Kendrick Lamar

Training Day

Thanks to TDE’s mentorship, Training Day sounds better than his neophyte debut, with more varied production and a well-executed (if somewhat cliché) concept that intersperses snippets of Denzel Washington in full “King Kong ain’t got nothin’ on me” mode. Though Lamar still occasionally stumbles with an eye roll-inducing couplet, he had certainly improved as a rapper.