good kid, m.A.A.d city

This one's taken a while to gather my thoughts on and a lot of reading through lyrics, commentary and Wikipedia… it's always a good sign to feel so invested in an album, but the result is usually a pseudo-thesis of a review that, let's face it, nobody has the time to read. Anyway, here goes! Before his instant classic "To Pimp A Butterfly", Kendrick Lamar made "good kid, m.A.A.d city": a tighter, leaner piece which begins by looking inward and gradually shifts focus to create a vivid, intense picture of inner-city living in the hood. Broader than Kendrick's own coming-of-age story, it becomes a social commentary on hip-hop, the culture surrounding it, and the pre-conceptions surrounding that. Lamar explores the origins of gang hostility and violence, covering peer pressure, fear, vulnerability and a vacuum left by the absence of state support or role models. Without a doubt, it's the most immersive hip-hop album I've heard and it's all down to Lamar's excellent storytelling. Using a thoughtfully sequenced non-linear narrative, dynamic and expressive vocal performance, and snippets of conversation with his homies and his parents, Lamar weaves a complex narrative together which has transferred to some school syllabuses alongside James Joyce. Thematically, there's real weight thrown into every song and every line. "The Art of Peer Pressure" explores how gang culture escalated Lamar's teenage life towards crime, drugs and violence. "Money Trees" covers the necessity of material pursuits for survival and the cost it might have on morality. Things reach an apex on the epic "Sing About Me/Dying of Thirst", two tracks drawn together into one twelve minute piece which Lamar uses to remember those he knows who have died. The urgency and despair mingling in "Dying of Thirst" is so potent, and Kendrick's mastery of narrative really comes into its own by personifying his deceased friends. Musically, "good kid, m.A.A.d city" isn't as sprawling and diverse as what I've heard of Lamar's later work. It's also, by nature, mellow and insular, with little to jump out as dance music or hit material. The most played tracks - including "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Swimming Pools (Drank)"- are as close as it gets, and they're either a thoughtful musing on the state of the music industry or an ironic take on clubbing and partying. Even in these tracks, the music is consistently cerebral, insular. The beats are mostly low-key, muted, often trap-influenced. Samples include, of all people, Beach House lending an ethereal quality to "Money Trees" and Janet Jackson looped into infinity on the sultry slow-jam "Poetic Justice." Some tracks are refreshingly upbeat to signal a new voice or time within the narrative: for example, "Backseat Freestyle" turns classic braggadocio into a flashback, a young K-Dot using his words as a naïve dream and a survival strategy. "m.A.A.d city" and "Compton" bring the classic 90's hip-hop sounds with hard, bombastic beats, pitch-warped synth leads and a feature from Dre himself. They're tributes to Lamar's musical heritage, which tie in with the narrative as a complicated mixture of pride and fear towards his hometown. I could try to go on and on, but really the key to "good kid, m.A.Ad city" is to listen. Although it's far from my usual style of music, one of its key strengths is that none of it is as straightforward as it appears. By packing each track so full of dual-meanings, twists and turns in the storyline and more allusions than you can shake a stick at, Lamar invites listeners to unpack the non-linear story, peel away the layers, discover new ways of hearing each track and piece together the good kid in the mad city. It's not yet at "classic" status for me, but I can see it being a long time before I get bored of this one.

Kendrick Lamar - changing the game since 2011, changing the use of capital letters and punctuation since 2012.

My favorite pure rap album of all time; the quintessential coming of age west coast rap album; filled with bangers and thought provoking songs; one of the best storytelling albums of all time

People talk about this guy like he's the second coming but all I just heard was an hour and 20min of hipster dog shit. 2/5.

Bitch, don't kill my vibe. I have actually seen Kendrick Lamar live around the time this came out, but he was upstaged by a Tupac hologram...as we all are sometimes.

Objectifies women and gets his rocks off fantasizing about violence against women. Pathetic and sick.

Musically dull, lyrically offensive.

