1001 Albums Summary

Listening to this album felt like watching a movie. It’s so theatrical - the songs feel like they in constant conversation with each other - a stage play depicting the most vulnerable and intimate moments of someone’s anecdotal experience of being a black man in America. Lamar crafts a story with the finesse of an architect, and the sincerity of a poet. I haven’t really been much of a rap listener in the past, but this album turned me. “Authentic” and “real” and “raw” seem to be the buzzwords of the music industry these days, but this album actually embodies them. Lamar has given us, the listeners, deeply personal insight into his life, soundtracked with a symphony of sound that immerses you into his world. I would genuinely be interested in seeing him score a film, I think he would be brilliant. His lyricism (and of course rhythm) is beyond anything I’ve ever heard before. If this album doesn’t prove to you that rap is poetry, I don’t know what will.

My first real introduction to soul and I wasn’t disappointed. Definitely the kind of music you put on when you want to feel something real.

I liked it! Very depressing. Good for wallowing.

Vibey. Great as background music, not really my vibe. Extremely repetitive which is great if you’re not really paying attention to it. Like the different sounds used to create a very specific feel. Feel I would enjoy it more with a few drinks in my system lol