Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (2017)
In my circle of friends, I've become a bit known for criticizing Kendrick when the subject of him being one of the greats is brought up, not really because I hate the dude or his music, but I've had what I feel are valid criticisms against his music to argue with this whole "he's the greatest of all time!! TPAB best album ever!!" circlejerk, because I think it's pretty bullshit, and it's funny to see Kendrick fans get really easily caught in their feelings over the most minor criticism that takes away from Kendrick being considered the greatest rapper of all time. That being said.. There's some really good stuff here. The keyword here being "some", but we'll get into that here in a minute or two. One thing I wanna say right away is that this is probably my favorite album Kendrick Lamar has ever put out, and the one I'm most likely to actually listen to in full in one listening session past the initial listens needed to gather my thoughts for a review. I think this album is pretty easy to digest.. It's not even nearly as musically complex as "To Pimp a Butterfly" but I think that works out for the best, because Kendrick sounds pretty natural over all of these instrumentals.
"DNA." has to be one of the absolute fucking best hip-hop songs of the entire year so far, and I'll be surprised if it isn't in my top 10 by the time the year is over. The track sounds out nice enough, Kendrick flowing over a nice, chill, bass-driven beat, but by the time you reach the middle of the track, where it kicks in with another sample of some sample of Geraldo Rivera's retarded ass coming in with some racist "This is why I say that hip hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years." shit, a voice comes counting down from 5, and a moment that gives me fucking CHILLS kicks in: Mike Will Made-It changes the beat to include a sample of James Brown yelling "GIMME SOME GANJA!" and then fucking SLAMS that sample in repeatedly as a fire is lit inside of Kendrick Lamar's voice, rapping his ass off while Mike Will Made-It makes the beat sound like it's actively trying to combat Kendrick Lamar's rapping. It's such a spectacular moment in a great song that makes you depressed that a moment of similar impact doesn't really exist anywhere else on the album, even in "HUMBLE." which was also produced by Mike Will Made-It.
Here's something that really sucks, while we're on the topic: Kendrick Stans are quick to yell "YOU JUST WANTED BANGERS!!! HAHA!!! THE JOKE'S ON YOU!!!" but "HUMBLE." and "DNA." were the first two singles released from this album (currently, there are three singles out, which obviously includes those and "LOYALTY. (FEAT. RIHANNA)") and those three very well might be the only ones you actually get the urge to blare in your car. Of course we all expected some chill tracks, that's happened on every Kendrick Lamar studio album, but the album was effectively only marketed using the bangers, leading you to expect more bangers from this album than you actually get, because most of these tracks are actually really fuckin' calm. They're usually not bad at all, but it's really kinda shitty to advertise your album like that, but then again, I guess if you put out the song ("FEAR.") where Kendrick Lamar includes a sample of a voicemail left by his cousin, Carl Duckworth, trying to nail home the belief that every tragedy to have ever happened to humanity is because of humanity falling out of graces with God's supposed plan, and Kendrick DOESN'T ever try to combat this belief at all lyrically.. It can be safely assumed that Kendrick Lamar shares this belief, and it probably wouldn't settle that well with the general population that Kendrick Lamar shares a belief with the Westboro Baptist Church, and it really sucks, because it's genuinely a great track lyrically that explores the concept of fear at different ages, showing fear of an abusive parent at the age of 7, fear of your peers/environment at 17, and fear of what certainly feels like -everything- at the age of 27, because of how you grew up, the things you've witnessed, and a feeling of impending doom that comes from the fear of losing what you've earned.
Thankfully, I don't have much else to say about Kendrick being a dumbass on this album because he's toned down his meme-rap a bit, with the only real "oh come the fuck on, you dumbass" moments being the one I listed above, the hook to "GOD." and "ELEMENT.", the latter of which being one of those things that I can't imagine any adult taking seriously, which I've unfortunately thought about a few Kendrick songs in the past. Really, my main criticism with the album is that, unless you listen to the album with a reversed tracklisting like your hypebeast friend will tell you, the album feels like it intentionally flows awfully. Seriously, the album's best bits are in the first half and then it takes a dive.. But here's the thing: The people who tell you to listen to the album with a reversed tracklisting aren't full of shit: The album actually flows a lot fucking better, makes more sense, and everything.. Which makes you wonder why Kendrick's stupid ass didn't just release the album like that.