Absolute classic. Possibly my favorite modern rap album (though it's ten years old?!) I think what I love the most is the Outkast production and storytelling vibe.

Offensive, disgusting and stupid. 1 / 5

This is better than Hotel California for sure.

I gave up before the album had finished. Some of the background melodies were alright but I find the ranting, language and sentiments hard to enjoy. I know that means I’m an old person but it’s not what I call music.

One of the best narrative albums at point blank range. Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst might be in my top 10 songs.

Yeah, in terms of gansta-rap Kendrick is definitely my pick. There's some great artistic choices through the album that subvert the earlier clichés of gansta-rap, like playing the entire voicemail at the end of the first song and not using it as a little throwaway interlude but rather as a storytelling tool. Everything sounds great but there's some needed restraint in production that elevates it all to be more than a "I'm so hard and I party hard album". Some tracks are "take or or leave" it for me, and Money Trees goes a little long for me. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe is prob my fav. good kid also sounds great, that instrumentation and bass-line feels like some 70s odd synth/krautrock or some early electronic experimental stuff. Interestingly enough there aren't many songs on here that feel like they can be played in isolation or on some random playlist, the material is definitely best listened in an album format, which is probably the best compliment you could get for this list.

I really don't like this sort of drugged out hip-hop sound. Something about it just makes me feel bad, sort of stretched out and depressed. Every single song seems to be about drugs, his penis or comparing women to dogs, but somehow this is considered socially conscious and thoughtful rap. It simply doesn't make a good impression on me, not being receptive to the sound and outside the culture being rhymed about. I hope that the people who enjoy this have used it to work through dark personal issues and become better people. But for me, it is the sort of thing I would turn off if I heard it on the radio.

no skips

93/100: Few artists reach the level of fame to be publicly acknowledged by on name. Many incredibly well respected artists never reach this level (sometimes arguably for the infortune of being given a generic name). Freddie Mercury is neither referred to as Freddie nor Mercury. Elton John is not Elton. But Tupac is Tupac, Kanye is Kanye, and Kendrick is—well—just Kendrick. This album holds a special place in my heart; therefore, I will be leaving all pretenses of impartiality at the door. This is the album that quite literally opened up the world of music for me. Before listening to this album, music was just something to be listened to—pleasant sounds, ineffable feelings, surface level appreciation. The first time I heard “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” something struck me—an imperceptible intuition that something worth understanding lay beyond the realm in which I’d hitherto been existing. By the Kendrick was boasting about having a dream in “Backseat Freestyle,” I had the rap genius app downloaded on my phone and was following along, line by line. I listened and read along to that album for weeks, maybe even months, listening to nothing else. I saw a respect for language and a mastery of music as a platform for a message nothing short of genius; in fact, orders of magnitude beyond that. Most rappers interject their albums with skits as separate songs. The good artists tie this skits smartly, maybe even humorously, into the story conveyed in their album. The great ones (if pluralizing that word is even legitimate is up for dispute), like Kendrick, weave these skits within songs, backed by musical tracks. In “The Art of Peer Pressure,” interjecting skits not only provide context—in one moment, letting the listener know that Kendrick’s and his friends’ robbery attempt has flopped, in the other, highlighting a police chase—they propel the song through its story. Beyond imaginatively clever uses of skits, Kendrick writes lyrics that reveal an incomparably creative relationship with language. In “Money Trees,” one set of three lines stands out in my mind. In the first line in this set, “dreams of living life like rappers do,” Kendrick focuses in on the topic of rap artists; however, in the third line, “I fucked Sherane then went to tell my bros,” he’s locked in on ideas of sex and women. To find a good line to fit between those two, most rappers would elaborate on what a rapper’s life is like, presumably a good way to tie sex and women into the topic of rap artists—making for a pretty seamless segue. Kendrick does something entirely different and wildly creative. As the second line in this set, connecting rappers to sex, Kendrick decides on “back when condom wrappers wasn't cool.” Upon first glance, this might seem to be a pretty abrupt transition from dreaming of living a rapper’s life of luxury to sex, but when read aloud, “condom wrappers” sounds a whole lot like “Compton rappers,” and Kendrick surely leans into this with his delivery of that line. Thus, Kendrick finds a way to deliver two ideas with one line, with both ideas tying the preceding and subsequent lines together. This is mastery. There are few albums with as much to analyze and interpret as “good kid, m.A.A.d city” (most of those few are also Kendrick albums). The fact that this album opened up that world of analysis and interpretation within music for me elevates it beyond those other Kendrick albums. This is my favorite album of Kendrick’s—it was my first—it will forever remain that way, and I am in no way surprised that this album held up to the same level I remember from my last listen through.

