good kid, m.A.A.d city

If Alvin and the chipmunks were from Compton. Musically I thought this was good, just can't see myself relistening

New to me. On first listen I prefer To Pimp A Butterfly but still a solid album

I’ve been trying to decide if I should try to be diplomatic about this review, but I’m not going to be. Regardless of what anyone tries to convince me, I just really do not like this album, artist or style at all. Rap and hip-hop can be done well, and when that’s the case it can be magical. But this ain’t it. This is narcissistic garbage with a frilly bow. Lipstick on a pig and all that. The high praise for this nonsense has to be at least in part disingenuous because I simply don’t believe it.

All these 1 star reviews must be mad about their Domino's

I really struggled with this album. there's so much to like, and of course Kendrick is the beloved rapper of the moment. but why is there so much misogyny. I've never understood and I don't hear answers that satisfy me. because it's part of the culture. yeah that's the problem isn't it? because it's expected from rap/hip hop music and would sound weird without it. yeah that's the problem isn't it? because it's art and they're saying what they feel. yeah that the problem isn't it? I want to like this because I think it has some really strong points but I can't get passed the misogyny. it makes it hard to listen to rap

Really good, can understand the appeal and great intro into rap 4.5/5

i need to listen to more rap albums, its been a long time since I've heard a good concept album like this. Its coherent, flows well. Has a good amount of stand alone tracks.

