To be fair, the heart pt. 2 opened Overly Dedicated (and uses a great sample from The Roots), so there is a little bit of precedent.
I am salivating for this album. I love Heart Part 5, but I hope it isn’t on the album, and that’s only because the prospect of not hearing a single second from this album before release is exhilarating.
YO. the cover for the single is the hands of the five people he deepfaked! Here's the Meaning Behind Artwork for Kendrick Lamar's 'The Heart Part 5' | HipHop-N-More
I keep finding his albums used on CD in thrift shops and I keep buying them. It's dense, difficult music and he has a lot to say. I'm also interested. Considering the manner in which he has been recognised, I feel his music goes beyond categories, but those that have made up their minds without listening to a whole album are missing something special.
I haven't replied to the thread previously because I have nothing much to say at this point beyond 'I'm really looking forward to this'. But rest assured, I'm really looking forward to this!
I’m an old man (mid-40’s) and my son is a big Kendrick fan. I’ve been keeping my eye out for an opportunity to pick this one up on vinyl to no avail. It’s not rocket science, but for some reason the lack - as best I can tell - of any information whatsoever about a physical release on this album has really driven home the fact that streaming reigns supreme.
I don't think the lack of information surrounding this album's release says anything about streaming reigning supreme. Given that all of his major label albums have had physical releases, I see no reason why this one won't. I'm thinking the physical release info will drop tomorrow alongside the digital/streaming.
My point I guess is that the fact that it doesn’t need physical product on release day means that they’re a secondary concern at this point. Sure, they’ll ultimately release it on vinyl/cd/cassette, but there is no need to do so out of the chute. I can see this with smaller bands, especially due to supply chain issues, but this seems bigger.
Given my admiration for Lamar, it will probably lead to him getting a digital album sale and a vinyl album sale from me, whereas I would typically only buy the vinyl release.
I agree. Vinyl or not, amazing or not, this album's going to #1 on sheer anticipation for new KL music.
Another factor I’m sure is to lessen the possibility of it leaking. Most people probably remember but back when CDs were a lot bigger and new albums had to be mass produced in the millions for those first week sales, it wasn’t uncommon for albums to be leaked days, weeks, in some cases even months before the actual release date. Artists, labels, and everyone involved hated that, so it could be a big reason why they release things on streaming long before they do physical releases these days. A lot harder for leaks to happen when The artist only have to upload it to streaming services right before it releases.
Part of me wonders how much he might be tweaking it right up until the release date too. It’s easy to do that when you only need to meet a streaming deadline. Kendrick is so walled off, it’s impossible to know if this thing has been finished for months and the vinyl is ready to ship OR he’s finishing it right now
Also, it appears that the single 'Heart 5' isn't on the album. Just starting to work through this now. Exciting.
Hmmmm....like a high school art teacher to a student, "I'm a bit perplexed by some of the decisions you made in your piece...." My hot take is that it is certainly "not great" and possibly "not good"
I'm listening to disc one right now... First, let me say i didnt really care for any of his previous work. pimp a butterfly just didnt connect with me... same with damn. the beats just werent ...me... same with maad city.... However this is the first kendrick album i can completely get into. This album is awesome. However this means that people that were a fan of his previous work will probably not like this album as much... This album is more "normal" and not groundbreaking imo.... But to me? this is the kind of rap i get down with. Another album were im also in the minority is "donda 2" which i feel is much better than donda 1.
Listened to this on the way to work this morning and so far I like what I heard. This is probably going to take a few listens before it really sinks in, but I think it's a winner so far. Can't wait for the physical release to be announced. This is one of the more exciting new music Fridays for me with this, The Smile, Moderat, and Monophonics all dropping today.
Liked it. Not as much as I liked Damn the first time but the 75 minutes went by very quickly. Deserves multiple listens for sure. Easily one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. Been a slow year for me tho thus far.
Just found out about this from an email (I’m on the mailing list). I saw a tour poster mentioning Kendrick Lamar, and a weird image of a black family - the father with what looked to be a crown of thorns and the mother sitting on a bed, each parent holding a young child. I thought, what the hell is this?!, clicked on the image thinking it might possibly be a new compilation featuring Kendrick, and the links to Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal et al confirmed it was a new solo album!!! I’m stoked. Been waiting years for this. I only checked Wikipedia about a month ago, and found no mention of a new album. Now all I gotta do is wait for the CD. Funnily enough, I may end up downloading it from iTunes as well eventually when it drops in price. The Apple Masters of Good Kid… and To Pimp A Butterfly are a bit smoother and not as shouty as the discs. But, I gotsta have that physical copy. Y’know, in case the internet blows up.
Meh. Sound quality is brickwalled alas Should have used Steven Wilson Why no blu-ray Album would have been better if done by the Beatles Digipacks i hate digipacks Why not do 45rpm Why no deluxe edition Where was this vinyl cut please use this to copy and paste your complaints
Played it once this AM. Lengthy and dense, but unlike most newer hip hop albums that’s not a bad thing. It’s confessional, even for Kendrick. It’s up to his usual polish I’d say no filler, but there also doesn’t seem to be any a focus on producing any radio singles. Disc 2 in particular seems to be real “hip hop head” material, you'd better like lyricism and rapping when getting into this. The blogs are going to be tripping over each other to declare this a masterpiece, but I’ll probably need more time with it, but I’m sure I’ll love it more after a few spins.