The hiphop I enjoy most has either great funky sampling and/or jazz or otherwise organic music and the actual MCing has got to be rhythmic. Right away in the first track the rhythmic rapping is thrown right out the window - I know it's a preferential thing but there's no sense of rhythm to this, it's stream-of-consciousness words that I've no doubt I'd never be able to do but it all exists completely independently from the music. As if they're 2 completely unrelated parallel entities that were just placed together almost randomly. Like - could you tell or would it matter if the chorus were the verse or vice versa? And these lyrics are junior-high level immature trash. That reaction was all from one track - yikes. BUT ... track 2 starts out almost completely differently; I like the music and the weird vocals. The lyrics are not interesting to me but there's a noticeable step up in tying the vocals to the music. The "real-life" voices (I hesitate to call them "skits") get distracting and for me lessen the impact of the songs. Have I mentioned these lyrics are weak? They're weak - come on pussy this dick that yeah yeah giggle giggle. OK the album definitely improves as it goes on - full stop - but ehh I had a real hard time getting through this - aside from the eye-rolling lyrics his voice is difficult to digest. As for my rhythmic critiques early, that aspect definitely gets much better on many of the following tracks - I know it's a stylistic choice and I choose to avoid the freestyle/stream type songs/rappers. "Money Trees" - I do like this one. I've heard some of Kendrick's later work which I do recall liking considerably more, but this one is not only not my bag but I would and will avoid this. 3/10 1 star

One of my favorite albums, I put this above to pimp a butterfly personally

Boring album. Some decent bass lines. Lyrics are meh and even annoying at times. Nothing great to say about this one.

Has a mixtape vibe. but for Christ's sake change your tone occasionally. It's all autotune and plodding vocals it's actually painfully boring to listen to.

I know that Kendrick Lamarr is viewed as some sort of god, but I cannot for the life of me work out why. "Bitch, don't kill my vibe" makes me want to question why he's putting that voice on. The flow vacillates wildly between "hey this is pretty decent" and "ohmygod, what is this amateurish tosh?" The whole album seems to delight in wobbly bass, which doesn't half get tiring after a while. TBH, not sure I'm going to sit through the rest of this.

I really dislike music like this: lyrically uninteresting, unamusing braggadocio, misogyny and unconstructive violence; musically lightweight, dull and meandering pointlessly. Sadly, 0 stars isn't possible.

Can we just rename this genre "Narcissistic Gun, Dick, Pussy Rap"?

Not in my edition of the book so! Obviously not essential to listen to before you die! 2012. 1 star. Purile, sexist, misogynistic, obnoxious shite that gets boring reallll fast. Strange that it's OK for black rappers to use the N* word but if anyone else does you're racist. Or that it's OK for them to call women bitches and pussy and hoes (whores), but if anyone else does you're misogynistic. Or that it's OK from them to to boast about how high and doped they get, but if anyone else does then you're just a fucked up junkie. Just saying. "I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower/So I can fuck the world for seventy-two hours". FFS, grow up.

While I’m still a hardline tpab fan, holy shit this album still holds up. All of the singles are still great and everything about it is great

Had not heard this before, and found it to be quite a bit more enjoyable than "..Butterfly". Really immersive, with interesting effects such as the voicemails which make the whole thing "cinematic" as intended. A wild success

But where is the ninja turtles?