8/10 Having been a big fan of To Pimp A Butterfly, it’s nice to dip back three years to his previous effort, his first on a major label. In my experience Kendrick Lamar approaches albums as an art form in a way that is relatively rare in mainstream hip-hop, with a considered and rounded thematic approach and a sense of each track contributing more to the artistic whole than prioritising hits and singles. Of course, he still smashes out some bangers, but within the context of their respective records, they almost speak more strongly than they do alone. This record is no different in that regard, really, with an incredibly strong sonic fingerprint and an interesting narrative concerning adolescence in a drug addled, gang heavy Compton. There’s a great deal of musical range across the record, with tracks offering impressive dynamic range and considered development within the instrumental work that eschews the more traditional loop based hip-hop approach for a more compositionally complex and robustly orchestrated approach. Rarely did I find myself getting tired of any specific sonic element, which is something that I’m always on the hunt for in lyrically focused music of the genre. It’s pretty cinematic too, with a broad sonic palette including synthesis, sweeping string arrangements and well selected samples (the Janet Jackson based track is superb). I do feel like there is the odd moment when this does slide a touch back into more classic hip-hop techniques, but those are fairly fleeting and do act as a bridge between that more traditional approach and the next step that he would take on TPAB. Kendrick is a superb rapper and lyricist when he puts his mind to it, and the way he flips in and out of different rhythmic patterns and uses space to emphasise his lyrics and allow the music to breathe is fantastic. I do feel like this album suffers a little bit lyrically in the odd place though, as Kendrick is still a little too steeped in the misogyny that is all too commonplace in hip-hop. He would begin to step a bit further away from that type of thing on future releases, but I do feel that tracks like Backseat Freestyle really don’t help to endear the listener to the strengths of his more carefully constructed work. To be honest, the fact that this album clocks in at 68 minutes really is its weakest point, because those bits and pieces that drag the album back could easily have been given the chop in favour of a more concise and forward thinking collection that would be well worth a top rating. As it is, this is a really great piece of work that acts as an enjoyable and impressive document of Lamar’s journey towards a place among hip-hop royalty, while still having slightly rough edges here and there. Sherane A.K.A Master Splinter's Daughter - The atmosphere of this is great. There’s so much space and ambience built into the production, and there’s a care and nuance to the sound design that makes the musical elements particularly strong. The melodic work is subtle but enhances the vibe well without distracting from the vocal work. Lamar’s delivery is quite laid back, but there’s a sharpness to it that ensures that the rhythm still has punch. I’m not so keen on the skit section at the end, but it’s a strong start other than that. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe - Interestingly, the musical content of this track are pretty slow paced and chilled out, while Lamar pulls and pushes the pace backward and forward with his delivery, with the best sort of floating between the two. I’m not entirely sold on the sung vocal style. It’s a bit too heady and nasally, while the melodies are a bit on the limited side, but it feels like the kind of thing that might grow on me. Outside of that, it continues on the theme of having strong and deep production, with an evolving, layered approach to composition that shows plenty of growth and development. Backseat Freestyle - I’m fairly sure that this isn’t the kind of thing that Martin Luther King was thinking of with his dream, Kendrick. The rapping here is rhythmically fantastic, but the lyrics are pretty embarrassing. It’s just a load of bragging and misogyny that has an edge of humour to it, but feels particularly tone deaf when bookended with references to the most famous speech about equal rights. Musically, the vibe is strong, and there’s some cool sound design, but it does get quite repetitive, and there’s not the care or development there to match with the previous tracks. The Art Of Peer Pressure - The thickness of the layering and production here is quite cool, with some nice soulful elements and some cool sample choices. But then it drops completely and changes so much that it’s essentially a different track about a minute in. The second part drops back into a similar vibe to the opener. The lofi beat with the top end rolled off gives a great shuffling base to the track and, while musically, it’s a little repetitive, there’s enough bits of production work, drop-outs and breaks, that it manages to stay fresh, especially with Lamar’s rhythmically precise vocal delivery. Pretty good stuff. Money Trees - This starts to move into a more neo-soul direction and the sung vocal works really well. Kendrick’s vocal work has a melodic edge that matches really well with the instrumental and give this a different textural flavour to what’s come before, while retaining that floating ambience within the production to keep it tonally consistent. The beat is fairly considered and subtle, but has great punch and gives the track a solid bounce. This is probably the highlight of the record for me so far, and the addition of some rapping from Jay Rock and some backing vocals give it more sonic interest. Excellent. Poetic Justice - That Janet Jackson sample slaps. I love the space and ambience that Lamar generates in his beats with well balanced use of reverb and delay. The groove here is fantastic and blends superbly with the vocal samples. Vocally, Lamar uses space really well and little switch-ups of timing and emphasis to push and pull the groove of his delivery. I can’t say I’m a Drake fan, but his verse here works pretty well, although it does feel like he’s trying to do a Kendrick Lamar style delivery, rather than his own thing. There’s a lot of harmonic depth and melodic richness to this track too, and we’re really cooking now. Good Kid - Again, the neo-soul edge to this is cool, and reminds me a little of the stylings of Raphael Saadiq. The bass line is cool, and this continues on the theme of having a lot of interesting musical content and developments throughout the song that make it feel like a considered whole, rather than the simple “rapping over a sample” that hip-hop can often be. The vibe is soulful and jazzy, but with an interesting tension running through it. M.A.A.D City - As if to respond to my last comments, this has a very repetitive sample that dominates, and a much more typical beat. There’s still some cool ambience and production elements, but even the rapping here feels much more by-the-book. And then it flips half way through again. The second half is much stronger, with much more nuance and quality to the musical content. There’s still repetition, but the there’s a lot more variation and instrumental development to work with, and the production work follows suit to give things more sonic interest. Tonally, it feels a bit more akin to more traditional gangsta rap, but it’s still well executed. Swimming Pools (Drank) - The production and ambience is so strong again here. Some of the synth work that builds that ambience is pretty subtle, but does an awful lot to make the texture feel rich and deep. The string stabs into the chorus and soaring synth accents are excellent. The range of vocal delivery across the track works really well with that vers/chorus dynamic change brilliantly. There’s a little too much repetition in some of the vocal motif here for me, but I think I can overlook that because the musical content and vive are so well handled. The final verse is superbly constructed too. Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst - The light jazzy soul of the instrumental set against the more punchy drums and rapping is a cool blend. The rhythmic delivery of the chorus is off in an interesting, wonky-beat way that I quite like, like it’s been chopped up by Dilla or Flying Lotus. The orchestration in the choruses is incredibly lush and well produced too. The way each verse is truncated, by being cut off by gunshots or faded to nothing is a really effective narrative device. I was just getting to the point where this track was starting to get a bit repetitive and he chopped it out and pushed it in a different direction. The second half has a different rhythmic emphasis and more punch, though it probably doesn’t have quite the musical range and depth that the first half does, though the backing vocals are great. It’s a shame really, because a bit more development of the themes in the second half and this could have been exceptional. It’s still great though. Real - Another track with a decent vibe, and the flow of the rapping in the verses is really strong. The chorus is a bit weaker though, particularly the repetition of real, real, really really real, which is fairly uninspired. There’s quality in the production, but as a whole, especially for a 7+ minute song, it doesn’t really do enough for me. Compton - It’s a solid ending though, with a dive back into some heavyweight soulful hip-hop and a nice appearance from Dr Dre. There’s some solid rhythmic delivery of the rapping, interspersed with some quality sung vocal for the choruses. The beats are lovely, and the thickness and weight of the production has great presence and thrust. They use synths well to add extra ear candy and nuance to the production, which get a bit more focus during the outro. A nice way to round out a pretty damn solid record.