"B-B-BUT YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT! IT INTENTIONALLY FLOWS BETTER REVERSED BECAUSE HE INTENDED IT TO BE THAT WAY!! HE WANTS YOU TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN BY THE MESSAGE IN "BLOOD." MEANING SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHEN PLAYED AS THE FINAL TRACK!! DON'T YOU KNOW THE ALBUM STARTS WITH THE LYRICS "Is it wickedness? Is it weakness? You decide.. Are we gonna live or die?" BECAUSE YOU GET TO DECIDE WHETHER KENDRICK GETS SHOT BY THE OLD LADY OR HE SHOOTS HER INSTEAD, GIVEN HOW THE ALBUM PLAYS OUT LYRICALLY IF YOU START WITH THE FIRST TRACK FIRST, AND SEE HIM BECOMING MORE WICKED OVER THE TIME THAT THE ALBUM PLAYS?! DON'T YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND ANYTHING AT ALL?! THIS REVIEW IS FUCKING STUPID!!"
Here's the thing: I really fucking adore the concept of that. I think it's really quite brilliant.. But it doesn't flow right the "normal" way. If an artist pulls off this concept with the idea of "they'll enjoy it in a different way if they play it with a reversed tracklisting" THEN the album, when played with a reverse tracklisting, should be an interesting look at things.. Not the clearly more enjoyable one that was obviously created with the "alternate" way of playing it envisioned. If Nirvana had released "Nevermind" in 1991 with a reversed tracklisting, starting with the intense, scream-filled hidden track "Endless, Nameless" as the first track, and then someone came out with "did U kno the album sounds better if u start with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" instead??" and Nirvana supported it.. You'd think Nirvana were absolute fucking morons for not actually putting the album out like that. Point of the matter, is that if you play this album with a reversed tracklisting, it starts out pretty alright and quickly gets better over time, and the tracks actually connect well. No matter how many radio interviews you watch of Kendrick going into a studio with a shit-eating grin, saying shit like "y'all just don't get it but I can't tell u yet" to make the radio-announcer go "OHHHH!!!", it won't change the fact that this was a shitty move, especially when CDs and vinyls are something still very much being bought in 2017, especially in the case of people wanting to support their favorite artists who have put out multiple albums held up as "instant classics", and it's so much more fucking ridiculous to actively seek out to play an album with a reversed tracklisting when you have to constantly move a needle around or skip tracks on your car's stereo, as opposed to just making a reversed playlist in iTunes or something. It's needlessly difficult for the listener to listen to the album the way you clearly intended for it to be listened to, given the way that you line up the songs, the intros, the lyrics, and everything. It's like cereal companies making commercials of people pouring the milk in before the cereal, and then made a statement saying "Did you know that you can put the cereal first, so you don't get milk all over your table?" and instantly getting held up as being geniuses that blew the general public's fucking minds. Fuck.
All of that aside.. It's a good album. It is. It's not going to be top 10 of the year for me, I can pretty much tell you that now, but this is (when played with its reversed tracklisting) my favorite Kendrick Lamar album. I think the hooks are generally (outside of two tracks) -much- better than they were before, Kendrick sounds in his own zone over these beats, the features are great, and everything.. But it's still not without its problems that I view as being legitimate criticisms. I think Kendrick isn't anywhere near being the greatest of even this fucking generation of hip-hop, but he's a pretty powerful storyteller that's really easy to relate to. When Kendrick says something, I don't have any doubt that he genuinely believes and means what he says.. But if he talks some more shit about this belief of God punishing humanity, and how it's -our- fault that natural disasters occur, he can fuck the hell off. That's the absolute edgiest thing I've heard since "The Marshall Mathers LP" but is presented in such a serious way that impressionable people might even go on to believe it, given the pedestal that the hip-hop community places him on. God help us.
7/10
________________________________________________________
Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
