Damn. (studio album) by Kendrick Lamar

No, it isn't as good as GKMC or TPAB, but it's still great. And you know, it has a couple of really great tunes on it. It didn't deserve to win the Pulitzer Prize or whatever, but it doesn't deserve some of the criticism it gets.

Another elite album from Kendrick, despite many people being disappointed in it after his previous two albums which are also legendary, this album is very creative and has deep lyrical themes as much as any other album in the genre. It is in my opinion on of the highest points of hip hop in the past two decades and will be remembered fondly in the future.

From planetneutral 11/29/2020 23:01

I like the pivot toward more personal lyricism, but I miss the musicality of the previous record.

good

Kendrick at his most introspective and deeply personal. As can be seen from the track titles, he addresses various topics throughout. Hence, this record is his least thematic and cohesive, and yet it holds well together because of the deeply emotional and introspective approach that Lamar takes. In a sense, this is the logical sequel to TPAB where in that one he looked mostly outward (obviously reflecting on how he fits within it all), in order to provide social critique, in DAMN Kendrick retreats into his own mind. All of this, in addition to the extremely pop influences and music (and the horribly annoying NEW KUNG FU KENNY callouts throughout the whole record) make this unsurprisingly the least compelling full-length record from Kendrick (at least for his fans, because his mother thinks it is actually his best). Still, overall it is worth a listen.

From Timestarter 06/24/2020 10:28

Fav. Tracks: BLOOD. DNA. ELEMENT. PRIDE. HUMBLE. XXX. FT. U2. DUCKWORTH.

I don't have any hot takes to contribute to this-the masses are correct. Yes, Kendrick is a fantastic lyricist with a great ear for hooks and the production on the album is strong. Yes, it has less going on thematically than GKMC or TPAB, and as a result is the least good of Kendrick's major albums. There are many highlights, like the spacey vibes of Yah and Pride, the storytelling depth of Fear, and the bar stacking insanity of DNA. But for the first time in Kendrick's career, there are also lowlights (the two lead singles Humble and Loyalty both feel generic and don't give Kendrick much room to show off his skills). It's very good and worth a listen, but I don't return to it from beginning to end very often.

eh its okay.

From LebowskiRams 07/23/2019 04:23

Still, a really good album, but hasn't aged well

Not quite as conceptually cohesive as his previous efforts, but DAMN is still full of foot-tapping and thought-provoking cuts from top to bottom. PRIDE has, what I believe to be, one of the most mesmerizing hooks I think I've ever heard. It just goes to show what an incredible artist Kendrick is if some people truly believe this is his "weakest" album.