This may have been a bit lost in the hustle and bustle around the new Kendrick, but holy shit this is fucking awesome. Everyone listen to this.
Yeah, super hyped about this as well, their last is one of my favourite albums of the past few years.
Although at the moment I'm just letting the new Kendrick settle in, to be honest. This is like the blackest album I've heard in ages - it's like Rhythm-Al-Ism-level black, I Want You-level black, Innercity Griots-level Black, Mothership Connection-level black, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted-level black, Mingus Ah Um-level black. This shit reminds me of Aquemini in its relentless dynamism and its seamless transitions, a sonic feast that takes in P-funk and hard-bop and the ghost of J. Dilla and creates something that sounds completely new. Thundercat is my fucking hero. And then lyrically it switches between the personal turmoil that comes with the struggle between being yourself artistically vs. pandering to what labels/fans want, and a wider comment on the plight (and the identity crisis) of the black man in America. It knows when to offer answers and when to leave the questions open. It's a fucking masterpiece that is easily the most West Coast thing he's ever done (in terms of sound), and it finds the perfect balance between the universal anxiety of section.80 and the first-person storytelling of good kid, m.A.A.d city. I've listened to it four times since it dropped, and in every sense it sounds like an artist at their peak, and it proves that sonically Kendrick is a level above most other major rappers around at the moment, and especially the ones he most often gets compared to (it makes recent, relatively lauded efforts from J. Cole and Lupe Fiasco seem shallow and cheap-sounding, frankly). But regardless of that, it's just a fantastic album. I don't particularly lean towards conscious hip-hop more than any other type of hip-hop (in fact, if anything, the all-too-often preachy nature of some of its lyrics probably make me less inclined to enjoy it), but this album feels like something that needed to be said, an impassioned, incendiary work of a man who is sick and tired of him and his peers being treated like shit. It sits alongside Black Messiah and Mama's Gun and the aforementioned Aquemini as one of the true masterpieces of soul and funk music of the last 20 years, and I can't see myself listening to a whole let else this week.
So yeah, unfortunately Föllakzoid - as wonderful as they are - will have to wait.
EDIT: Also, Snoop's turn on 'Institutionalized' and the climax of 'The Blacker the Berry' and that opening verse of 'Momma' are my favourite moments on the album, even if it seems reductive to break down such a complete whole into smaller parts. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
So this looks to be the third album of 2015 which will be going on alongside Tetsuo and Abnoco. Haven't even heard Dope Machines, To Pimp a Butterfly, or Poverty yet, all of which are super exciting to me still, but they'll have to wait. AWOLNATION took the best moments of Megalithic and just made it into an album. Not quite done with it but my god, this is great, and Megalithic floats around 110-125 usually in my excel of favorite albums. _________________
I'm excited for that too as I loved Doris. I haven't heard the new track yet but I will later today.
His last two albums both made it into my top 10 of their respective years. I think he's released some amazing work. Probably one of the most natural sounding rappers ever. I also haven't heard the new track, but I'll definitely be doing that later today. _________________ Doubles & Conch
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