good kid, m.a.a.d city or To Pimp A Butterfly?

[Sometype]

I'm constantly at conflict at which of Kendricks "big" albums are his best.

In my opinion, good kid is catchier perhaps more enjoyable with a lot more on display yet To Pimp A Butterfly is more groundbreaking and solid with shitloads of musical talent and great ideas.

Just want to know the general census? or do you just not like Kendrick whatsoever?
_________________
overall / 2017 / spotify

[CactusOfShame]

I'm actually a little surprised at the poll results, especially considering the immensely positive reception of "TPAP."

[Anti]

I LOVE both of them, but GKMC is easier to swallow than TPAB.
_________________
...and for dessert!

[Satie]

I slightly prefer TPaB, myself, but I think that gkmc is much more listenable. The latter's parts also work outside of context almost all of the time (save Backseat Freestyle and Compton and if I'm being totally honest Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst, though I love that one a lot and sometimes listen to it alone). Sadly, I find my appreciation for both depreciating with further listens lately. I can't tell if they're just saturated or what, but they have little staying power for me at this moment.

[Hayden]

I prefer Good Kid M.a.a.d City. It truly is next to perfect. When you compare the two side by side, it now might come off as a bit tame though.. which is one of the reasons I love To Pimp A Butterfly.

Both are just reeeaaallly reeaallly good albums though, and not only some of the best hip-hop albums ever, but some of the best albums ever.

[Precedent]

[Puncture Repair]

TPAB begins well and finishes well, however I find it lulls a bit in the middle, whereas GKMC is flawless from beginning to end. Ultimately it's the tone of the two albums that affects them most though. GKMC is much more focused, internal and personal, following the story of the streets and the individual. TPAB takes it's attention to a national scale, and as a result feels like it doesn't quite achieve what it's setting out to do, or it least it doesn't feel as conclusive? Maybe it just feels like it's covering too many topics, and doesn't focus in on any single one of them enough, or maybe I find personal politics more interesting than national ones, I don't know.

Both fantastic records though, shame they need to be compared.

[Skinny]

In the face of TPAB, I find that GKMC feels sorta tame and lightweight. TPAB is just so much denser and, even though it doesn't follow a specific narrative in the same way that GKMC does, more focused. I guess one issue with making a linear story-based concept album is that everything has to be shoehorned into that narrative in order for it to work, whether it fits or not, and so you have songs like 'Poetic Justice' and 'Backseat Freestyle', both of which I really like, that feel out of place in the context of the record. TPAB somehow widens its lens and yet feels more cohesive (to me), sticking to a few central themes (money corrupts; struggling with celebrity; the treatment of the black man in America) and exploring them in depth, to the point where the entire album feels like an organic essay about those things and how they all intertwine. As with anybody who takes themselves as seriously as Kendrick clearly does, there will always be moments that sound overhammed and cheesy due to an arguably refreshing lack of cynicism and self-awareness, and we see this across both albums, particularly on that ridiculous Forrest Gumped Tupac interview, but also in songs like 'Compton' and 'How Much a Dollar Cost?' - if anything, we should be thankful that he hasn't been consumed by this sort of thing in the same way that late-career Eminem has, but this side of Kendrick is still prevalent and prevents his music from having the same power, consistently, as something like Freddie Gibbs and Madlib's Pinata.

In terms of production, I feel that TPAB is a major step forward from GKMC. Even though 'jazz rap' as a concept is a dated one, this record incorporates its jazzy elements much more naturally than traditional jazz rap albums, feeling like one organic entity as opposed to an old, borrowed riff which can just easily have some boom bap drums tacked clunkily onto it for a "hey presto" 1993 beat (nothing against the likes of Q-Tip or Premier, both of whom I adore, but that is essentially what their version of jazz rap amounted to). GKMC didn't feel as focused or as cohesive, sonically, as TPAB, which benefits from that jazzy theme running throughout, whereas GKMC felt a little all over the place, cherry-picking from a variety of sources without ever gaining its own identity, and so you have Boi 1da pop-trap right next to Beach House-sampling cloud rap and traditional boom bap, with little regard for whether they work together sonically (instead relying on that storyline to tie everything together). TPAB feels like the product of extended sessions working with a specific goal in mind, and as a result feels more like an album in the truest sense, even though it doesn't follow a simple narrative in the same way GKMC does. I also just feel that Kendrick's a better rapper now, at times hitting Andre 3000 levels of genius (that first verse of 'Momma' is out of this fucking world), perhaps feeling more free due to not putting the same narrative constraints on himself, but more comfortable in his own voice, almost virtuosic. He may not have a specific storyline this time around, but he sounds more at ease in terms of his lyrics fitting the themes without it ever feeling forced. It's this, along with TPAB's more recognisable sonic identity, which means that TPAB is the better album in my opinion. That said, both (along with Section.80) are among the best records released in the last decade, if not longer, and so picking one over another feels reductive.
_________________
2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.