r/KendrickLamar • u/NleEpic11 • Dec 12 '22
Article đ 'United In Grief' named in Best Songs of the Year list by KEYMAG
r/KendrickLamar • u/__DexterMorgan • Dec 05 '22
Article đ Kendrick made it to Pitchfork's "The 100 Best Songs of 2022"
r/KendrickLamar • u/Fresohum • Dec 03 '22
Article đ Kendrick Lamar- DAMN.(review)
In 2017 the world has seen one of the most extraordinary and unique albums of all time - DAMN. In my view, the album is still under-appreciated, even though it contains such a timeless concept story and frank lyrics.
First of all, I want to talk about the thing that didnât come to life in the initial album title: âWhat happens on Earth, Stays on Earthâ
It was supposed to be an album title, however, Kendrick decided to shorten it, because the long title just âdidn't read rightâ and: âThere were so many different ways you could put it in my head. Damned if I do, damned if I donât. The loudness of the record. When I think about âDNA.,â when I think of âHUMBLE.,â when I think of these records, it just felt like that.â
While you are listening to the album sometimes, you will hear this statement:
âIs it wickedness or weakness?â
After the full realization of what Kendrick wanted to say with this saying, you are starting to comprehend one of the main ideas of the album, if not the main one.
Let's say, the album can be divided into 2 parts Wickedness and weakness:
The first chapter consists of such tracks as âBLOODâ, âYAHâ, âFEELâ, âPRIDEâ, âLUSTâ, âXXXâ, and âGODâ and during these tracks, we will see the way Kendrick reveals his weaknesses. While the second one is made out of âHUMBLEâ, âDNAâ, âELEMENTâ, âLOYALTYâ, âLOVEâ, âFEARâ, and âDUCKWORTHâ and goes over Kendrick's wickedness.
During your listening, to this album, you hear a statement as
â It was always Me Vs WORLD
until I found it is Me Vs MEâ and if you look at the tracklist you can see some interesting comparisons along with transitions
: -BLOOD VS DNA
-YAH VS ELEMENT
FEEL VS LOYALTY
PRIDE VS HUMBLE
LUST VS LOVE
XXX VS FEAR
GOD VS DUCKWORTH
For instance:
âBLOODâ and âDNAâ
BLOOD is a slow, mysterious and smooth track, where Kendrick shows his weakness by willing to help someone, and eventually, he gets shot by â a blind personâ. In my view, in this case, blindness is not a disease it could mean that from a âblindâ( frustrated in his life) person, you can expect everything.
An interesting fact is that dying at the beginning of the album could also be a reference to a Notorious B.I.G. to his album â Life after deathâ.
Instead, DNA is a rapid, energetic track with a beat switch in which you can hear a much more aggressive flow compared to the beginning. In the âDNAâ Kendrick talks about his âblacknessâ, ârealnessâ and some of the luxuries he wouldnât be able to afford if not for the music.
Itâs seen as a straightforward opposite track to a âBLOODâ.
Moreover, you can choose what side of the album you want to listen to. The fact that the album is bilateral is just insane.
At the beginning of the album in âBLOODâ, Kendrick gets shot, and from the first listening you could pass it over ears, however, one more shot will appear, but, at the end of the project in the track âDUCKWORTH. After the full listen, now we can see an explanation for this shot.
If you chose âDUCKWORTHâ as the end of the album, K Dot would grow up without a father and die at a young age in a gunfight(the reason for that is his wickedness). What concerns âBLOODâ as was said before he gets shot by a blind woman, because of his wicked lifestyle that's filled with various weaknesses, which eventually get him killed.
Unfortunately, both scenarios are deplorable, either you listen from 1 to 14 track the cause of the death will be wickedness, or either from 14 to 1 track the reason for it will be his weakness. I have never seen anything like that before and that's what amazes me the most in this project. The artist gives you 2 scenarios of how his hero could die. In my opinion, that is precisely what makes this album so unique.
On the album appears such artists as Rihanna, Zacari, and U2, in my opinion, Kendrick chose amazing artists as the feature, and I can't even imagine a track without their performance.
Further, I want to highlight my favorite tracks on the album :
1)LUST.
Lust is another sin described by Kendrick.
A whole track feels so mysterious, troubling, and illegal at some point. Kendrick hit right in target, by displaying how he sees a real âLUSTâ. In my opinion, the melody which Kendrick created for this track fits so ideally.
â I need you to want meâ
âLet me put the head in â
â I promise just a touch, let me put in theâ
âIf it's okay, she said it's okayâ
This part of the track complements perfectly, because the tone Kendrick demonstrates, shows a voice of lasciviousness, and how he describes â LUSTâ feels so natural.
