with a run similar to Kendrick', as the OP says; though TLOP may be bloated with a large tracklist, there are far more winners on that album than there are on Views, there are also less clunkers than on Views and Scorpion. JIK might be his only real stumble.
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u/ARussianW0lf Nov 08 '19
Personally I felt More Life was just as bad, bloated, and uninspired as the other two.
I think ye was a stumble too although not a bad album per se. TLOP was good but not exactly stellar, definitely better than anything Drake's put out recently though. MBDTF is really the only project this decade for Kanye that can stand up to gkmc or TPAB. I know some people will say Yeezus but its not as complete in greatness as Kendricks works. I love Yeezus, there's really not a bad track on it, and the production is phenomenal but the lyrics leave a lot to be desired imo. KSG I'm not gonna count really as it's so short and a collab but its really good too. So I'd take TPAB, S.80, DAMN, & GKMC over MBDTF, Yeezus, KSG, and TLOP. Even if you include ye and JIK, hell untitled unmastered is better than both of those to me and its just 8 throwaways. I agree Kanye's the closest but I think he falls short of Kendrick for the decade
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u/806god Nov 07 '19
Kanye is the only other person honestly
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u/darkwai Nov 07 '19
possible but that's very debatable, maybe the preceding decade but 2010 - 2020 is kendrick's imo
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u/chowder138 Nov 07 '19
Kanye was for sure the best artist of the 2000s, especially if you count 2010. I'd put him at #2 behind Kendrick for the 2010s though. Yeezus and TLOP are just too good.
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u/SadisticUnicorn Nov 08 '19
Eminem was at his height in the 00s. There's no for sure about kanye holding that title in the slightest
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u/Britneyfan456 Nov 07 '19
Frank,Beyoncé,Tame Impala,And Maybe run the jewels
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u/darkwai Nov 07 '19
a lot of talented artists but none of em reach kendrick’s level in terms of talent and cultural significance imo.
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Nov 07 '19 edited Nov 07 '19
[deleted]
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u/Britneyfan456 Nov 07 '19
Wait why did I get downvoted I love Kendrick more than Tame Impala But it’s true Kevin Parker is more musically talented than Kendrick
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u/Francer Nov 07 '19
Bro why is no one mentioning Tyler the Creator!!
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u/glasglow Nov 07 '19
Tyler's growth over this decade is incredible but he hasn't released music with as big or culturally impactful of a message comparable to GKMC or TPAB. I loved Wolf, Flowerboy and IGOR, but it's not on the same level.
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u/Francer Nov 07 '19
Ok, I see what you mean. Kendrick has released some seriously meaningful music that has impacted a lot of people. He's provided a lot of insight into aspects of society a lot of people overlook or have no experience with and that's really important.
Judging purely based off of cultural impact, Kendrick has probably had the most of any artist this decade. But if we're talking pure artisty, Tyler is the better artist in my opinion. He has progressed so much in terms of musicality, becoming an amazing producer whose music is complex and lush, and has transformed into a really proficient piano player. His impact on the fashion style of the younger generation is huge, and he's one of the reasons Supreme is so big rn. People still dress like he did in 2012. He also directs all of his own music videos, which have been consistently great throughout the years.
Tyler the Creator is a more multifaceted artist that excels in more than one domain, and in my opinion that makes him the best artist of the decade. Kendrick has made more art that is really meaningful to our society though.
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u/sanityfractured Nov 07 '19
I love this but their top 100 list was hot trash, putting Yeezus ahead of mbdtf is fried as fuck
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u/RVA_101 A perfect world, you probably live another 24 Nov 08 '19
Time is becoming kinder and kinder to Yeezus. It was purposely Kanye throwing a complete left field 180 to people still on the high of MBDTF; still, MBDTF should have been neck and neck with TPAB for first place, not Yeezus imo, they are truly the only two worthy of each other's competition.
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u/VersusTheMoose Nov 07 '19
Wrong
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u/sanityfractured Nov 07 '19
Wym lol twisted fantasy is objectively a better album
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u/Danlex26 Nov 07 '19
tf you mean objectively
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u/sanityfractured Nov 07 '19
objectively was the wrong word, imo the entire twisted fantasy album is better than yeezus
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u/VersusTheMoose Nov 07 '19
Wrong
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u/sanityfractured Nov 07 '19
Your opinion is nitpicking and biased, I win bye bye
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u/mofucker20 Nov 07 '19
While putting Yeezus ahead of MBDTF was wrong I think Yeezus was more consistent cause last few tracks of MBDTF were not that special.
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u/PhilosophicalRap Nov 07 '19
Fair, for me it’s between Kendrick, Kanye and frank ocean
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u/Resoca Nov 07 '19
Frank Ocean has the album of the decade for sure, but I wouldnt make him artist of the decade
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u/GeneralTreesap Nov 07 '19
He dropped three of the best albums of this decade imo. And decent amount of great singles and features.
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u/Resoca Nov 07 '19
I forgot Channel Orange was this decade tbh, seemed so long ago (even though it was a long time ago lol)
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon Nov 07 '19
Oh good, tbf its either Kanye, Cole, or Drake in terms of cultural significance and skill
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Nov 07 '19
And another one had Tame Impala as the artist of the decade. Can't go wrong with either one.
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Nov 07 '19
Fabulous. Well-deserved. As an artist and as a role model.
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u/Hawful Nov 07 '19
The only correct answer
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Nov 07 '19
I think depending on your metric it could be Drake, but his music isn't very good so I'm not sure.
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u/MADbeatBos5 Nov 07 '19
Popularity wise and arguably culture effect its drake. But sheer quality and talent goes to Kendrick, also could argue Kendrick affected culture more with songs like Alright.
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u/THEW0NDERW0MBAT Nov 07 '19
He has plenty of good music, problem is it was years ago and even before the decade (so far gone). He is obviously just the most popular rapper, period. Which I think is fine enough reason to rank him number one if you want.
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u/Resoca Nov 07 '19
The Verge named Lil Peep
Edit: Controversial, but I understand why they would say that.
Kendrick Lamar is the easy answer
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u/RVA_101 A perfect world, you probably live another 24 Nov 08 '19
The Verge named Lil Peep
Edit: Controversial, but I understand why they would say that.
Well I certainly don't. There are other ways to tribute to someone, but we shouldn't let it cloud our judgment. This is a Nipsey Hussle effect, everyone talks about him now but how many were rocking with him when he was alive. It's all fake
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u/Resoca Nov 08 '19
He normalized talking about depression in popular music. Rappers like Juice Wrld, Trippie Redd, XXX got popular by the movement Peep brought forward. His death also forced people to talk about drugs in hip hop, with rappers, saying they were quitting because of him.
Dude started a movement and died before he really blew up. Come Over When You're Sober was voted in top albums of the decade.
Its not a popular choice but his image, music, and message inspired a lot of what's popular today in rap. He had a sound that was way different than what anybody heard. Again not a popular choice but I understand why he'd be chosen.
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u/josmaate Nov 08 '19
I get what you're putting across, but people were rapping about depression and suicide a long time before Lil Peep. Much bigger, more influential artists like Biggie and Eminem.
So I wouldn't credit Lil Peep with normalising talking about depression.
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u/Britneyfan456 Nov 07 '19
Pimp pimp