I agree in a way. It's difficult for me to see where he could possibly go after this, especially given the nature of the album and the way it's designed to "humanise" Kendrick in the eyes of his fans. I suppose in a way that's a good thing, because if he does make another record that I'll have no idea where he'll go with it or what it would sound like, but time and again I've seen major players in hip-hop gradually ruin their legacy by continuing long past their relevance. Look at Eminem for example, up until and including The Eminem Show you couldn't have got a bigger name in hip-hop at that time, but the wheels come off fairly quickly after that and I still think him coming back was a bit of a mistake. He's still a skilled MC, but the problem is nobody really cares about what he has to say anymore, and hip-hop kinda relies on people wanting to hear what you have to say. I'd hate for that to happen to Kendrick, although it is possible for hip-hop stars to have long careers as rare as that seems to be. Look at De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, for example.
Exactly, where does he go from here? Whatever he goes though, I'm there with him. Totally agree with Eminem. Tribe is an example of going out on top, minus the comeback album way later. Luckily that comeback album was good (and has a Kendrick feature on it), though I wonder if it would have come out without Phife's decline in health putting a fire under Tip. De La has had a long career that has been more solid than most with that kind of longevity.
That’s where I feel like Jay Z is these days. Definitely skilled but I think he’s out of things to say
Then again, Pusha T has been rapping exclusively about cocaine for 20 years and I’m still not tired of it
goes on for 30min mostly praising it and explaining the whole album to end with a whimpering 8 score. typical fantano reviews.
As much as the tastes of myself and Anthony Fantano very rarely converge, I honestly don't see the problem you have with his review. It's pretty much what I was expecting, given that he gave a perfect 10 score to To Pimp a Butterfly and (if I remember) a 7 to DAMN. Either way, in what universe is a "light 8" a bad score anyway? Also, he did say that he enjoys the record, and I enjoyed what he had to say about it, even if I don't agree with some of it.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is currently Kendrick's third most critically acclaimed album. Kendrick Lamar
A friend of mine texted me to say they’re not into it and it’s not what they wanted. Feels like they missed the point.
The people are split on Mr. Morale but I still remember TPAB being a more polarizing album, and now it's viewed as his masterpiece. People need to live with this album and let it marinate more. I just revisited his discography and I'm enjoying this more than everything, with the exception of DAMN, but that's also because it's the freshest and arguably his most personal.
TPAB definitely took me a week or two to really appreciate. A couple songs stood out after my first listen but the knottier, wilder songs took longer. That record was also when I realized that Kendrick is gonna do whatever the heck he wants and we have to try to keep up
To be fair, I can understand the viewpoint of your friend even if I don't agree with it. It's not a big, outward-looking statement or a grand "state of the world" type of concept and it's not an immediately accessible album. Aside from "N95" there aren't many obvious singles on it. Perhaps some people were expecting Kendrick to emerge post-COVID with an album based around what had been happening in world politics and with the pandemic over the last few years. Instead he mostly touches upon these themes either lightly or in passing. I don't think anyone was prepared for an introspective, Kendrick-in-therapy record. I know I wasn't, but that's what I got.
First listen didn't grab me much. I agree it's dense and . . . ha ha . . . a little samey with the themes. It would be great if someone like Kendrick came out with a totally new and evolved world-view and a little less obsessed with his own history and excellence and the tired Christ references. He pretty much already did all this on the previous records. I realize it's a genre thing but a little humility would go a long way on some of these tunes. It's early days and I'll keep listening. To me, DAMN is a masterpiece of personality, narrative and legit straight out catchy songs. DAMN plays and I remember every second and lyric. I listened to Butterfly recently . . . I didn't remember whole tracks! That Andre track on BLONDE is the most exciting rap I've ever heard! I'm blown away by the rhyme and artistry every time I hear it [obviously, I'm not a hip-hop fan like some of you and haven't heard a lot of great stuff].
RE Tyler The Creator What disappointed me about Tyler's last album(s) is that when he raps . . . he has nothing to say! Just a bunch of macho cliche' rhymes with little substance.
Well to be fair, braggadocio lyrics are as ingrained hip-hop as love songs are in pop. Hard to find humility even in the most conscious of hip-hop, bragging and boasting comes with the turf.
Yeah, for sure. But DAMN, to my ears, alleviates some of that with catchy R&B and pop song elements so that I'm carried away by the music as much as the lyric. Frank Ocean does a great job of writing bars that cover lots of states of mind altho' Frank is more of an R&B artist.
I would say making himself vulnerable and turning the record on himself is the embracing of humility.
I think that's one of the beautiful things about this record, is that it doesn't go hard into current politics/pandemic life/race relations. Not that those things can't be addressed, but I feel that Kendrick already made those statements back in 2015 with TPAB (minus the pandemic part, of course). Which is why The Heart Part 5 is so important in this context. It's the song that announced that he's back, but that nothing's changed. Things have only gotten worse. The culture is still hurting people, still killing people, still having adverse effects on black communities, etc.
No kidding! One of my very favourite songs ever. Those singles he put out just after BLONDE are fantastic. Is it tho'? When it's your go-to move I'm not sure you can call it humility anymore.
Vulnerable sure, but not humble. Of course as he points out on the record he’s not the Messiah, kind of the point! Hip-hop without some bragging can be a bit boring and preachy.
Yeah but bragging sounds rote and unimaginative after a while, almost like a thematic crutch. When technique becomes "go-to" then it can cool the heat of those original themes and vibes. It can also sound like lazy writing which it largely does, to me.
Totally, I mean the lyrical limits of hip-hop were largely defined in the 90s and there really hasn’t been that much change to the popular wing of the genre since. And Kendrick is ultimately a mainstream artist. Plenty of newer albums that don’t rely too much on braggadocio and are still musically inventive if it bothers you. I’d recommend Billy Woods’ last two albums, especially the collab with Moor Mother, or any of the newer Earl Sweatshirt as starting points.
There’s a lot of emotion buried in the flexes about cars and clothes. Sometimes it’s easy for those lyrics to skim right past me until I focus on them. IGOR was an album length look into jealousy and longing for someone you can’t have. CMIGYL has more bragging lyrics for sure, but then he also drops verses like this, admitting that all the lavish living and flexing is just him trying to deal with heartbreak I'ma get that deep text when this verse surface Better send it to my ego 'cause that **** hurtin' Hope y'all **** workin' (True story), I'm a psycho, huh? Don't give a ****, you left my heart twerkin' Movin', losin', grip on my doings (Yeah) Eyes is cryin' on the jet cruisin' (Phew-phew-phew) 'Bout to spend millions just to fill voids up Drama, I need you (Yessir), can you turn the noise up? Can you turn the noise up? Can you turn the noise up? (Go, go, go, go) Turn the ****in' noise up, ah, nigga, my heart broken Remembered I was rich, so I bought me some new emotions And a new boat 'cause I'd rather cry in the ocean