Kendrick Lamar – “GNX” review

Compton emcee, songwriter & actor Kendrick Lamar surprise-releasing his 6th studio LP outta nowhere ahead of his Super Bowl LIX halftime show in a few months. Coming up in ‘04 off his debut mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. (Youngest Head N***a in Charge): Hub City Threat (Minor of the Year), he would go on to follow-up with 2 more tapes as well as an eponymous debut EP before breaking out in the fall of 2010 off his 4th mixtape O(verly) D(edicated) & then Section.80 that next summer. Then came him signing to Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment, where Kendrick made himself home at for a decade. Especially given that good kid, m.A.A.d city & To Pimp a Butterfly have quickly become some of the most beloved hip hop albums ever made in their own rights for good reason whether it be gkmc coming off as a hood movie on wax or TPaB delivering relevant social commentary on top of jazzy, funky production. DAMN. however was definitely his most commercial one yet & I don’t listen to it as much as his other work, but it’s still a great listen nonetheless with its phenomenal duality concept. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers fulfilled his Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath contract with a mature 2-disc effort, resulting in pgLang signing with Interscope for distribution. His beef with Drake this year has been absolutely prolific on his side from “euphoria” to my favorite “meet the grahams” & of course “Not Like Us”, returning a week ahead of Thanksgiving by pulling up in a GNX.

“wacced out murals” is this trap intro talking about Drake fans fucking up a mural of his in Compton a couple months ago additionally refusing to squash it with Drake himself, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg reposting “Taylor Made”, feeling like his hard work let Lil Wayne down & Nas being the only person to congratulate him for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show whereas “squabble up” takes the hyphy route instrumentally to talk about walking in & later walking out both sides. “luther” samples “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross thanks to Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington & Sounwave envisioning a world where pain & conflict are eradicated prior to the calming “man at the garden” talking about deserving it all when he absolutely does.

Meanwhile on “hey now”, we have Kendrick & Dody6 over a ratchet instrumental from none other than DJ Mustard boasting that they’re way too important just before my 2nd favorite track “reincarnated” flips “Made N****z” by 2Pac letting off concentrated thoughts on who he used to be & putting 100 hoods on 1 stage at the Pop Out show this summer. “tv off” serves as this 2-parter with the 2nd half standing out the most explaining that someone gotta do something about these muhfuckas actin’ bad out here with only a few real ones left, but then the atmospherically funky “dodger blue” with co-production from Terrace Martin talks about the westside getting the money.

“peekaboo” featuring AzChike & Dody6 nears the end of GNX by getting back on the nervous tip dissin’ everyone for talkin’ a whole lotta nothing while my personal favorite track “The Heart VI” serves as the real 6th installment of his famous “Heart” series disregarding that awful diss Drake put out this spring, sampling my favorite SWV song “Use Your Heart” to take ownership in a Black Hippy album never materializing & explaining why he left TDE. The title track by Hitta J3, Peysoh & YoungThreat gets together over some keys to talk about being the ones while “gloria” tropically finishes by addressing a fear of forever.

“Not Like Us” was a firm reminder that Kendrick is absolutely more than capable of making fun music rather than certain individual having him pigeonholed as a conscious artist & GNX being his first body of work after leaving TDE/Aftermath if anything expands on that. The production showcases his versatility with a decent list of lesser-known local guests prominently going for a west coast trap vibe with additional elements of ratchet music, nervous music, conscious hip hop, hardcore hip hop & pop rap.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ab-Soul – “Soul Burger” review

This is the 3rd mixtape from Carson, California emcee Ab-Soul. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo Area 51 alongside Snake Hollywood, Soulo would go on to sign to Top Dawg Entertainment after their disbandment & has remained under Top Dawg’s wing since. Dude’s first 2 mixtapes Longterm & Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke & Almost Famous would begin to turn heads & I can’t forget about his first 2 full-lengths Longterm Mentality & Control System going on to become the Black Lip Bastard’s most acclaimed efforts to date, but These Days… & Do What Thou Wilt. were both released to mediocre reception from many including myself. Herbert marked a return to form for him a couple years ago & is now remembering Doeburger throughout Soul Burger.

“9 Mile” is a drumless/boom bap 2-parter sampling the iconic Mobb Deep single “Shook Ones, Pt. II” talking about how caine never really left his side whereas “Paiday” takes the trap route instrumentally demanding he gets paid. “All That” featuring Jason Martin & produced by Tae Beast goes for a bit of a gangsta rap vibe representing their west coast street ties just before the sample-driven “California Dream” featuring Vince Staples with 9th Wonder behind the boards shows love to their home state.

