Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city ALBUM REVIEW

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Kendrick Lamar has established himself as one of the best to ever do it. He has had many landmark releases like To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN., along with the Black Panther soundtrack too. Many people still consider Lamar to be one of the greatest of all time, and I couldn’t agree more with that. So, what we’re gonna do is go back to his major-label debut, 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, and see how it holds up. Let’s go on Kendrick Lamar’s incredible journey.

good kid, m.A.A.d city is a conscious West Coast hip-hop record, and it chronicles Lamar’s youth in Compton, California. It’s presented as a ‘short film by Kendrick Lamar,’ and it certainly has the scope of one. Nearly every track has a voicemail from Lamar’s mother to provide exposition to the album/short film, and as a story, good kid, m.A.A.d city works perfectly. As an album, though, it’s just as perfect. From a production standpoint, the majority of the record is very laidback, similar to an early Outkast sound that I enjoy quite a bit. There are quite a bit of highlights on here. From the 12 minute opus of “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” to the iconic “Backseat Freestyle” to one of the best samples in hip-hop history on “Money Trees,” good kid, m.A.A.d city is a classic, and it’s aged very well.

good kid, m.A.A.d city is a masterpiece, but it isn’t Kendrick Lamar’s best album (that honor belongs to To Pimp a Butterfly). It’s insane to me that I can call this his second-best record, even when it is an absolute classic. Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest of all time, and this was where he was found.


10/10


Stream good kid, m.A.A.d city here

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