Meh. Production is good but I'm just way to white for this shit. Never gonna listen to this again.

This was really good. I'm gonna need to listen to it through a few more times to take it all in. Great storytelling.

c.r.A.A.p city

Auto tuned junk. No idea what the big deal about this is. Not even bordering on interesting.

This album sucks lmao

I am not much of a lyrical man but this album gives the feeling of the struggle of inner city cycles via alternatives to lyrics such as gun shots ending songs soon. I will have to give damn another listen it it won the pullitzer over this album.

Kendrick never misses

I received whiplash reading the other reviews for this. While most to maybe half of the high rated reviews for this notice it's brilliance, I was shocked by the amount of reviews that are totally derisive. I do not listen to rap or hip-hop too much (one of my goals with this project is to expand those horizons), and from track 1, I was pretty hooked on the thematic complexity. Lamar is clearly working through a lot of ideas with this album (and if his cultural clout proceeds him, he hasn't stopped working through ideas). The interweaving and complexity of themes of religious morality and guilt, with responsibility towards family and friends, and trying to remain true to your home that you love while knowing you may need to escape. God... it just captures something so beautifully. Which is where the whiplash at seeing negative reviews minimize the expansiveness of this album into "disgusting", "trash", or "boring" totally caught me off-guard. Anyway, I don't know a lot about rap or the history of the genre, but this album was great. I almost broke into tears at the end of "Real". Such a cogent album. Great storytelling and thematics. One of my favs that I've listened to in this project so far. I expect there is some bias in the negative reviews, but I'll try to have a better outlook on humanity.

Damn.

Masterpiece, one of the best hip hop albums of the last 2010s.

I've been told so many times to listen to Kendrick Lamar, but rap / hip hop generally speaking wasn't my thing. Or, at least, I thought it wasn't my thing - until I started making my way through the 1,001 album list - and now I'm learning that I was wrong. Certainly not fine poetry, but my takeaway from this album is Kendrick has a unique way with words and metric, and he lays it on top of a smooth beat and some well crafted melody. I'm not surprised this album is polarizing - but even as a non-rap fan, I really do think it's extremely unique and interesting. I can't help but give it five stars.

Rating: 10/10 A classic, one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Not only is this one of best produced rap albums of all time, it is also one of the best lyrically as well. The album feels like a movie, Kendrick takes the listener on a journey through his childhood and the crime-filled streets of Compton. The lyrics paint a vivd picture of the street life of Compton and Kendrick does this with varied deliveries, clever wordplay, and thought-provoking lyrics. I have listened to this album many times and am still discovering new meanings lyrically. A truly timeless album. Favorite songs: pretty much all of them. Least favorite song: Real.

One of the best concept albums ever and Kendrick’s best imo. The Art of Peer Pressure is one of the most vividly depicted stories in song form I’ve ever heard. Sing About Me I’m Dying of Thirst encapsulates so many different themes, it’s a masterpiece of a song. One of the best albums of all time

Easy 5 stars and Kendrick’s second best album behind TPAB imo. To this day I still do not understand how tf Macklemore won the rap album Grammy over this

A hood classic

I don't listen to a ton of rap, especially not full albums, but this is one that I actually listened to quite a bit back in the day. This came out my senior year of high school and was pretty huge for a few years after that. I think I like this a lot because the sound is pretty understated through most of it. There's not a ton of gimmicks or anything, it's just really strong lyrics and good beats across the board. Lyrically, you really get a snapshot into Kendrick's life growing up, and the snippets of people talking between songs are both funny and pull together the album nicely. I don't have a ton to say about this, but it's about as strong of a rap album as I've come across. It does get a bit weaker at the end (it's drags on just a little bit), but it's good enough otherwise that it's not a real issue. Kendrick is obviously super talented, and it was nice to revisit this one. This is 12 years old now (which is hard to believe), but it doesn't really sound dated at all to me. Favorite song: Money Trees Other: Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe, Backseat Freestyle, The Art of Peer Pressure, Poetic Justice, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Swimming Pools (Drank), 4/1/24