Moving on from there, “B.U.C.K.O. Jr.” returns to a trap sound touching on his soldier mentality leading into Doechii joining Soulo for “I, Myself & Me” brings back a bit of a boom bap edge talking about it simply being themselves. “DND” featuring Notorious N.I.Q. pulls inspiration from the trap scene once more thanks to Beat Butcha & Sounwave running the checks up tryna pay the price, but then the symphonic trap hybrid “Don Julio 70” by Soul Fre$h demonstrates the duo’s chemistry.

“Go Pro” featuring Ty$ starts the 2nd half of the tape boasting that the real ones are back in style while the catchy “Saudi Sweats” makes it clear that if it ain’t about the money, he ain’t really having it. “Squeeze 1st 2” is this jazzy sequel to the JAY-Z joint “Squeeze 1st” letting the gun off & asking questions later while “Crazier” featuring J.I.D brings the 2 together for a drumlessly experimental ride showing off abstract lyricism.

The song “Peace” featuring Lupe Fiasco & Punch strips the drums once more showing a bit of a conscious side to them for 5 & a half minutes while the penultimate track “The Sky’s Limitless” heads for a psychedelic trap direction courtesy of Terrace Martin whom Kendrick Lamar mentioned on “The Day The Party Died” encouraging listeners that they can have & be whatever they want in this life. “Righteous Man” properly ends the tape on some hardcore shit keeping a bullet with your name on it.

For his 1st mixtape in nearly 14 & a half years, Soulo maintains the consistency of Herbert by cooking up a homage to Doeburger that I feel does his memory justice. The production ranges from boom bap to trap & drumless with the lyricism offering a look at the gangsta life, consciousness & even a hint of abstract through use of metaphors along with symbolism & cryptic meanings.

Score: 3.5/5

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ScHoolboy Q – “Blue Lips” review

THis is tHe 6tH full-lengtH LP from SoutH Los Angeles emcee ScHoolboy Q. Emerging at tHe beginning of tHe decade as 1/4 of Black Hippy, He released His first 2 albums Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions independently until making His major label debut witH Oxymoron turning 10 last month. THis would be followed up witH Blank Face LP a couple years later & CrasH Talk, tHe latter of wHicH is regarded as Q’s weakest & most commercial body of work. So after nearly 5 years, Blue Lips had to be tHe most excited I’ve been for a Top Dawg Entertainment project in recent memory after Kendrick Lamar’s final album witH tHe label Mr. Morale & tHe Big Steppers.

“Funny Guy” is a feel-good intro produced by Tae Beast of tHe TDE in-House production team Digi+PHonics encouraging to bring tHe dope, Hoes & money bag to tHe spot wHereas “Pop” featuring Rico Nasty dabbles witH rap rock a little courtesy of Beat ButcHa talking about tHe gang activities tHey’ve gotten tHemselves into. “THank god 4 me” tries to keep tHe peace instead of piecing bitcHes over Horns & Hi-Hats witH a cloudy switcH-up just before tHe drumless “Blueslides” profoundly pays tribute to Mac Miller.

Cardo’s production on “Yeern 101” Has some experimentally lowend undertones tHrougHout energetically running it off top leading into tHe minimalist “Love Birds” talking about mistreating tHe one He loves tHe most. “Movie” featuring Az CHike turns tHe bass up to 11 referring to tHemselves as badass kids mucH like Bruce Lee, but tHen “Cooties” fuses kicks & snares witH acoustics celebrating better living.

“oHio” featuring Freddie Gibbs ends tHe first Half of tHe album witH a dynamic 3-parter sHutting sHit down wHile “Foux” featuring Ab-Soul is tHe long-awaited 4tH installment of tHe “Druggys wit Hoes” series witH a psycHedelic flare to tHe beat. “First” gives off a cloudier vibe addressing a woman tHat Q was fuckin’ witH first wHile tHe DJ KHalil-laced “Nunu” promises to God tHat you’ll continue to Hear new music from Him instead of waiting 5 years again.

