There's a "Rate the Last Movie You Watched" thread, why not this one? Everyone loves music!
You may put the album cover in your post, but just make sure it's either around the size I put, or put it in a spoiler. Thank you.
I will start out.
I used to not be in to much rap besides Emienm (I always have), but I've been expanding my horizons for the past couple of years. I like more rap, but I still think there are some rappers who make absolute trash, but I've heard that this album was really good. I hear a lot about how Kendrick is really good. Well, I listened to this whole thing yesterday with no distractions, and let me tell you my (probably) unpopular opinion about this album, and this rapper.
First and foremost, Kendrick has good technical rapping ability, but that isn't much for me if you can't back it up with good subject matter. Now, hold on, there are a few good songs in this album, but we'll get to that in a second. I think the subject matter is kind of repetitive in this album, and it's been done before. Some of it. Of course, everything has been done, but people put their own flavor into it. I don't think his flavor saved it very much. I'm going to start with a song that's not the first song on the album, because I feel it's significant.
The Art of Peer Pressure - Kendrick talks about he is a different person when he is with his friends. He has a pistol in the car, they pull their car up next to "working girls" which I assume are prostitutes, "rushing" dudes with his friends (jumping them), being violent, stealing stuff. Peer pressure, huh? I understand peer pressure, but isn't that a bit extreme? He must have succumbed to peer pressure a lot... I think parts of him wanted to do that stuff. I don't know why he made that song. Am I supposed to feel bad for him, or show empathy for him when I listen to that track? Those are deplorble actions. Maybe he doens't want us to feel empathy, maybe it just is what it is. Don't know.
Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter's Daughter - Typical song about girl he likes but it's more about how we wants to bang her. There's an intro where he's praying to Jesus, talking about his sins, which happens a lot in this album. Yeah, we get it, you're a sinner. It get's tiring after a while. Then, there's a pointless outro where his grandma or whoever calls him telling him he needs to go home to eat, talking about food stamps and whatnot. I don't see that as deep. The beat has cool instruments but was boring to me.
B****, Don't Kill My Vibe - Again, he talks about he's a sinner. Sometimes, he needs to be alone so people don't kill his vibe, I guess. He talks about how his life was filled with pain and he regrets a lot of things. I like the subject matter, I like the lyrics, but I don't see how they correlate with the chorus. I like the beat, even if it sounds a little trap-ish with the hi-hats.
Backseat Freestyle - It's a hype track about f***ing b****es, driving cars, money, power. Don't like the subject matter, but I really like the way the chorus sounds. He constantly rises in pitch with his voice, and then drops in pitch quickly in one part of the chorus, and I think it sounds cool. I also like the beat. It kind of sounds hype-trackish, but it's more subtle. I don't know if he regrets the things he talks about in this song, since he says he's a sinner and regrets a lot of things or not. I'm not sure, but if so, it helps the album's narrative.
Money Trees - He keeps saying "ya bish" which is obnoxious, in my opinion. He's talking about trying to get money, hustling, but also talks about his uncle dying, and how his family is poor, so I feel bad for him. And some lyrics are really good, like "Everybody gon' respect the shooter, but the one in front of the gun lives forever." Even though the kid gets shot and dies, he lives forever because people will never forget about him. The shooter is only remembered for what he does for a little while, then everyone forgets about what he did. Again, this is a bad thing in the point of view in the shooter because he's trying to gain a reputation. The beat is awesome in this song. I like this song quite a bit, sometimes.
Poetic Justice - The beat is boring. The song talks about his girlfriend and her friends talking s*** about him. There's a lot of good metaphors in this song though. Not much to say, the song is a bit too boring for me. At the end, there's an outro where these two guys are about to jump Kendrick, but I don't know how it correlates to this song.
good kid - He talks about how he's not in a gang, but he's always affiliated with it because cops racially profile and think he is a gang member. Also, his family is full of gang members. He wants to not be affiliated with that stuff anymore, because he believes he's really a "good kid" that just lives in a "m.A.A.d." city. Really good subject matter and lyrics! But I thought the beat was boring, once again.
m.A.A.d city - The song is exposing the gangs for who they really are and for what they do and how they affect his city, and he thinks the gangs are gonna go after him after this song is over because of it. He says "Everytime I'm in the streets, I hear YAK YAK YAK YAK!" The "YAK" is an onomatopoeia for the noise a gun makes when someone shoots. This song is excellent, it covers all types of injustices of gangs, but the second (and longer) part has a really boring beat.