Whilst I can appreciate this is an artwork and a type of concept album of the boy becoming a man and all that, it doesn't take away from the fact that I find modern hiphop production to just not be interesting to listen to. Too much focus on deep basslines and stuttering drumbeats at the expense of anything resembling a melody or something that you can actually groove to. Kendrick's voice is a little annoying after a whole album, too, and this didn't really have to be over an hour long to get his point across. Great if you like that sort of thing, but just not my cup of tea.

Iconic and one of the greatest rap albums of the modern era. Samidot is the goat

Good beats, nice variety. Lyrically hit and miss. Got bored with it towards the end. Really liked the Janet Jackson Anytime Anyplace sample on Poetic Justice. (3)

This was pretty good even for someone like me who doesn't know shit about hip-hop...

Just some generational songs is all. Really enjoyed the project in full, although this music was not made for my demographic at all.

One of my favorite albums.

Best album

Good album, just not specifically my thing. I liked the beats and Kendrick is a great lyricist but just not something I would revisit a lot. 3,75/5

Heard some very select/hit tracks but hadn't heard the project in full up until this point. A very evocative reflection on growing up in black urban underdeveloped areas whilst trying to keep in mind your ambitions and axioms. Later in the record he covers his young adulthood wherein he struggles with drinking, his friend's brother's memory, discarding the weight of feeling he has to sing the story of all those he comes across as well as his self and his future. Of all that comes ahead on the track Real, between weighing what he should value and how he is to love himself and "making a track his parents can step to," he also comes to love his city of Compton, California - which he dedicates the last track to. Remarkable that he graduated with a 4.0 gpa and at the same time all he said here is applicable.

Something about Kendrick Lamar is that even though he’s not my favorite rapper of all time, he’s probably the best rapper of the last 15 years. He’s human, but talented beyond what most humans are capable of making. He’s kind of like Kanye West in the way he makes music that defines generations and “the times,” while also being pivotal and earth-shaking, in a way that is felt by everyone who interacts with music. This has been a double-edged sword for some of my enjoyment of Lamar’s work; it’s caught up in the interest of so many other people that it can’t stay personal really. Also, it’s west coast. I respect the west coast, but music that centers California like that can’t ever really penetrate deeper than a basic appreciation for the music. That being said, when the album gets more universal it hits me hard. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The album’s wonderfully sequenced; “Sherane” is a great song because it’s obviously juvenile, but it’s a menacing song. You’re unsettled by it, even as he’s talking about being a kid who wants to be fucking this girl he met. And then it pivots to these two incredibly fun songs that I adore to this day. “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” is still a strange juxtaposition between beautiful and pretty funny, and “Backseat Freestyle,” though a bit too long, is awesome and so entertaining. Then there’s a pivot that shows the audience who Kendrick Lamar really is. He’s a kid we’ve all met. All kids are good, but many do bad actions; some mean to do it, but some, like the speaker, just do it with their friends. I mean, the song is called “The Art Of Peer Pressure.” “Money Trees,” the next song, is one of the best songs ever made. It’s probably my favorite hip-hop song ever. The line “Everybody gon’ respect the shooter- but the one in front of the gun lives for ever” is some Wu-Tang shit. Tell that shit to your kids, play that shit for your friends, put it on your playlists. And then the song’s larger themes of poverty are communicated so interestingly; the dollar as an entity that upends someone’s life, the deeply visceral imagery that resonates deeper than any other song here. Every verse is perfect, Jay Rock’s feature is crazy good. “Poetic Justice” is another one of my favorites off the album, a poppier number with a CRAZY Drake feature that still blows me away, especially after how far Drake’s fallen. “Good kid” and “m.A.A.d. City” are the next two, and they work together to create this pretty devastating breakdown of someone’s life as they turn from innocence to lack thereof, even unwillingly. Then the final stretch starts, starting with “Swimming Pools,” a song that’s not only great, detailing the dysfunction that alcohol brings to the lives of those who use it, but also the fact that it became such a huge hit even through that, often times AT PARTIES. Damn, that shit still blows me the fuck away. Then you have “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst,” handily one of the most crushing songs in Kendrick’s discography, and a 12-minute long masterclass in music. The first half has one of the saddest choruses in modern music, and the second half is driving, desperate, despairing. And then the last leg of the album, isn’t the best. “Real” is annoying and way too long, and “Compton” is fine but not much more. It’s a great album. Incredibly pivotal. I love it. Could it be better? Yes. But not that much. Pretty much every song, save for a couple, is mind-blowing one way or another, and it has maybe the best hip hop song ever. Definitely needs to be listened by anyone and everyone. 8.9/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: pivotal, impactful, incredible