MeanwHile, “Back n Love” featuring Devyn Malik dives into nocturnal trap territory talking about falling in love witH tHis sHit again becoming tHe voice of 20,000 kids like WWE Hall of Famers D-Generation X wHile my favorite on the LP “Lost Times” Has tHat signature AlcHemist sound putting a finger in tHe air for tHe times He can’t get back. “Germany ‘86” Has a groovier tone instrumentally reminding tHat pain is a part of man wHile “Time Killers” futuristically talking about being a lone star.

“Pig Feet” cops down over a spacious trap beat mentioning tHe finisHing move of 10-time WWE world cHampion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental CHampion, 5-time WWE Tag Team CHampion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, $7 Productions co-founder & tHe final boss of professional wrestling THe Rock while “Smile” cHarismatically finisHes tHe album witH a 1-minute cut about swerving His old bitcH.

Q’s my 2nd favorite Black Hippy member beHind Kendrick but now tHat tHe latter departed TDE couple years ago to focus on pgLang, He Has to be my new favorite artist on tHe current roster & Blue Lips lived up to my expectations redeeming Himself from CrasH Talk last time we Heard from him. THe production mostly Handled by Tae Beast is less commercial tHan it was on tHat previous LP before tHe COVID-19 pandemic sHut tHe world down tHe following spring & Q also sounds more inspired.

Score: 4/5

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Ab-Soul – “Herbert” review

Ab-Soul is a 35 year old MC & singer/songwriter from Carson, California who came up as 1/2 of the duo Area 51 alongside Snake Hollywood. The pair would be short lived however, as Soulo would go on to sign to Top Dawg Entertainment & has remained under Top Dawg’s wing since. Dude’s first 2 mixtapes Longterm & Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke & Almost Famous would begin to turn heads & I can’t forget about his first 2 full-lengths Longterm Mentality & Control System going on to become the Black Lip Bastard’s most acclaimed efforts to date, but These Days… & Do What Thou Wilt. were both released to mediocre reception from many including myself. That being said though, I was definitely looking forward to Soulo’s 6th album here as TDE comes fresh off SZA‘s long awaited sophomore effort S.O.S. last Friday & of course Kendrick’s final offering with the label Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers over the spring.

“Message in a Bottle” is a 2-part boom bap opener with Soulo talking about being close to the edge whereas “No Report Card” takes a peppier Route promising not to stop. “Hollandaise” starts off going into trap turf with some cloudy/pluggy undertones talking about being locked in with no fucks given prior to a jazzy switch-up during the final verse, but then Joey Bada$$ tags along for the “Moonshooter” remix weaving a chipmunk soul sample & some dusty drums to get more conscious lyrically.

However on “F.O.M.F. (Fuck Out My Face)”, we have the Black Lip Bastard over a horn-inflicted trap instrumental advising the bitch-made to back up from him leading into Punch coming into the picture for the soulful boom bap cut “Goodman” talking about being righteous & good men turning tyrant. “Do Better” samples “Green Twins” by Nick Hakim dropping some more uplifting lyricism just before the Fre$h-assisted “Gang’Nem” embraces a cloudier sound getting on a whole lotta gang shit.

“The Wild Side” returns to the boom bap with some piano chords woven in speaking on turning their lifestyles into their careers while “Art of Seduction” is of course a decently moody love ballad. “Bucket” hooks up a vocal loop talking about controlling this system & not to worry about a damn thing while “Go Off” with Big Sean & Russ has a wavy trap groove with the trio giving off big sick energy. The verse from the latter at the middle is kinda cringey especially with the line about not teaching a girl how to arch since she’s from St. Louis, but Sean comes out swinging with a crazy Stone Cold Steve Austin reference once he starts spitting near the end.

Moving on from there with “Fallacy” featuring Alemeda, it’s only right for Soulo to declare that the real is back over some airy boom bap production from Hit-Boy while the title track brings a sample-based trap beat into the fold talking about how he’ll never be understood. “Church on the Move” is a gospel/trap hybrid keeping the faith while the piano-heavy “It Be Like That” admits his fuck-ups with a melodic outro. The penultimate track “Positive Vibes Only” speaks for itself with a triumphant beat & “Gotta Rap” finishes the album with the God of Boom Bap himself DJ Premier behind the boards to flex Ab’s lyrical abilities.

As someone who adored this guy’s first 2 full-lengths during my adolescence, I’ll admit that I had some doubts going into Herbert considering how underwhelming his last 2 have been. However, there’s no denying that this is the best he’s sounded since Control System. Given the title, I admire how he decided to get more personal be detailing his upbringings accompanied by some versatile production pulling from boom bap to trap & even gospel music.