Et mesterværk, konceptuelt, stramt narrativ, teknisk vanvittigt, fyldt med bangers

el missatge al final del primer tema....DIOS... i com va a la segona JAJAJAJA invested en la història dels missatges de veu està molt ben construït, realment el que és seguir un fil argumental... brutal. ara entenc lo de "a short film by kendrick lamar" estic segura de que la lletra és ofensiva, honestament, no me'n havia adonat. home aquí no hi ha gaire excusa, és 2012...

This is really good you bish

about the only modern hip hop artist I can stand. some great songs on here. can be kind of long at some points but it flows well

Wow. Unexpected but brilliant

Not bad. I'm not a big hip hop/rap fan but i did enjoy this album. Will check more from him

I really enjoyed this album. Great lyrical moments and really interesting melodies and riffs (especially for a rap album). I felt like I got a really great glimpse and understanding into Lamar's life and the challenges of growing up in an area where gang activity is so prevalent and complex to avoid. I think I'll listen to this one again multiple times and continue to discover new moments and lyrics every time.

I’m glad this site is anonymous because I like this record better than To Pimp A Butterfly.

I know a guy called Kendrick and obviously he’s not as cool as this one

My second Kendrick Lamar LP after To Pimp A Butterfly, and I like this one more. The production is as immaculate and confident; the content less ambitious and maybe the better for it. Still shows a preference for cleverness over tunes that scrapes against the pop superstructure. Asks a lot of a listener and pays back, but doesn’t follow through on the bravura opening.

The Art of Peer Pressure and Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst are remarkable songs.

good kid, m.A.A.d city Sherane, love the drum and bass sounds. Backseat freestyle Good Kid is superb On the surface it’s easy to just hear guns’n’bitches, but there’s definitely a lot more to it than that. Has a similar lyrical feel to Illmatic, not glorifying or wallowing in gang and street life. Some good sweating too. You know what else I like - his very clear diction. He should be applauded for that. Great sound, particularly like the bass, drums and piano combos, and the variation of drum sound from song to song. Some great little earwormy hooks, not obvious necessarily, but found myself humming them after listening to it. I’m not that up to speed on a lot of rap music of the last 10 or 15 years but I thought this was very good. It’s quite long but it didn’t drag too much. It’s between a 3 & 4, and I’m really keen to listen again, so will probably plump for a 3 for now, but scope to go up to a 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not a huge fan of this album but it wasn't terrible

Tasty baked goods between the ears, but the contrasting cock strutting gets wearing. Maybe a later KL will work for me.

Como me gusta mucho el de pimpear la mariposa, creí que iba a disfrutar también este disco de KL. Sin embargo, me pasó como me pasa con casi todos los discos de rap: me harto a la mitad de la primera canción. Considerando que este disco dura casi 80 minutos, puedo dar fe de que la experiencia no fue placentera.

I wanted to like this. I really tried. I must be missing the gangsta hiphop gene.

Incredible number of listens on YouTube. It’s solid stuff but don’t understand why…

It was alright

good flow, lyrics were meh, other shit too, most annoying was the 15 out of 60 minutes of filler, background sounds

This is shitty hiphop on another level. I can't find anything I enjoy on this album.

Irritating

Didn’t listen

I've never been a fan of the genre, it's probably a cultural thing. While I've been able to listen to several albums and enjoy parts of them, this proved impossible with this one. I got three tracks in before decidiing life is too short.

Just not my vibe. Liked that one about the homies though

At the first song it seems it has a lot of story, and the second talking more about religion with really calm vibes. This third song seems more loud, it makes a message, seems raw. Omg the fourth song seems so just deep, about peer pressure and what it makes you do, when you even arent that. Okay money trees is so catchy but the story is there, life of poverty with nothing else to go to but violence, drugs and sex. Such a deep song makes me think.

samidot is one of the best songs ever. beautiful coming of age story

GOAT

I can see why people love him. He's a brilliant lyrical story teller!

