Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city a short film by Kendrick Lamar

     In an age where rappers claim to be “storytellers” but often fall short (way short) a young West Coast emcee steps to the forefront to show his peers how it’s done. After building hype (deserved hype) with a couple mixtapes Kendrick Lamar drops his debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and continues to raise the bar with skill and originality in a scene full of trends, and rip off rappers. This was my first time hearing anything from Kendrick and needless to say I’m a little disappointed in myself for sleeping on him. This album is great!

     Kendrick Lamar is a much needed breath of fresh air in a genre full of people following each other to stay relevant. But much like fellow young emcee Big K.R.I.T, Kendrick does things his own way and thats what separates him from the rest. He’s young, and you hear that in his lyrics and delivery. He’s West Coast, and you hear that in his story and style. But he’s also different, you hear that in almost everything. From the way KDot spits, to his creative vocal effects, to his storytelling, he’s leagues beyond any of his “peers” you’ll see on TV. Kendrick’s debut is a concept album that tells the story of a day in his life hanging with friends, hooking up with girls, drinking too much, getting fussed at by his parents, losing homies to gang violence, and how Hip Hop changed his world. His style is reminiscent of a young Nas - his voice and storytelling, Andre 3000 - his creativity in delivery and vocal effects/changes, or Lupe fiasco in the way he tells stories of The Hood without actually partaking in The Hood activities (in some cases). He does this with a humility and creativity sorely lacked in today’s mainstream music. He doesn’t tell you he’s a gangster but he tells you about seeing the gangsters. He’s not a hustler but he speaks on the hustlers around him. He’s not rich but he tells you how he aspires to change circumstances for his self and his loved ones. The artists who can do this well tend to be some of my favorites and Kendrick is definitely working along that path.

     Something I really dig about this album is the fact that they’re are 11 different producers for 12 songs but the production maintains cohesiveness. You would think with that many names and styles behind the boards the music would be all over the place, but no. The production picks up and slows down in just the right places to follow the pace of the story. The mixing and mastering on the album is mega solid! The tracklist is put together well to give the story highlights and pitfalls in terms of energy and vibe. In terms of style the production sounds hella West Coast with a twist. The music is chill and laid back sometimes, and uptempo at others. There’s a couple beats that don’t really fit the usual West Coast sound in terms of tempo, but they somehow don’t sound out of place. No matter the tempo though, the West Coast storytelling mood never breaks.

     There’s definitely lots of praise to be shelled out for this album. But for me, there’s also some negatives. The one song that’s geared more for the ladies features everyone favorite R&B rapper Drake, and in my opinion it’s one of the lackluster songs on the album. There’s also some minor lowpoints where Kendrick’s flow takes some terms for the cheesy whether it’s repeating certain lines over and over, or just some overly typical rap punchlines we may have heard before. But these instances are few and far between and nothing to gripe too much about. The album is otherwise a great starting point for what is sure to be a solid career. Kendrick will hopefully inspire other young emcees to get out of the bubblegum, trend following, money and bitches type of Rap we hear from almost everyone else. GKMC is a dope album and I can’t wait to hear more from this dude.

Pros :
- Original delivery, good storytelling
- Diverse but cohesive production
- Humility and intelligence from a hood perspective

Cons :
- A song with Drake on it
- Some cheesy/typical punch lines
- A verse from Dr. Dre that was OBVIOUSLY NOT written by Dre

Check this album out, whether you like independent/underground or mainstream/overground stuff this is good Hip Hop.

ZN

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P.O.S – We Don’t Even Live Here

     If you read through this review and it starts to sound biased that’s because it is. Biased in the sense that P.O.S is one of my favorite emcees and, in my opinion, he can do no wrong.  With that being said, the Doomtree co-founder’s latest album, We Don’t Even Live Here, is a new ride down a familiar road that’s probably cruising into many people’s AOTY list. And by cruising I mean driving a flaming oil tanker into the Federal Reserve with stereos on blast and no regard for Pacifists – cruising.

     We Don’t Even Live Here is a slight shift musically for P.O.S. The Punk/Hardcore influence takes a backseat to more Electro and Dance inspired beats. But don’t let that scare you. Pissed Off Stef is just as pissed and he’s just as serious as usual. Some of the beats on songs like “Get Down”, or “Weird Friends (We Don’t Even Live Here)” are lighthearted but have just as much weight as earlier output. And the loud, heavy, angry stuff is still there. Tracks like “Fire In The Hole/Arrow To The Action” and “Piano Hits” have Stef screaming his lungs out over beats that are gnarlier than most Hardcore acts these days. The different styles, the club-esque production and the anger-drenched loud stuff, balance well. Although the album sonically sways and shifts, ebbs and flows through different musical territories the energy is ALWAYS there. Whether the beat is by P.O.S himself, Lazerbeak, Cecil Otter, or Andrew Dawson the passion and intensity remain constant.

     The lyrical content also enters slightly different territory. Or maybe it’s not so much different territory as much as it is how prevalent the themes and ideas are. On previous albums Mr. Promise Of Stress keeps the lyrics personal, introspective, and abstract with a hint of social critique. Flip flop that last sentence and you have WDELH. The personal stuff is there, but the social/political views and ideas make up a bulk of the subject matter. Anarchy and anti-materialism, the overhyped election of Obama, and the Occupy movement are just a few of the topics covered. P.O.S attacks fake rappers, fake politicians, and whoever else stands in his way, all the while dropping some of his best lyrics to date. Some rappers who address Social and Political views lose the average listener, but P.O.S talks TO you not AT you constructing his ideas clearly and creatively. He spits with aggression and intelligence but doesn’t go over heads.

     After all is said and done, once the smoke clears, the fires are put out, and the last of the anarchists leave the party, this is my Album Of The Year. Is it my favorite P.O.S album to date? No. Not yet. Never Better will be a hard one to beat in my book, but I’ve had years to grow with it. Maybe after a bit of time this newest one will grow to take that number 1 spot. But WDELH is an incredible album. From the upbeat and fun Electro/Dance beats to the razor sharp, witty delivery of brick through your window lyricism, P.O.S improves and expands on his musical arsenal.

This album should not be missed by any self-respecting Hip Hop fan. Like Stef says on “The Can’t Come”, “They sleep on us/ Don’t wake ‘em up/ We’re sneaking out/”. You snooze you lose.

Pros:
-  Always impressive, but easy to digest lyrics
- Production from different artists/backgrounds without losing album unity
- Danceable but serious, fun but intelligent

Cons:
- 11 songs (13 on the Deluxe) leaves you wanting more – but is that really a negative?

Thanks for your time. You can find this album on iTunes, fifthelementonline.com, or doomtree.net.

ZN
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