Score: 4/5

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Kendrick Lamar – “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” review

It’s really here: The 5th full-length album from Compton, California emcee, songwriter & actor Kendrick Lamar. Coming up in ‘04 off his debut mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. (Youngest Head N***a in Charge): Hub City Threat (Minor of the Year), he would go on to follow-up with 2 more tapes as well as an eponymous debut EP before breaking out in the fall of 2010 off his 4th mixtape O(verly) D(edicated) & then Section.80 that next summer. Then came him signing to Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment, where Kendrick has made himself home since then. Especially given that good kid, m.A.A.d city & To Pimp a Butterfly have quickly become some of the most beloved hip hop albums ever made in their own rights for good reason whether it be gkmc coming off as a hood movie on wax or TPaB delivering relevant social commentary on top of jazzy, funky production. Kendrick’s last album DAMN. however was definitely his most commercial one yet & I don’t listen to it as much as his other work, but it’s still a great listen nonetheless with it’s phenomenal duality concept. But only 3 months after performing the Super Bowl LVI halftime show, Kendrick has finally returned in the form of the double disc Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers to fulfill his Top Dawg Entertainment contract.

“United in Grief” opens up the album a piano & drum instrumental from oklama himself surprisingly alongside Sounwave amongst a few others talking about mourning differently whereas “N95” works in some synth-horns & hi-hats provided by Boi-1da & Baby Keem to declare that “You’re back outside, but they still lied”, obviously referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. I also loved when he says “You entertain the mediocre, need to stop it. You entertainin’ old friends when they toxic” during the outro. “Worldwide Steppers” takes a more tenser route with co-production from Tae Beast sampling “Breakthrough” by The Funkees talking about how “we’s them killers”, but then the DJ Dahi & FNZ co-produced “Die Hard” shoots for a more catchier vibe down to the hook shared by both Blxst & especially Amanda Reifer flipping “Remember the Rain” by Kadjha Bonet encouraging listeners to not let your past keep me you from your best.

Meanwhile on “Father Time”, we have Kendrick over some solemn boom bap production sampling “You’re Not There” by Hoskins ‘Ncrowd detailing the relationship that he had with his pops with a killer hook from Sampha & the “Rich” interlude is basically Kodak Black detailing what he learned in the business over some bare pianos. “Rich Spirit” turns things into more spacious territory with some finger-snaps, snares & hi-hats talking about staying strong mentally, but then “We Cry Together” is pretty much Kendrick & Taylour Paige (should’ve been Rico Nasty but it is what it is) re-enacting a legitimate argument that K-Dot had with his fiancée Whitney Alford over an Uncle Al beat flipping “June” by Florence + the Machine. It’s tense, but feels reminiscent to “Kim” off of Eminem’s iconic 2000 masterpiece The Marshall Mathers LP.

Ghostface Killah & Summer Walker tag along for the smooth love ballad “Purple Hearts” to the complete the 1st disc even though I can’t stand the “yeah baby” at the end of the hook & the 1 line on Summer’s verse co-written by fellow Compton representative/Shady Records signee Westside Boogie about eating ass had me rollin’ while “Count Me Out” opens up the 2nd disc by mixing trap influences with some catchy vocal melodies taking aim at his detractors. “Crown” is a vulnerable piano ballad admitting that he can’t please everybody while “Silent Hill” easily has the worst hook on the album, although I appreciate Kendrick & Kodak riding a nocturnal trap beat talking about pushing snakes off them catchin’ a bale of Google.

Following that, the “Savior” interlude is in the same vein as “Rich” from the string/piano instrumental to Baby Keem recalling some memories that he had growing up while the actual “Savior” song itself has an irresistibly catchy groove to the beat from Cardo asking if one is really happy for him as well as admitting that he started questioning Kyrie after catching the rona. “Auntie Diaries” starts off with a moodier aesthetic before getting triumphant at the end with Kung Fu Kenny discussing his uncle & one of his cousins being transgender while the song “Mr. Morale” opens up about the heavy shit that’s been on his mind as of late over a Pharrell instrumental with a peppy, futuristic tone to it. The penultimate track “Mother I Sober” is definitely the saddest on the album with it’s bare pianos along with former Portishead frontwoman Beth Gibbons on the hook & K-Dot reflecting on witnessing his mom being sexually assaulted when he was 5 years old as “Mirror” finishes the album by apologizing for choosing himself over anyone else over a colorful beat with an empowering hook.