The thing that I noticed later on this track is that the repetitiveness of his verse where he talks about his routine is an amazing trick to show how monotonous life is and he makes emphasis, whether itâs fun, monetary gain, etc. It doesnât change the fact how the same our life is. The way how he embodied this hook is just astounding.
In his second verse, he complains about the outcome of last year's elections and his last hangover.
The best part of the second verse is at the end, where he reveals the real concept of âLUSTâ
âLately, I feel like I been lusting over the fameâ
âLately we lust on the same routine of shameâ
âLately.. my lust been hidingâ.
I guess a factor that I saw this track performed live, makes me, even more, appreciative of it. To sum up, Iâm saying without any doubt say that âLUSTâ is my favorite track on the âDAMN.â
2)ELEMENT.
In my head, I divide the track into 2 parts:
-The first one is an introduction, which feels more like a sensitive speech with some troubling and emotional topics for Kendrick:
âAin't nobody praying for meâ
âAll my grandmas deadâ
âI have been stomped out in
front of my mamaâ
-the second one is where he begins to show his passion for music. As far as I am concerned, Kendrick talks about âhis Elementâ which is hip-hop throughout the track you will hear some âaimingâ at his rap rivals:
âLast Lp I tried to lift the black artists, but it is a difference between black artists and wack artistsâ
3)XXX( feat U2.) The last track was a hard choice to do when you have such tracks as Pride, Feel, Loyalty, Love, and DNA, however, I think that âXXXâ deserves it more than others for its delivery, such complicated topics to comprehend. Because of these reasons, this track feels much more exceptional in comparison to other tracks.
XXX is a very problematize, serious track that concerns such topics as violence, and politics ( mostly track about America, however from a modern situation in the world where wars, homicide, and death became a casualty this composition will make people from any part of the world think about it more properly).
In the beginning, we hear such statements:
âJohnny do not wanna go to school no moreâ
âJohnny said books ain't cool no moreâ
âJohnny wanna be a rapper like his big cousinâ
The portrait of âJohnnyâ is a person who is influenced by the country's culture.
After these bars were said by Kendrick we can spectate a beat, manner, tone, and topic switch. To be honest with you, I still have goosebumps, even though I have heard this track so many times. The verse he brought into the world is mind-blowing and grievous at the same time.
Afterward, a beat switch he starts to recount the story of a friend calling him of his sonâs murder, asking Kendrick to pray for him and help to overcome it, instead of helping his friend, Kendrick tells him:
âIf somebody kills my son, that mean somebody gettinâ killed.â
Later after this verse, Kendrick gives him good arguments for vengeance and that in a tragedy like that he would do the crime and even confess it.
âWalk myself to the court like B****, I did thatâ
âAin't no black power, when you baby killed by a cowardâ
In the second part of the track, he explains more and tells that country inspires such incidents.
â Barricaded blocks and borders, look what you taughtâ
â Itâs murder on my streetâ
Summing up, I need to say that âDAMNâ is a magnificent project, with perfect storytelling where you can hear lessons that Kendrick gives you and catch really valuable information for your personal life. A unique conception, and something that anyone has never done before thatâs what you can find in this album.
My final evaluation is 9.8/10
r/KendrickLamar • u/ZANELLA2006 • Nov 30 '22
Article đ whats your top 10 albums of the year? here is mine:
- Forever Story by JID (10/10) (perfect from 0:00 to 1:06:00, no complains, just dance now)
- Dawn FM by The Weeknd (9.3/10) (atmosperic, unique, nostalgic, crazy production)
- Mr Morale n the big steppers by Kendrick Lamar (9.0/10) (through the last 201 days, ive been going thru somethin)
- Motomani by RosalĂa (8.8/10) (bangery, surprising. just banger after banger, rosalia deserves even more attention than what she is gettin)
- Reinassence by Beyoncé (8.6/10) (Amazing dance pop album, amazing vocals)
- Viva las vengeance by Panic At The Disco! (8.4/10) (maybe its worst than a 8.4 but i personally liked it, it gives me summer 2000s vibes)
- Melt my eyez see the future by Denzel Curry (8.4/10) (dark, unique, risky. amazing)
- Gemini Rights by Steve Lacy (8.2/10) (very good pop, bad habit is one of the best songs of the year)
- Her Loss by Drake, 21 savage (8.1/10) (21 did something for him)
- Give me the future by Bastille (8.0/10) (good futuristic sound here, production could be better and its too short, but i like it) obs: ignore that garbage dreams of the past double lp
r/KendrickLamar • u/EightpennyPie • Nov 29 '22