good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar

Good Kid, m.A.A.d City might be a wide-ranging, far-reaching success, but one suspects it won’t be his best record.

Lamar has bypassed the norm by producing an album that’s damn near unimpeachable.

It is a varied and dense listening experience that feels more like an emotional outburst than an assured statement of purpose.

The miracle of this album is how it ties straightforward rap thrills-- dazzling lyrical virtuosity, slick quotables, pulverizing beats, star turns from guest rappers-- directly to its narrative. 

Naysayers who thought that Lamar's shift from independent to major label would risk the grit found on Overly Dedicated and Section.80 have been proven wrong.

With Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, Compton's flag bearer unveils a group of songs equally potent individually and collectively, meeting the mainstream and rabid fans in the middle, improbably touching that thinnest slice between mass appeal and mass respect.

Providing the sort of semi-autobiographical character arc, good kid would be enough for some, but it’s the lush environs surrounding this “short film” that makes good kid not only a compelling story, but also musically interesting.

Good Kid is an exercise in tasteful restraint, with Lamar employing his boundless budget in creative ways.

good kid, m.A.A.d city is a cocksure record, but that confidence isn’t misplaced.

There are dramatic flourishes, rising crescendos and introspective lulls. In short, it is far more than your typical rap album.

Throughout these 12 songs (often bi- or tripartite), Lamar reshapes and improves upon enough modern rap tropes to at least partially justify the “unique” and “forward-thinking” mantles that have been placed upon him.

It might lack the raw appeal of Kendrick’s 2011 mixtape ‘Section.80’, but it’s also a big-budget reminder that the 25-year-old hasn’t forgotten his roots. 

best hip hop album in a decade!

Every hip-hop artist should now relate to this work of art to cohesively match the content level this album provide us with.

I’m glad I did, because it was a venting process, you know, to tell these stories I never told.” – Kendrick Lamar when interviewed about the concept of good kid, m.A.A.d city.

Simply greatness, every song is a great hit. Appreciate every part of this album from lyrics to the beats. Best Hip-hop album I've heard since Recovery

hands down best album this year