Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

No thread for this? Weird.

Out now! Good!

https://open.spotify.com/album/7wbJhbCvhPfbK1CLAkpq25

lel

the DNA track is outstanding

makes me wish for a whole album of Kendrick x Mike Will tracks

DAMN. (listening now) 

Kind of off topic, but I tried to look up DNA on youtube and it wasn't on there. There were a bunch of fakes. I think this might be the first time I've looked up a single song by a popular artist and not been able to find it. I like that, makes me feel a little better about the future of piracy/artist rights (even though I know the whole album will prolly be on YT within a week). 

Anyways, I got Amazon unlimited. That track is really good. 

Just listened to it, I liked it more than I expected. Best since good city anyway. I don't even remember anything from untitled, unmastered and this album goes a lot harder than to pimp a butterfly...or at least has less of a vibe that would appeal to the "I don't listen to hip hop but I heard this on NPR" crowd. I was shocked that the track featuring U2 ( I had no idea that was in the works until I listened to this album this morning) was not only good but featured some of Kendrick's bluntest lyrics.

Oh my god oh my god

*listens furiously*

Edit: all that's available on Google Play Music right now is Humble...

Okay so, TPAB was a grower, it took many listens to really dig into it, but every song was potent, every song was saying something. Of course, after a masterpiece, how can expectations not be high... but this? It's still better than your average rapper, and I think I comprehend the aesthetic he's going for from the album art's style, but after 3 listens... I dunno. I think my main gripe is that Kendrick could work with ANY producer, and the hook on this track, including Kendrick's lyrics, reminds me more of Soulja Boy than anything else.

I will hold back my opinions until I hear the full album

  On 4/14/2017 at 3:04 PM, Auditor said:

Kind of off topic, but I tried to look up DNA on youtube and it wasn't on there. There were a bunch of fakes. I think this might be the first time I've looked up a single song by a popular artist and not been able to find it. I like that, makes me feel a little better about the future of piracy/artist rights (even though I know the whole album will prolly be on YT within a week). 

 

Anyways, I got Amazon unlimited. That track is really good. 

well it just came out a few hrs ago and im sure interscope is all over any postings of it

  On 4/14/2017 at 10:04 PM, ganus said:

Oh my god oh my god

 

*listens furiously*

 

Edit: all that's available on Google Play Music right now is Humble...

Okay so, TPAB was a grower, it took many listens to really dig into it, but every song was potent, every song was saying something. Of course, after a masterpiece, how can expectations not be high... but this? It's still better than your average rapper, and I think I comprehend the aesthetic he's going for from the album art's style, but after 3 listens... I dunno. I think my main gripe is that Kendrick could work with ANY producer, and the hook on this track, including Kendrick's lyrics, reminds me more of Soulja Boy than anything else.

I will hold back my opinions until I hear the full album

interesting take

I'm so out of the loop and out my element with hip-hop - I have a friend I respect who knows his shit you seem to have arbitrary love for guys like Kanye or Drake but pretty meh about Kendrick. Kendrick does seem overly hyped (I had a weird first impression of him too when I saw his set's crowd who were waiting through Grimes' set at ACL in order to be up from for Lamar: a lot of lameass rich white high schoolers who were drunk and / or high and seemingly indifferent to dancing or enjoying any of Grimes' set.)

Oh man... this is gonna take some digesting. This is gonna be my new Blond(e) I think. Kendrick is amazing at story raps, and has done a lot of looking back to another time in his life in his lyrics and his sound, and I feel like this is a departure from that. It's kendrick doing modern hip hop and kind of aping the styles that are popular rather than following he groove he started in 2010. But it stands out (aside from Humble maybe), and I think it's pretty fucking cool. I'm getting a little bit of a Life of Pablo vibe from it, but if Pablo wasnt made an embarrasing mess by Kanye's mental illness and narcicism. Never thought I'd hear him do autotuned melodies, but I actually kinda like it

Yeah I'm having trouble getting through it. As I spoke with friends they were quite ecstatic and saying there are a lot of great lyricism, great metaphors, but my take on rap was always listen to the whole package first and then listen to lyrics. If it doesn't grab me by the sound then I won't try hard to get the message. And I think that I will try again with DAMN. but it makes me angry that I'll try just because of the hype and because it is Kendrick (I loved his previous two albums), but it otherwise truly sounds just like another mainstream 2010's rapper.

basically a foregone conclusion this and more life getting more play this year than any idm...soz

just had my first listen and i can't put my finger on this yet but it seems i have some kendrick fatigue even tough it sounds quite nice :(

  On 4/16/2017 at 6:50 PM, Ivan Ooze said:

just had my first listen and i can't put my finger on this yet but it seems i have some kendrick fatigue even tough it sounds quite nice :(

Yea I get that...need more rage in the style of blacker the berry

Wished the whole conspiracy theory Easter Sunday follow up was true however

i wish he had some more guests on there and i'm kinda sick of those trappy beats on a lot of them tracks

oh well still gonna give a lot more spins, 'im sure i'll like it

Production is way more low-key on this album, which is not what I expected but it really gives the lyrics room to shine. This album is all about the rapping, way more raw and stripped-down than tpab. Some amazing tracks on here. Some I don't like (the Rihanna colab is the weakest link imo), but tons of fire. YAH has been stuck in my head all day.

Rumor has it part 2 still to drop today... 

pls tell me is called DAAAAMN.

pls

nervous because pimp a butterfly was even better than everyone thought. how could this live up... will listen soon

I preferred section 80 and gkmc to the jazzy production of butterfly

This is a nice straight forward type of album

i don't like it, sounds like hip hop for soccer moms

This album is pretty good imo. I've never been too keen on his stuff because he seemed so often to be trying too hard. He seems more comfortable here, and the tracks seem to be more focused and more standard...but he's got his own take on that, and imo it allows him more space than anything of his I've heard before.

Also here's a new video, pretty decent, great track.

^^^ this showed up on my youtube timeline (not sure why because i don't listen to hiphop).

anyway, i thought the part with don cheadle was pretty cringy. did he supposedly come into contact with kendrick's dna and that's what turned him into a rapper or what am i suppose to gather from that?

also, i love how kendrick purposely avoids being clear about what he's saying, thus opening any kind of interpretation to what he meant to say, thus being concluded as "deep" and "philosophical"

btw: i agree with auxien: he's always sounded like he's trying to hard. i have to disagree that he sounds comfortable on this record. i think he's still trying to hard

tpab is very corny.

I was a little underwhelmed the first time i listened to this, especially the second half. The more i revisit this the more each song starts to unfold to me and i am really enjoying what he has done here. I don't think i'll ever like the track "GOD" though. Sounds like a Drake track.