I really enjoyed the production and the beats and samples used on this album. I’m not massively familiar with Kendrick Lamar and I’m beginning to understand the hype. I’m not sure if this is his debut, but there was some very strong thought that I might revisit in the future.

It was a bit long for me but I still really enjoyed this one.

Not as frozen in amber as To Pimp a Butterfly and that's to its benefit

First the positives: appreciate that this is a fairly major piece of work- there’s plenty going on and a decent variety between the tracks. My favourites were the bonus tracks, don’t know if they’re part of the original record and they’re maybe more mainstream. However, not my bag overall. Don’t like the style, the lyrics or the vibe. Sorry- white, middle-aged and middle-class(ish) so hopefully it’s okay to really dislike. 0.6/5

I like this album. My main criticism is that some of the songs blend together. 3.6/5

Possible I’d warm to this more after a few more listens. Thought it was fine but I didn’t find any of the songs particularly memorable. Rating: 2.5

Fantastic piece of work from Kendrick here and we would come to find out it was only the tip of the iceberg. Kendrick would (and does) continue to grow, expand, and improve. Bravo!

Some great moments but I just felt bored by the time they arrived; rap producers really need to learn to edit.

2nd listen to this and didn’t quite enjoy it as much but still very good

Rare for a 1h20m album to hold my attention for the whole time. New to me but this is excellent. Lots of highlights but Swimming Pools (Drank) stood out.

Fantastic album, thanks for sharing RGP. “The Art of Peer Pressure”, “good kid” and “Swimming Pools (Drank)” are my favourite songs. 4 stars ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Tom.

Am I finally warming up to Kendrick?

Quality

As time goes on keep concluding that this is my favoritr hip hop album of all time. This record transports you into Kendrick’s adolescence. It lets a middle class white guy from South Carolina step into the shoes of a teenager in Compton for an hour. It’s like watching a critically acclaimed drama film with your ears. I know To Pimp A Butterfly is typically considered Kendrick’s top masterpiece, and its certainly a masterpiece, but I consider GKMC to be the single best work of art hip hop has produced. I think the genre itself peaked with this record and To Pimp A Butterfly and has struggled at an aggregate level to move the needle since (there have been great hip hop records since these… but what has had a seismic shift like these?). This is The Dark Side Of The Moon. This is Kind Of Blue. This is Highway 61 Revisited. This is Pet Sounds. This is Thriller. This is a record very much on the level of these timeless works of art that will outlive all of us.

Really a solid album as a whole, good and honest story-telling. Not really my normal cup of tea but kinda enjoyed this album

not only one of the greatest rap albums, one of the greatest albums of all time.

Finest storytelling, vocal modulations and immersive soundscapes. Beautifully rendered nightmare. Favorite track - Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe; Money Trees and Compton

I’m too old to appreciate his talent and this music. Heard it before? ❌ Listen again? ❌ Rating out of ten? 3️⃣

Second Kendrick Lamar album I’ve had on the list. I lasted longer than the first one, and I really tried (because I do like rap music) but I just can’t get this. It’s just not music I’d choose to listen to. And you know what kind of music I dislike? Music with lots of pointless swearing and cliches like phone calls in the songs. If I wanted to hear your conversation, I’d listen to a podcast. Some parts were good, there’s some songs and good rhythms here, but I found it hard work to listen to as a whole album. I’m really struggling how to rate this though. It’s well produced and great in parts, but I really didn’t enjoy it.

One of the better rap artists around today. Restrained and thick with atmospheric grooves and beats. Lamar's lyrics are also not full of the usual braggadocio and his flow is effortless like he's comfortable with who his surroundings have formed, even if it repels. It's more human than most of the dross in this genre. He's 'Real'.

I thought I wasn't in the mood today, but it won me over.

