Have you ever wondered whether someone are ironic or not upon discovering their music? That was my experience with Kendrick Lamar. His sleazy rapping over the slow beat, I thought, was somewhat of a great parody of hip hop. That may be because of my little experience with rap music. I realised he was serious, and not only that, he was widely considered a good rapper, on what I saw on the internet anyway. I gave his album a shot.
What strikes me at first is that Kendrick epitomizes the stereotypical negro; "nigga" is probably the most used word on the album, lyrics decipt a "gangsta" lifestyle and his voice makes me think of a Jamaican guy who's half asleep yet his lyrics makes me think of a young American negro who's a half-criminal. This could be the soundtrack of GTA: San Andreas. Him shouting "MARTIN HAD A DREAM" at the beginning and end of Backseat Freestyle tops it. Believe me when I say a rabbi has troubles identifying with Kendrick, his people and their culture.
His beats and melodies are predictable. It is your typical drums, bass and occasional piano you find on every hip hop album. Nothing new, and I don't think Kendrick aims at bringing anything new with his beats. The main things he brings to the table with this album is his unique voice and his lyrics. My guess is if you don't identify with him, you'll probably not have a good time with this album.
2/10