Your Review
CRITIC REVIEWS
100
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.
100
Lamar has bypassed the norm by producing an album that’s damn near unimpeachable.
100
It is a varied and dense listening experience that feels more like an emotional outburst than an assured statement of purpose.
100
Any hesitation about the horror of it all is quickly wiped away by Kendrick's mix of true talk, open heart, open mind, and extended hand. Add it all up and even without the hype, this one is still potent and smart enough to rise to the top of the pile.
100
Lamar's inimitable artistry and self-assurance have been on display for a while now, but good kid, m.A.A.d. city is the uncompromising documentation of that treacherous journey of self-discovery.
100
Overall, good kid, m.A.A.d city is an invigorating LP. Every record is both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding Kendrick’s vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence. There’s not a single loophole.
100
He remains magnanimous but brash, never conceding to collaborators or the beat, rapping hard - channelling multiple voices - as if hip-hop depended on it.
95
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.
95
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.
95
This is a great album for many reasons, but a historic album maybe just for one: it is a gorgeous, poignant, real, and fitting final curtain for the era of gangsta rap it was borne from.
91
His major-label debut contains even more deep hooks, without diminishing Lamar’s knack for riding humming beats with his surreal interior narratives.
90
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.
90
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.
90
With good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar drops what's easily hip hop's most cinematic album of 2012.
85
It is rare accomplishment to have such an array of different producers on one project to sound this cohesive.
85
good kid, m.A.A.d city is the rare album that feels alive with an entire universe inside of it. While I wouldn’t immediately label it a classic, I can say with confidence that any rap artist looking to make a classic should follow in Lamar’s footsteps.
8mo
83
Good Kid is an exercise in tasteful restraint, with Lamar employing his boundless budget in creative ways.
80
It's a completely exhausting listen, one that might prove easier to admire than enjoy. But at the very least, it's never anything less than fascinating.
80
good kid, m.A.A.d city is a cocksure record, but that confidence isn’t misplaced.
80
There are dramatic flourishes, rising crescendos and introspective lulls. In short, it is far more than your typical rap album.
80
Lamar is an unlikely star: a storyteller, not a braggart or punch-line rapper, setting spiritual yearnings and moral dilemmas against a backdrop of gang violence and police brutality.
80
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has a widescreen narrative and scope. The dense, often lengthy tracks are interspersed with spurts of dialogue from friends and family, creating an air of intimacy reinforced by the hushed, watery beats.
80
From its ambitious narrative arc to its fine linguistic detail, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is a honed and deliberate major label debut.
80
Lamar's major-label debut, probably the year's most significant hip-hop release, proves his talent to be as prodigious as his online output
10mo
70
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.
60
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.
Edit: finally pinpointed my only problem with this album.... the hook in Real.
I am this album's bitch if we haven't established that already
I am this album's bitch if we haven't established that already
TPAB might have more unique production, but this album feels more like an album with a consistent theme. I'm a sucker for that.
Even if you don't like hip-pop, you need to listen to this record.
This album was an absolute landmark for the hip hop industry. With GKMC, Kendrick Lamar turned the tables and more than established his place at the top of the rap game, soon to ascend to the throne as the King of Hip Hop with TPAB. This is where the mainstream of music listeners began to truly realize Kendrick's greatness as an artist, lyricist and producer.
I actually enjoyed this way more than TPAB but thats just my personal opinion. I thought the beats were cleaner and that it was easier ... read more
I actually enjoyed this way more than TPAB but thats just my personal opinion. I thought the beats were cleaner and that it was easier ... read more
kendrick lamar released what really seems to be the first brilliant hip hop album of the 2010's. kanye had an absolutely terrific LP in 2010's MBDTF, however despite all of the attention it got, there is no denying that good kid, m.A.A.d. city is a more creative and innovative album, as well as a very intriguing look into life as a kid in compton, california.
the first aspect of this record that stood out to me was the snippets of lamar's life that were found on many tracks throughout the ... read more
the first aspect of this record that stood out to me was the snippets of lamar's life that were found on many tracks throughout the ... read more
Purchasing good kid, m.A.A.d. city from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #1 | / | BBC |
| #1 | / | Complex |
| #1 | / | Exclaim! |
| #1 | / | FACT Magazine |
| #1 | / | No Ripcord |
| #1 | / | Pitchfork |
| #2 | / | Pazz & Jop |
| #2 | / | SPIN |
| #2 | / | The 405 |
| #2 | / | The Needle Drop |
| #2 | / | TIME |
| #3 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #3 | / | Gorilla vs. Bear |
| #3 | / | Obscure Sound |
| #3 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
More Lists
MISC LISTS
Track List
- Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
- Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe
- Backseat Freestyle
- The Art of Peer Pressure
- Money Trees (ft. Jay Rock)
- Poetic Justice (ft. Drake)
- good kid
- m.A.A.d city (ft. MC Eiht)
- Swimming Pools (Drank)
- Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst
- Real Ft. Anna Wise 12. Compton (ft. Dr. Dre)
Added on: June 27, 2012