Absolute masterpiece by Kendrick

(Solid 9/10) Yeah, stellar album! Duh! The concept is compelling, the storytelling is masterful, the intentionality with the production and features list is impressive, and even more in my opinion is the ability to keep a listener enthralled for 68 minutes and not even realize that the same song has been playing for 12 minutes. This album is DEEP. There's so much awesome stuff to dig into. I think this album is pretty much on par with TPAB in terms of musicality and concept. While TPAB wins out for me in terms of overall maturity and growth as a musician and artist, this album is still really really fucking good. Even the weaker songs are still really great (also funny as hell now seeing Drake on a feature.. lmao). Yeah, this one is absolutely amazing.

I have listened to this album over 50 times and still find new things about it. Immaculate writing, rapping, story telling and production. Sing about me makes me cry every time

cant believe ive been missing out on this

I really enjoyed this record. I have tried TPAB a few times and honestly I don't really get the hype. But this, I really enjoyed this. Great tempo. Great lyrics. Great wordplay. The final few songs were a bit long for my liking but otherwise top marks

I wouldn't say that this is Kendrick's best work but in retrospect you can tell he was going to go on to make some prophetic stuff.

Unlike other Compton-based acts, Kendrick raps with intelligence. This album seems like day-in-the-life reflections, delivered with authenticity. How authentic the story is, I'll never know, as I'm worlds away, but I appreciate his storytelling and delivery.

Stand-out tracks: Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe, Backseat Freestyle, Money Trees, Poetic Justice, good kid, m.A.A.d city, Real, Compton Sounded promising in the start and maybe even could have been a 5 if not for the drawn-out 3/4. I strongly feel that the longest track Sing About Me, Dying Of Thirst really brings down the experience for me, and the track before that Swimming Pools isn't my favorite either. I would skip that whole quarter upon relisten, and for me a 5 can't have any major skips like that.

An amazing fake debut from a now not so great artist. Kendrick, had he not gotten so far up his own ass, could have been truly the greatest of all time. Here he is firing on all cylinders. The storytelling, the confessional aspect, the pictures painted...

Again this surprised me. Better than expectedand it surprisingly didn't overstay it's welcome. Lyrics are still a bit dodgy in places but overall not bad

Faves: BDKMV. Money Trees, Good Kid, Swimming pools, Now or Never Rating: 8.4/10

Da best

TPAB is undoubtedly KDot at his best, and it’s definitely his best album. But I’ve always preferred this record. I think the concept behind it and how it plays out is much more enjoyable for me, I think the music on these tracks are so good (Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe especially.)

Cmon Kendrick is goated

not a fan

Need further listens to this to appreciate the depth

Was an excellent breakout record but there is a very special follow-up to this

Mi disco favorito. Kendrick rapeando es brutal. Pero no es nada más un disco de rap crudo, me gusta la historia que cuenta, lo difícil que fue crecer en un lugar con tanta violencia, como lo narra, que hasta la cosa mas común que hace un adolescente se vuelve violento y esa violencia le impide también llevar una vida de un adolescente normal. Es excelente

This was so good. I can't believe it didn't win the grammy

Another loosely autobiographical origin story album about how hard, misogynistic and gangster you are--how innovative.

Hm this one sounds really interesting per GPT it's supposed to be a cinematic coming-of-age crime story told as a rap album. I think I will enjoy it. This album was great! Something about it reminded me of Devin The Dude, I wonder if that's just kind of the WestCoast rap sound. 4 stars.

Great songwriting ruined by weird production choices and stock music-ass beats. Compton is a great song, unfortunately it's the only good song on the album. I really don't understand why people love this one so much. :3

Lwk hea

KENDRICK PRIME

really just an amazing album. very surprising to see Drake's name on here given more recent events. 4/5.

Хорошо, как все в этом списке, но не мое. Переслушивать точно не буду.

My interest peaked when I saw him perform The Recipe with Dr. Dre at Coachella 2012 before he released this album. My faith in Hip-Hop was reborn and cemented when I listened to this in full. If it wasn't for Swimming Pools it might have been another perfect album for King Kenny; it sounds like a song made for a movie and tagged along to fill the tracklist. The rest is impecably written, great curation of producers to round out a single vibe and style for the g-funkish dark modern sound he's got from start to finish. ….. whatever, let’s give it a five

круто круто жаль я не американка

surprisingly, i really enjoyed this album - my boyfriend was very proud

Kendrick does such a great job at story telling in his albums.

Feel similarly about this as the last Kendrick album. Really good, but I didn't love it.