Swimming Pools - I really want to like this song, but I can't. It talks about struggles of alcohol addiction, but it's executed so poorly. It's the trappiest single, man. The beat is just too typical. I hate how the chorus sounds. Ugh.
Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst - This should have been two separate songs because they're both fairly long and talk about different things so I didn't see the point of them being put together in one track. Maybe I'm missing the point. But, I digress. Sing About Me talks about how he might not be on top of the world forever, and that any day he could die and he may not be alive tomorrow, so he wants us to remember him when that happens. He sounds like he is sure that it's going to happen. I like the lyrics and the beat is really, really good, but I think this subject has been done over and over again so many times, almost to where it's now cliche. But it makes sense for Kendrick since the gangs may be after him. But yeah, probably the best produced song on this album. I'm Dying of Thirst talks about violence, again. It's an alright song, but by now, the subject matter is getting repetitive. It's alright as a standalone song though, I guess. He's dying of thirst from God and he is tired of running from his bad ways. He needs God so he doesn't fall deeper into his hole that he's made for himself. I like this part of this song. The production is boring though, and he says "Dying of thirst" a LOT.
Real - The chorus sucks, and on top of that, it's so repetitive and annoying. "I'm real, I'm real, I'm really really real." So many times... This song is basically about loving yourself. It's boring to me.
Compton - He implies he's a god at the beginning song... Eh... Not really. They're talking about different things. It's kinda hype trackish a bit, then talks about the streets again. Dr. Dre is on this track. A lot of generic lyrics that don't really stand out to me, but the production is good.
This album is kind of repetive, has some good subject matter here and there, some beats aren't that great, some hooks are annoying and just bad, but I feel for him sometimes, except in The Art of Peer Pressure. It's an okay rap album and I bet some people could appreciate more than I cause some people can probably relate to it more than I. Although, I think it's good for people like me to give my perspective on it because I won't have a bias.
You may put the album cover in your post, but just make sure it's either around the size I put, or put it in a spoiler. Thank you.
I will start out.
good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
I used to not be in to much rap besides Emienm (I always have), but I've been expanding my horizons for the past couple of years. I like more rap, but I still think there are some rappers who make absolute trash, but I've heard that this album was really good. I hear a lot about how Kendrick is really good. Well, I listened to this whole thing yesterday with no distractions, and let me tell you my (probably) unpopular opinion about this album, and this rapper.
First and foremost, Kendrick has good technical rapping ability, but that isn't much for me if you can't back it up with good subject matter. Now, hold on, there are a few good songs in this album, but we'll get to that in a second. I think the subject matter is kind of repetitive in this album, and it's been done before. Some of it. Of course, everything has been done, but people put their own flavor into it. I don't think his flavor saved it very much. I'm going to start with a song that's not the first song on the album, because I feel it's significant.
The Art of Peer Pressure - Kendrick talks about he is a different person when he is with his friends. He has a pistol in the car, they pull their car up next to "working girls" which I assume are prostitutes, "rushing" dudes with his friends (jumping them), being violent, stealing stuff. Peer pressure, huh? I understand peer pressure, but isn't that a bit extreme? He must have succumbed to peer pressure a lot... I think parts of him wanted to do that stuff. I don't know why he made that song. Am I supposed to feel bad for him, or show empathy for him when I listen to that track? Those are deplorble actions. Maybe he doens't want us to feel empathy, maybe it just is what it is. Don't know.
Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter's Daughter - Typical song about girl he likes but it's more about how we wants to bang her. There's an intro where he's praying to Jesus, talking about his sins, which happens a lot in this album. Yeah, we get it, you're a sinner. It get's tiring after a while. Then, there's a pointless outro where his grandma or whoever calls him telling him he needs to go home to eat, talking about food stamps and whatnot. I don't see that as deep. The beat has cool instruments but was boring to me.