Accidentally listened to this one a day in advance… fantastic album with a lot of his most easily digestible work. Insanely talented guy

Fast hätte ich zum ersten Mal super bowl geschaut, nur für Kendrick. Ein ticket dafür kostet übrigens 8000 Dollar. Das Album ist ein absoluter banger, bin grosser Fan des drake haters, der für seinen disstrack auch noch offizielle Auszeichnungen bekommt.

durch und durch es banger album scho viel gloset als yöng kiddo und ich weiss au wider warum mini gross introduction zum kendrick damals meh muesmer au gar nöd sege nume das mini insta reels hüt morge voll gsi sind vo Ken D. Rick content gg easy pentakill

87 albe isch die schöni gmeinsami albumreis scho alt... nie hetti dänkt dass mer innerhalb vo so churzer ziit scho 3 vo mine top 5 albe of all time zämme werded bespräche aber here we are friends: platz 1 <3 ------ good kid, m.A.A.d city: es album woni mindestens 1 mal im monet in ganzer längi lose. meistens bliebts aber nöd nur bim dem: wie's uf em cover scho heisst isch das album vill meh als eifach nur en tonspur. es isch es cinematischs erlebnis, wo mir glasklari, lebendigi bilder vor em geistige aug lieferet wie ich selber als stille beobachter uf de rückbank vo dem chrysler van sitz und dur d'strasse vo compton cruise. klar entstöhnd die bilder us ere üsserst privilegierte perspektive: als wiisse maa us oberrüti wird ich mich nie chönne inefühle wie's isch inere vo gwalt dominierte umgebig in compton ufzwachse. trotzdem verhilft mir die persönlichi, visuelli ebeni zunere zuesätzliche tüüfere wertschätzig. und das wie ich's bi keim andere album jemals spüre wird... ------ zur feier des tages möcht ich darum usnahmswiis mal chli meh is detail gah und gibe euch es churzes persönlichs review zu jedem track uf dem meisterwerk: «Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter's Daughter» (9.0/10.0): es lied woni bis vor paar jahr nie vill beachtig gschänkt han, grossi miskalkulation vo minere siite wie sich spöter usegstellt hed... was für en opener, en bassline zum devoschmelze und meisterlichs foreshadowing bezüglich storytelling. «Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe» (9.5/10.0) en nostalgie-explosion, das seinesgleichen suecht… han's wo's usecho isch pauselos glost, denn hed's aber leider zu ziite woni meh in gnuss vo elektronischer musig cho bin en sekundäri rolle ihgnoh... bin froh hani mini liebi für de song vor 2 jahr wieder neu gfunde und verlieb mi jedes mal uf's neue weni's lose «Backseat Freestyle» (8.5/10.0) huch, da simmer ja scho bim erste banger im wahre sinn ahcho, es schöns flashback vom storytelling zum kenny sine teenagerjahr… ah dere stell muess aber gseid werde, dass es sehr wenigi moment gid woni das lied in isolation lose… wenn denn immer nur im albumkontext. anere wiitere stell muess aber au gseid werde: «I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower, so I can fuck the world for seventy-two hours.» «The Art of Peer Pressure» (10.0/10.0) bi jedem durchlauf vo g.k.m.c frög ich mich weles gnau mis lieblingslied im ganze projekt isch und 6 vo 10 mal fallt d'antwort uf the art of peer pressure. keis lied löst so lebendigi bilder ih mim chopf us wie das, selte gspüri so intensivi musigbezogeni emotione als wenn die subtili main melody hitted. en oscarwürdige short film innerhalb vomne oscarwürdige spielfilm. perfekt. wahrschinli ide top 5 songs of all time für mich «Money Trees» (10.0/10.0) ih 2 vo 10 fäll fallt d'antwort nach mim lieblingslied vo g.k.m.c allerdings uf money trees. es meistwerk wo scho lang vor minere bewunderig