5 long years later & Kendrick is parting TDE with what I consider to be hip hop’s best double album since Big K.R.I.T. dropped 4eva’s a Mighty Long Time only 6 months after DAMN. came out. Hell, I find Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers to be superior to it’s predecessor because I really admire that he decided to come back after all this time to reflect on his life past & present over production mixing together it’s more trappy, poppier cuts with the politically charged jazz rap from the greatest hip hop album of the 2010s even down to the latter’s experimental, neo-soul undertones.

Score: 4.5/5

ScHoolboy Q – “CrasH Talk” review

ScHoolboy Q is a 32 year old rapper from SoutH Los Angeles, California wHo came up at tHe beginning of tHe decade as 1/4 of Black Hippy. He released His first 2 albums Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions independently, but it wouldn’t be until 2014 tHat He would make His major label debut witH Oxymoron. THis would be followed up witH Blank Face LP a couple years later, wHicH I personally consider to be Q’s best work yet. However, 3 years Have passed & He’s now returning witH His 5tH full-lengtH album.

THe opener “Gang Gang” details His drug dealing past over an eerie trap beat from DJ Fu wHile tHe next song “Tales” takes a look back at Q’s criminal past over a somber DJ DaHi & Jake One instrumental. THe track “CHopstix” is a painfully boring “club banger” if you wanna call it tHat & even tHougH I do enjoy tHe gritty lyricism on “Numb Numb Juice”, it sounds unfinisHed & tHe beat is dime a dozen. THe track “Drunk” is a moody alcohol antHem wHile tHe song “Lies” witH YG takes a jab at tHe people wHo’ve said false tHings about tHem over an atmospheric beat from Sounwave. THe track “5200” gets murderous over a vibrant beat tHat doesn’t quite matcH tHe lyricism wHile tHe song “Black Folk” is a jab at an unnamed fraud over a cloudy beat.

THe track “Floating” witH 21 Savage talks about being on drugs over a murky beat wHile tHe song “Dangerous” describes the famous lifestyle over a psychedelic instumental. THe track “Die wit ‘Em” gets murderous over a monstrous Cardo beat wHile tHe song “CrasH” talks about going on over a Boi-1da instrumental tHat cHops & screws PRHyme’s “Boom”. THe penultimate track “Water” witH Lil Baby is an awkward brag despite tHe godly feeling in Cardo’s production & tHen tHe album finisHes witH “Attention”, wHere Q talks about praise & passion over a decent boom bap beat.

I don’t know what else to say, this is EXACTLY what I expected. It’s a lot more commercial which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it sounds just as forced as Jay Rock’s last album Redemption was.

Score: 2.5/5

Jay Rock – “Redemption” review

With Top Dawg Entertainment’s ongoing Championship Tour wrapping up this weekend, it’s only right for Black Hippy member Jay Rock to deliver his highly anticipated 3rd full-length album.

The album begins with “The Bloodiest,” where he reflects about growing up in Watts an eerie beat from Boi-1da, Allen Ritter & Jake One. The next track “For What It’s Worth” talks about murdering someone as well as having sex with this woman even though he knows that she ain’t right over a smooth beat from Sounwave while the song “Knock It Off” is a warning to everyone who’s trying to be him over a laidback trap beat. However, the flow doesn’t really do anything for me on this one. The track “ES Tales” talks about going back to the projects over a sinister beat while the song “Rotation 112th” grittily talks about gang life & the trap beat on here suits it pretty while. The track “Tap Out” is of course a sex tune with a generic beat & a decent Jeremih hook while the song “OSOM” with J. Cole & SiR tells the listeners that they’re living life like he’s runnin’ out of time over a gloomy trap beat.

The track “King’s Dead” originally appeared in the Black Panther soundtrack earlier this year & I’m actually upset they kept Future’s verse on there & removed Kendrick Lamar’s. On the other hand: the song “Troopers” brags about his crew, but the Cardo production sounds vaguely similar to his instrumental on “THat Part” off of ScHoolboy Q’s last album Blank Face LP. The track “Broke+-“ is of course about money over a somber instrumental while the song “Wow” makes up for “King’s Dead” by flawlessly displaying the chemistry between Jay & Kendrick over a bouncy woodwind-infused trap beat from Hit-Boy. The title track lyrically reminds me of “Start from Scratch” by The Game over a beautiful piano instrumental & the SZA hook is very pretty. The closer “WIN” has a triumphant trap beat & I do like the delivery, but it sounds half-written & the hook is very tedious. Also as much as I love Kendrick, his constant adlibs on this joint are too much.

