Usually I focus on local or underground artists, however, the amount of buzz around Kendrick Lamar’s new album DAMN., has really captured my attention. Kendrick made history by having every single track get on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. With his upcoming tour scheduled to hit the PNW, I wanted to share an outsider’s opinion about the K Dot craze.
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
Quick Thoughts on the Slaps
Sitting midway on the Billboard at #54 is the opening track Blood. A spoken anecdote about the demise of Lamar to the hand of a blind woman. A short story, but an impactful way to begin a dramatic album.
Jumping up towards the top of the chart at #4 is DNA. A chaotic three minutes describing what Kendrick is made of. The music video features Don Cheadle, the original Kung Fu Kenny and inspiration for Kendrick Lamar’s alter ego.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZRYQMLDW4&w=560&h=315]
Doing a complete 180°, Yah sits at #34 with a lo-fi beat, and much more relaxed bars. For the third time, you can hear the sample of Geraldo Rivera criticizing Kendrick about a previous performance. Even further, Lamar goes on to call him and FOX News out saying they just “wanna use my name for the percentage.”
Element sits at #16 and has probably one of the catchiest lines of the whole album. At this point in the album, I started to really appreciate Kendrick’s writing. He uses epistrophic bars deliberately to reinforce his point.
Continuing with the repetitive bars, Feel takes an anaphoric approach to let us know how Lamar feels. Sitting at #35, this introspective song begins an emotional trend in the album. The title of the next six songs is almost captured in the essence of the track itself.
With the first feature of the album, Rihanna backs up Kendrick’s desire for Loyalty and honesty in a relationship. In the #14 slot, both artists deliver bars that get you “geeked and fired up.”
To me, Pride is a very theatrical and dramatic song. Charting at #37, this song gives you the opposite feeling that its title tries to evoke. Pride is a calmer track that is reminiscent of what Childish Gambino did on his recent release of the highly theatrical album, Awaken My Love.
The track order in an album is highly important. Kendrick’s organization using stark contrasts in consecutive beats has kept my interest to the halfway point. The original single, Humble, is now the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Nowhere near sounding humble, this boisterous track is that “Grey Poupon, that Evian, that TED talk, ayy.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI&w=560&h=315]
Sitting at #42, Lust talks about just that, the lust in a rappers life to satisfy their vices. One of the other more theatrical sounding songs, it feels inspired by Andre 3000 especially from the album The Love Below.
Keeping on the topic of intimacy is #18 on the Billboard Chart, Love. The second feature on the album is relatively unknown singer known as Zacari. A soothing voice that truly makes you fall in love for 3 1/2 minutes, he’s definitely giving K Dot a run for his money.
XXX is far from raunchy, but political and religious. Working with rock legends U2, this song debuted on the charts at #33. It sounds like multiple short songs laced together to tell a story of American society at this moment.
It’s clear by the charts that the end of an album is always the hardest for the general listener to get through to. Still ranking at #50, Fear takes us through the fearful times in Kendrick’s life. The second verse is an example of Lamar’s talent of interpolation. Just one of the many examples that a rapper can write bars using school smarts.
At this point Kendrick is flaunting his success, saying “this what God feel like.” I can understand why this one comes in at #58, it’s a little bit slower and flat comparatively.
The lowest ranking song at #63, is probably the most introspective. Titled with his surname Duckworth, this song really details the struggles Kendrick’s parents went through raising him. Specifically telling a story of a near death experience between his father and Top Dawg Entertainment CEO, and producer of the album, Anthony Tiffith.
The whole album ends with Lamar rewinding all the way back to the beginning of Blood. It made me feel like I had just stepped out of his brain, and that the whole album was a dream.