für de kendrick es 10 vo 10 gsi isch und ich glaub ich han no nie en mensch troffe wo gseid hed dass das lied nöd guet isch. meisterlichs sampling vom dj dahi und vo de rap performance vo allne beteiligte müemmer gar nöd erst ahfange. bestimmt ide top 10 songs of all time «Poetic Justice» (8.0/10.0) miteme füechte aug blick ich uf en welt zrug wo en kendrick und drake collab no möglich gsi isch... uf fast jedem andere album en hit, im g.k.m.c kontext für mich aber eher im untere spektrum, aber natürli trotzdem en banger. «good kid» (9.5/10.0) no immer bereui wie lang de song unter mim radar duregfloge isch und dass ich darum erst en 3 jährigi intensivi beziehig zu good kid han chönne ufbaue… aber au da wirds bi jedem mal lose stärcher und stärcher, love you baby «m.A.A.d city» (9.5/10.0) au wenn d'ziite praktisch verbi sind wo ich das lied ih minere freiziit ellei lose han ich glasklari erinnerige wie de "teeny" noah im hip hop usgang yah yah yah yah schreit und debi paar ellböge im moshpit verteilt erst ih jüngere vergangeheit hani en tüüferi appreciation für de zweiti teil nach em beat switch chönne ufbaue und ich prognostiziere au da no en endlos langi liebi defür «Swimming Pools (Drank)» (10.0/10.0) und au da schwirred klari erinnerige ih mim chopf ume wie de jungi dummi noah «swimming pool full of liquor then you dive in it» imne party kontext umebrüllt und sich de dunkle ironie keineswegs bewusst isch... wieder en fall vonere tüüfe verbindig woni zwüscheziitlich churz verlore han aber glücklicherwiis wieder neu für mich entdeckt han, danke! «Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst» (10.0/10.0) und da hettemer d'antwort uf die letzte 2 fäll vo minere stetige suechi nach mim g.k.m.c. lieblingslied: en zweiteiligi erzählig womi unironisch scho vermehrt fast zu träne grüehrt hed und glichziitig es riese lächle is gsicht zauberet hed. sprachlosigkeit herrscht. klare fall vomene wiitere top 10 song of all time «Real» (7.0/10.0) püh endli mal chli abefahre, de einzig song ih dem project wome eigentli skippe chönt, us respekt machi's aber trotzdem üsserst selte... und das hed zum glück zur folg, dass sogar de mir immer meh gfallt «Compton» (9.0/10.0) es triumphals (vermeintlichs) endi zu dere story. k.dot made it out the hood. und das als beschte rapper allerziite. für mich sogar als min lieblings musiker allerziite. ------ so mini fründe und fründinne, wörtlichi usfüehrige für d'songs uf de deluxe edition sparemer eus ah dere stell aber eifach no für's protokoll zwei honorable mentions: «The Recipe» (9.0/10.0) & «Black Boy Fly» (9.5/10.0) ------ ich bin froh, dass ich mir endlich die ziit gnoh han mini bewunderig für mis lieblingsalbum in wort probiere z'fasse. ich han zwar immerno s'gfühl es isch mer nöd vollumfänglich glunge... aber ich han ufjedefall mis beschte gäh und ich hoffe ich han eu dur das es düütlichers verständnis für mini liebi zum kendrick und spezifisch zu good kid, m.A.A.d city chönne ufzeige. danke villmal für's zuelose. ich han euch alli ganz fescht gern <3

My favorite Kendrick album for sure. I know there’s lots of controversy surrounding the recent beef but regardless of the man or his disputes, you can’t deny his lyrics/production talent behind his songs. Shane, the art of peer pressure have some crazy weird beats. Poetic justice still bops even with the oddness of that drake feature. Backseat freestyle and swimming pools (ironically) are still great party jams. Money trees and good mid / maad city are great. Song about me, I’m dying of thirst is one of my favorite rap songs ever.

