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 album. whether it be a voicemail from his mom wondering where he is, or a recording of kendrick and his friends driving around town, every look at kendrick's childhood added more personality and elaborated on the story that was being told across the album.
and then there were the lyrics. kendrick spit some of the most intense, heartbreaking, clever, and very real lines on each and every track of this project; in fact, i think that the majority of these lyrics are some of the best of the decade so far. a few of the features were good. jay rock added his flavor to the record on money trees, and anna wise sung beautifully on real. drake had a good verse, but he sounded so out of place on this album, as he really does not relate to any of the subject matter here at all. MC eiht and dr. dre, some of the first to make it big out of compton, were the necessary OGs who acted as a sort of figurehead that kendrick was aiming to be during the album. and the production was stellar. purely hip hop beats that were very modern, but had a heavy 80s-90s influence in them as well.
this is the first album i have listened to from the 2010's that i can wholeheartedly call a game changer. nothing sounded like this before its release, and nothing does to this day. good kid, m.A.A.d. city is an album which is not perfect, however it is a universally appealing piece of music that set a very high bar for all projects to come.
fav tracks: bitch dont kill my vibe, m.A.A.d. city, swimming pools, money trees, compton, good kid