B****, Don't Kill My Vibe - Again, he talks about he's a sinner. Sometimes, he needs to be alone so people don't kill his vibe, I guess. He talks about how his life was filled with pain and he regrets a lot of things. I like the subject matter, I like the lyrics, but I don't see how they correlate with the chorus. I like the beat, even if it sounds a little trap-ish with the hi-hats.
Backseat Freestyle - It's a hype track about f***ing b****es, driving cars, money, power. Don't like the subject matter, but I really like the way the chorus sounds. He constantly rises in pitch with his voice, and then drops in pitch quickly in one part of the chorus, and I think it sounds cool. I also like the beat. It kind of sounds hype-trackish, but it's more subtle. I don't know if he regrets the things he talks about in this song, since he says he's a sinner and regrets a lot of things or not. I'm not sure, but if so, it helps the album's narrative.
Money Trees - He keeps saying "ya bish" which is obnoxious, in my opinion. He's talking about trying to get money, hustling, but also talks about his uncle dying, and how his family is poor, so I feel bad for him. And some lyrics are really good, like "Everybody gon' respect the shooter, but the one in front of the gun lives forever." Even though the kid gets shot and dies, he lives forever because people will never forget about him. The shooter is only remembered for what he does for a little while, then everyone forgets about what he did. Again, this is a bad thing in the point of view in the shooter because he's trying to gain a reputation. The beat is awesome in this song. I like this song quite a bit, sometimes.
Poetic Justice - The beat is boring. The song talks about his girlfriend and her friends talking s*** about him. There's a lot of good metaphors in this song though. Not much to say, the song is a bit too boring for me. At the end, there's an outro where these two guys are about to jump Kendrick, but I don't know how it correlates to this song.
good kid - He talks about how he's not in a gang, but he's always affiliated with it because cops racially profile and think he is a gang member. Also, his family is full of gang members. He wants to not be affiliated with that stuff anymore, because he believes he's really a "good kid" that just lives in a "m.A.A.d." city. Really good subject matter and lyrics! But I thought the beat was boring, once again.
m.A.A.d city - The song is exposing the gangs for who they really are and for what they do and how they affect his city, and he thinks the gangs are gonna go after him after this song is over because of it. He says "Everytime I'm in the streets, I hear YAK YAK YAK YAK!" The "YAK" is an onomatopoeia for the noise a gun makes when someone shoots. This song is excellent, it covers all types of injustices of gangs, but the second (and longer) part has a really boring beat.
Swimming Pools - I really want to like this song, but I can't. It talks about struggles of alcohol addiction, but it's executed so poorly. It's the trappiest single, man. The beat is just too typical. I hate how the chorus sounds. Ugh.
Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst - This should have been two separate songs because they're both fairly long and talk about different things so I didn't see the point of them being put together in one track. Maybe I'm missing the point. But, I digress. Sing About Me talks about how he might not be on top of the world forever, and that any day he could die and he may not be alive tomorrow, so he wants us to remember him when that happens. He sounds like he is sure that it's going to happen. I like the lyrics and the beat is really, really good, but I think this subject has been done over and over again so many times, almost to where it's now cliche. But it makes sense for Kendrick since the gangs may be after him. But yeah, probably the best produced song on this album. I'm Dying of Thirst talks about violence, again. It's an alright song, but by now, the subject matter is getting repetitive. It's alright as a standalone song though, I guess. He's dying of thirst from God and he is tired of running from his bad ways. He needs God so he doesn't fall deeper into his hole that he's made for himself. I like this part of this song. The production is boring though, and he says "Dying of thirst" a LOT.
Real - The chorus sucks, and on top of that, it's so repetitive and annoying. "I'm real, I'm real, I'm really really real." So many times... This song is basically about loving yourself. It's boring to me.
Compton - He implies he's a god at the beginning song... Eh... Not really. They're talking about different things. It's kinda hype trackish a bit, then talks about the streets again. Dr. Dre is on this track. A lot of generic lyrics that don't really stand out to me, but the production is good.
This album is kind of repetive, has some good subject matter here and there, some beats aren't that great, some hooks are annoying and just bad, but I feel for him sometimes, except in The Art of Peer Pressure. It's an okay rap album and I bet some people could appreciate more than I cause some people can probably relate to it more than I. Although, I think it's good for people like me to give my perspective on it because I won't have a bias.
6/10