I already knew going into this that it was pretty much gonna be Jay Rock’s DAMN. & while it’s not bad, it could’ve been much better. He sounds a lot more energetic on here than he was on his last 2 albums & the content is mostly on par as well, but a lot of these trappy instrumentals are hit or miss with me to be quite honest.

Score: 3/5

Kendrick Lamar – “DAMN.” review

With his magnum opus To Pimp a Butterfly celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary last month, Black Hippy member Kendrick Lamar has now delivered his 4th full-length album with the whole world watching. The opening track “BLOOD.” starts off with some harmonious choir vocals, but then we hear some dramatic strings & Kendrick recalling a story of a blind woman shooting him after trying to help her. The second track “DNA.” talks about his heritage & while the Mike WiLL Made-It beat starts off with some heavy bass & a guitar that’s somewhat buried in the mix, it then changes to some hard hitting drums & a vocal sample. Seriously, hearing this will make you get wild.

The track “YAH.” has a mellow instrumental from Sounwave & DJ Dahi seeing Kendrick melodically talking about following his intuition. The blatant jab at FOX News reporter Geraldo Rivera at the beginning of the 2nd & final verse of the song was well deserved, too. The song “ELEMENT.” is basically about how he’ll always stand strong at what he does & the vocal sample on here is haunting as Hell. The track “FEEL.” vents about a number of different emotions over a wavy vocal sample & some keyboards. The song “LOYALTY.” is a duet with Rihanna about just that & the reversed, sped-up Bruno Mars sample that can be heard from start to finish was really cool. The track “PRIDE.” is Kendrick talking about what he would probably be like in a perfect world over a psychedelic instrumental from Internet guitarist Steve Lacy. We get some constant voice pitch changing during the first verse, but then second verse is just monotoned. The album’s lead single “HUMBLE.” sees Kendrick telling everyone to be humble to him over some ominous keys & even though I wasn’t all too crazy about it when it first came out a couple weeks ago like quite a few people were, I will admit that it has grown on me.

The song “LUST.” has a melancholy beat from DJ Dahi, Sounwave & BADBADNOTGOOD and while it starts off by going into the mind of a woman living in the hood, Kendrick then gets introspective about post-fame life as well as how Americans protested & eventually went back to living their regular lives as a result of Donald Trump being elected our current president back in November. I can absolutely appreciate Kendrick dedicating the track “LOVE.” to his fiancé Whitney Alford, but the hook from Zacari sounds exactly like The Weeknd & it just comes off as very annoying.

The song “XXX.” with U2 (albeit minus The Edge) starts off Kendrick aggressively going in while on the phone with a friend coming to him after his son died, but then he somberly talks about never doubting Barack ever again now that we have Donald Trump as our current president. I also really love how the beat during the first verse has some explosive bass as well as police sirens, but then it transitions into some drumming provided by Larry Mullen Jr. as well as some relaxing piano keys. Also, can’t forget about the beautiful Bono hook on here either. I’m not gonna lie, this song really makes me want U2 to drop Songs of Experience later this year.

The track “FEAR.” vividly recalls 3 fearful moments when Kendrick was 3, 17 & 27 over a gloomy beat from The Alchemist enhanced by a soul sample. The penultimate track “GOD.” is basically Kendrick saying he feels like God with all the success he has seen over the years over some spacey Cardo production, but the delivery during the hook & the first verse was just alright. The album closes out with “DUCKWORTH.”, where Kendrick tells a story about Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith almost killed Kendrick’s father over a soulful instrumental from 9th Wonder & the beat change about halfway through the track is NASTY!

While I’ve been hearing some people saying they were expecting this to better or worse than To Pimp a Butterfly, all I wanted from him was to put out a good album & that’s EXACTLY what I got on here. The Kid Capri intros that you’ll hear on a few tracks give me a nice throwback feeling & while I’m not gonna deny that it’s more commercial than his last 2 albums, but there are only a few moments on the album where it actually bugs me. Despite these few weak moments, Kendrick has shown once again why he’s my favorite MC in this current generation

Score: 4/5