Really great album, sonics, word, everything is supber. Love it even though I'm not hip-hop core fan.

A master piece. The beats and story telling were incredible. It’s funny to look back on the project that elevated someone to the greatness that they’re at now.

Perfect no notes

Incredible. Amazing storytelling. Incredible lyricism. Great beats and rhythm.

one of the best musical examples of storytelling ever. goat

uma das maiores pedradas da história do hip hop pprt

Test

Tillsammans med MBDTF det enda moderna rap-album som är ett mästerverk i dramaturgi. Djävulskt genomtänkt. Jay Rock på ”Money Trees” är förra decenniets bästa vers. ”Sing about me, I’m dying of thirst” är det starkaste Kendrick gjort. SOMEBODY SAID DOMINOES?

Masterpiece!

Classic

Due to how much links I put below, I’ll have to keep this rather brief. Before Kendrick’s masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly, he made the masterpiece of a concept album that is *good kid, m.A.A.d city.* The production, story telling, lyricism, songwriting, and performances are all top notch here. The themes of violence, gang culture, redemption, innocence, faith, and other things are so eloquently spoken and touched on here. The music really matches the themes that this album touches on. The emotional depth of this album is outstanding and truly remarkable. The immersiveness of this album is something to behold as well. The ongoing storyline throughout and the skits to me are really thought provoking, kept me engaged, and added much more emotional depth. They really helped to keep me interested, and were really well done. With so many stand out tracks, I couldn’t possibly list them all here. *good kid, m.A.A.d city* not only serves as a masterful concept album about growing up in Compton, but it also serves as a way for Kendrick to reflect upon himself. Whether I prefer *To Pimp A Butterfly* or this one is very hard to say. *good kid, m.A.A.d city* is a cornerstone of modern Hip Hop. I highly recommend giving this a listen, especially if you’re into or looking to get into Hip Hop. It’s a stone cold modern classic.

Absolute modern hip hop classic and belongs among the greats. Probably only bested by TPAB for best rap album of the 2010s Anyone saying this is just about drugs and bitches and partying is literally not listening to the lyrics at all.

Amazing start to finish. A simple story told in a complex and compelling manner. An all time classic.

Better than the one that won the pulitzer

It's young Kenny at the peak of his powers. Enough said.

Perfect

Oof. You'll carry that weight.

Although as a middle class white person it is extremely difficult to relate to them, Kendrick Lamar's lyrics really steal the show here. He is a story-teller and an amazing one at that. His music takes you on a journey through his experience of life and each song is a different portal to a scene in his movie. The production and musicality of the beats and samples behind his lines turn this into one of the best Hip Hop albums ever released. Wonderful stuff. 9/10

I have always heard this album was hype and boy did it live up to the hype. All of the hits I've heard over the years are bangers and the rest of the album holds up great too. The first 5 star from me

This is the second best Kenny album imo. It gets a 5 though because its amazing in a way that doesn't really compete with TPAB. I like the weird gloomy aesthetic, and the dark storytelling. Kenny really does a fantastic job describing life as a poor black kid, but in a more direct way than anything in TPAB, in GKMC he is really straightforward in his message. There are a couple parts of this album I don't love quite as much as the rest, but the highlights are so damn high, you completely forget about them. Best songs: Sing about me, The art of peer pressure, and Money Trees. Less memorable songs: Real, mAAd city, and Compton. Best verse: Jay Rock on Money trees. Best beat: The art of peer pressure.

Wow, so gooooood!

One of the best concept albums i have ever listened to it’s been in my rotation since forever definitely recommend it for everyone

100/100

This is beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most gripping concept albums of all time. I find myself invested in the story of every single song, and I'm really rooting for Kendrick in every situation he describes. This album really puts into perspective how rough and violent life can be as a black teen in Compton, and having his whole life story presented all in one album is so impressive considering how densely packed all the lyrics and stories are. Kendrick Lamar is a better musician, rapper, lyricist, and storyteller than any of us could ever dream of being.