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

"Where my motherfucking Domino's at?!" Been there.

I don’t mind a bit of hip hop from time to time, but i have never understood the hype around this guy. Lazy Lil Wayne type delivery, grating voice, banal lyrics and overdone production. Kendrick Le-meh? Meh-ndrick Lemar? No, wait i have it. Kendrick Le-blah.

Infectious.

Sometimes maybe good sometimes maybe cringe

hefty.

Iconic

Simultaneously enjoyable and thought-provoking. Not quite To Pimp A Butterfly level for me, but an incredible album. his storytelling and dense rhyme-writing is top tier.

Kendrick Lamar once again prove he’s an artist above the rest.

*all-time.

Easiest 5 on this list

I don't care how talented you are, if your music is mostly made from misogyny, I'm not having it.

It was musically quite interesting, lyrics didn't do much for me.

Kendrick don't grow your penis as big as the Eiffel Tower

Man, I adore this album. Section 80 was great and To Pimp A Butterfly is unquestionably brilliant too, but for my money, I'd still put this as my top Kendrick album. "Sing About Me/I'm Dying of Thirst" I'd pick as my personal favourite track, but there's not a single skip here. The bonus disc tracks are brilliant too.

Pretty much lost interest in hip hop post mind 00’s. I know who Kendrick is but have not listened to any of his albums. There are enough good tracks in here to make it worthy of a repeat listen, its didn’t blow me away but it may be one that grows over time. 2.9

It didn't quite pique my interest like some of his other albums have, despite the obvious talent.

Of course, I’d heard of Kendrick Lamar, but I hadn’t really listened to him yet. Time to give him a chance. Oh, damn... I didn't have high expectations, but “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” is even worse than I had imagined - surely one of the worst albums I've ever heard. I don't even know where to start, because there really aren't any positive aspects at all. A waste of time.

Great album, love the sampling (espesh on money trees of course) and the focus on social commentary. Crazy that Drake’s on one of the songs.

I appreciate the production was good, and again I love a narrative album. The misogyny throughout was hard to get past, though. Ultimately, this was not made for me & that's ok, I just don't get on with it.

A really good album that was quickly eclipsed by To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. Backseat Freestyle still crushes.

( for other than me ) this album is a CLASSIC. the storytelling is cool and all, but its not that perfect

Jamais écouté avant. Hier, je découvrais les productions luxuriantes et la densité mélodique presque pop de l'album de Lupe Fiasco. Le grand écart avec cet album de Kendrick Lamar (mon deuxième dans la liste) est réalisé par un professionnel : ici, les prod sont minimalistes, sombres, presque froides, et le rap nettement plus agressif (y compris dans le langage) et les ambitions pop pour ainsi dire inexistantes. Et pourtant, j'ai pris autant de plaisir à le découvrir. Concept album extrêmement ambitieux, racontant de manière décousue et partiellement autobiographique la vie à Compton et les tentatives de son personnage pour s'extraire de la violence des gangs et vivre de la musique, good kid m.A.A.d city est à la hauteur de ses ambitions et nous embarque totalement, tant par l'ambiance musicale que par les textes de son auteur, qui utilise les clichés du gangsta rap pour mieux les retourner. Un très bon album, dont on regrettera seulement l'utilisation un peu trop systématique des skits narratifs, qui ne semble pas toujours nécessaire pour comprendre la progression du récit. Après avoir écouté ses deux albums sur la liste, et malgré mes réticences initiales vis-à-vis du hip-hop, je dois bien avouer que Kendrick Lamar m'a bluffé, et je comprends pourquoi il est considéré comme une référence. Top : Swimming Pools (Drank) Flop : Real

Albums bad, albums bad. This is really, really bad. 1/5

Kendrick’s first masterpiece. I put it maybe #2 right behind “To Pimp a Butterfly”, though others might have “DAMN.” ahead of this. All are fabulous, but I prefer the R&B and funk touches in this one (layers that surely make fellow Comptonite Dr.Dre proud) over the stripped-down/ aggro beats of the other.

pretty good

I haven't really gotten into Kendrick Lamar until this album. Great, kinda chill album.

A masterpiece of storytelling

This man knows how to rap.

Probably the most I've enjoyed a modern hip-hop album, really strong grooves, nice blend of genres and variation from track to track and it's all a bit dark and moody. I understand some people object to the lyrics but it feels more like storytelling and describing a character to me rather bnecessarily being the truth of who he is, I could be wrong though