In 2012, rapper Kendrick Lamar released Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, a concept album that shows one-day living life on the streets of Compton, California. Today I will explain to you why Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is a Hip-Hop masterpiece.
The commentary alone did not make Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. a hit record. Kendrick is more than a social commentator, he is an incredible and record-breaking musician. His ear for catchy hooks, dazzling lyrical chops, and tasteful guest features make the album endlessly re-listenable. Record sales prove it. As of this week Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City has spent 300 consecutive weeks on the billboard hot 200 chart.
"Sherane Aka Master Splinter's Daughter" is our introduction to Kendrick. He is true to form for a 17-year-old boy. Kendrick is in pursuit of a girl he met at a party.
"Backstreet Freestyle" puts us with Kendrick's friends, driving around and wasting time. They have a pack of Black and Milds and a beat CD they can freestyle rap over. Kendrick is spitting the most braggadocious raps he can come up with.
"The Art of Peer Pressure" is my favorite song on the album. Kendrick, the self-proclaimed "Good Kid" is tempted by evil when he is around his friends.
Smoking on the finest dope
Aye aye aye aye
Drank until I can't no mo
'Aye aye aye aye
Really I'm a sober soul
But I'm with the homies right now
Midway through the track, the friends decide to rob a house they had been scoping out for a couple months. It goes awry and they almost got caught, but they get away. Kendrick laments he might have just become a felon because of the peer pressure he felt.
The high flying tracks are brought back to earth with realistic skits. These include youth prayer sessions that are trying to cope with the violence and reality of Compton, Kendrick's mother trying to get the car back from her son so she can get groceries, and Kendrick's father trying to find his dominoes. These skits remind us that all of Kendrick's amazing verbal virtuosity still reflects real life.
There is no better song than"Swimming Pools (Drank)" to show Kendrick's dual mastery of hip-hop. Many rappers are able to make bangers, songs with hooks and beats that lend themselves to repeat plays in cars and clubs. These songs generally form the backbone for hip-hop sales because they are so commercially viable. Other rappers focus on having socially conscious themes in their songs. Typically songs like these are more focused on the rappers technically skilled lyricism and wider social issues the artist wants to bring to the light.
On "Swimming Pools (Drank)" Kendrick is able to masterfully fill both of these roles with ease. Back in 2012, It was a party anthem of the summer. Kendrick had fulls clubs of people chanting the hook to "Swimming Pools."
The high flying tracks are brought back to earth with realistic skits. These include youth prayer sessions that are trying to cope with the violence and reality of Compton, Kendrick's mother trying to get the car back from her son so she can get groceries, and Kendrick's father trying to find his dominoes. These skits remind us that all of Kendrick's amazing verbal virtuosity still reflects real life.
There is no better song than"Swimming Pools (Drank)" to show Kendrick's dual mastery of hip-hop. Many rappers are able to make bangers, songs with hooks and beats that lend themselves to repeat plays in cars and clubs. These songs generally form the backbone for hip-hop sales because they are so commercially viable. Other rappers focus on having socially conscious themes in their songs. Typically songs like these are more focused on the rappers technically skilled lyricism and wider social issues the artist wants to bring to the light.
On "Swimming Pools (Drank)" Kendrick is able to masterfully fill both of these roles with ease. Back in 2012, It was a party anthem of the summer. Kendrick had fulls clubs of people chanting the hook to "Swimming Pools."
Pour up, drank, head shot, drank
Sit down, drank, stand up, drank
Pass out, drank, wake up, drank
Faded, drank, faded, drank
But if a person listens to the lyrics of the verse, they reveal something much more profound then a party anthem. These are the first few lines of the song.
Now I done grew up round
some people living their life in bottles
Granddaddy had the golden flask back stroke every day in Chicago
Some people like the way it feels
Some people wanna kill their sorrows
Some people wanna fit in with the popular that was my problem
In one track Kendrick was able to produce a song that not only became hugely popular. The song which seeming celebrated drinking, was actually an examination and indictment of drinking culture. Kendrick talks about the horrific destructive effects of alcohol. For example the abuse and health effects of over-consumption. He also talks about the social forces, like familial pressure and peer pressure that causes people to over-consume alcohol so regularly. The ability to both catchy and deep is what makes this album so important.
The questions this album leaves us with are more important than any answers a single man can give. How can a man do right in a world encouraging him to do wrong? What's the right way to stay true to ourselves while rising above difficult circumstances? Can there really be a good kid in a mad city? Using a combination of lyrical skill, critical social commentary, and catchy music Kendrick Lamar created a Hip-Hop masterpiece in Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.
The questions this album leaves us with are more important than any answers a single man can give. How can a man do right in a world encouraging him to do wrong? What's the right way to stay true to ourselves while rising above difficult circumstances? Can there really be a good kid in a mad city? Using a combination of lyrical skill, critical social commentary, and catchy music Kendrick Lamar created a Hip-Hop masterpiece in Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.
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