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[phanphare]

from Wesley's Theory you was my first girlfriend

likely referring to lucy. before kendrick was famous he had always dreamed of making it big, never realizing that if he got big enough he would have to deal with a whole other level of evils and essentially court the devil herself.

 

[mooooose]

I picked up on the Lucy being the devil part. I just take For Free as America throwing another musician to the side as Pop culture usually does, and Kendrick talking back.

I think For Free is about gender roles and the position of men having to be "men" and all the unspoken responsibilities that come with it.

 

[trixx]

This album is incredible. We gon' be alright!!

 

[XBP]

For free is definitely referring to America (How the country is using the black community). The end of the song clearly points to it

Oh America, you bad bitch, I picked cotton that made you rich

 

[Mistle]

So close to really liking Hood Politics, but the boo-boo bit sort of grates on me. Really like that flowing sub-bass though, sounds great through my headphones (or a great sound system, if i had one ). Also the guitar bit at the start could have been made into its own track.

 

[Remark]

So close to really liking Hood Politics, but the boo-boo bit sort of grates on me. Really like that flowing sub-bass though, sounds great through my headphones (or a great sound system, if i had one ). Also the guitar bit at the start could have been made into its own track.

yo opinion? boo boo

 

[fader]

For free is definitely referring to America (How the country is using the black community). The end of the song clearly points to it

Oh America, you bad bitch, I the picked cotton that made you rich

yea the woman is clearly America. She even mentions how she's gonna "get Uncle Sam to fuck you up!"

 

[mooooose]

I think the problem that comes with searching for the meanings and the strings that tie the songs together is that songs become purposeful rather than meaningful and multifaceted. I don't think any of these songs or established terms have specific meaning, they have ideas they want to convey, but they aren't ONE specific thing.

 

[XBP]

So close to really liking Hood Politics, but the boo-boo bit sort of grates on me. Really like that flowing sub-bass though, sounds great through my headphones (or a great sound system, if i had one ). Also the guitar bit at the start could have been made into its own track.

Dont hate on boo-boo, its amazing.

 

[fader]

I think the problem that comes with searching for the meanings and the strings that tie the songs together is that songs become purposeful rather than meaningful and multifaceted. I don't think any of these songs or established terms have specific meaning, they have ideas they want to convey, but they aren't ONE specific thing.

nothing wrong with discussing "our" meanings of the songs.

 

[Booshka]

I can't think of anything to say here that won't sound like trolling or hating...but man, I'll never listen to this again. i really tried.
I could even get into everything he has to say, because his flow, beats and track construction are SO annoying.

Don't take me wrong...I love hip hop. I love HiiiPower, Bitch Don't Kill By Vibe, Swimming Pools, Poetic Justice and a lot of his features. But to me he just sounds crazy now.

Sorry you couldn't enjoy it. After just two listens it's becoming one of my fav hip hop albums all time. So much to parse from this. And that deconstruction of the album someone posted earlier was fantastic. Going to get a lot of full playthroughs out of this album. I want to go back to GKMC and Section 80 for the callbacks and references to characters as well.

Great album. I love that he moved into a more challenging direction with the musical composition, the funk, fusion/free jazz, and soul add a ton of depth to this album.

 

[BearPawB]

haven't listen to the whole album yet. But really liking King Kunta

 

[Tom Penny]

Not feeling it. Seems like an an album specifically targeted for live band shows. Barely any hard beats.

 

[overcast]

I think the problem that comes with searching for the meanings and the strings that tie the songs together is that songs become purposeful rather than meaningful and multifaceted. I don't think any of these songs or established terms have specific meaning, they have ideas they want to convey, but they aren't ONE specific thing.

Yeah, I think the album can mean multiple things to different people. I'm kind of avoiding theories to figure out what I get from it personally.

He definitely made it with the themes/concepts in mind, but still it's more fun this way.

 

[riotous]

I think the problem that comes with searching for the meanings and the strings that tie the songs together is that songs become purposeful rather than meaningful and multifaceted. I don't think any of these songs or established terms have specific meaning, they have ideas they want to convey, but they aren't ONE specific thing.

Reminds me of reading the Breaking Bad creators sort of laugh at all the connections people make between episodes that were accidental.

It also reminds me of how "amazing" people found super simple purposeful stuff; they have the same painting on the wall at his apartment and the hotel! AMAZING!

 

[PhoenixDark]

Saw this on twitter. Kendrick's gf with vocals on For Sale and King Kunta

 

[phanphare]

For free is definitely referring to America (How the country is using the black community). The end of the song clearly points to it

Oh America, you bad bitch, I the picked cotton that made you rich

yeah I get that, I'm just saying that america is included with lucy. lucy is the player, all of these things are chess pieces. like when kendrick wasn't famous he got treated differently because he was already in a self perpetuating system that was created with evil. lucy had no need to court kendrick, in fact it was in her best interest to just let him be. so when he wasn't famous lucy didn't give him the time of day. she already had a bunch of other "boss ass" dude's to exploit. only until kendrick had something to offer did she warm up to him in for sale and at least for a little bit kendrick was smitten.

yea the woman is clearly America. She even mentions how she's gonna "get Uncle Sam to fuck you up!"

if that girl were america she wouldn't get uncle sam to fuck him up, she would have been uncle sam. kendrick is basically saying that the country is run by the devil or at least influenced by him (or "her" in this case). I think the point of the album is to show that to fight all these evils in the world we have to quit succumbing to the evils within ourselves, like kendrick shows he did throughout the first part of the album. it's essentially his story of being wooed by lucy instead of sherane. he uses that as a back drop to talk about how he's matured in the same way as he did in gkmc but he's in a very different world this time.

 

[RP912]

It's safe to say this album exceeds GKMC in so many ways. I went back to GKMC and while it's good...no excellent, the importance of this album, the overall theme of this album, and content of this album is something out of the ordinary. Ofcourse it's going to go over heads because it's not the a sequel or a typical "banger", it's the album he WANTED to do.

For those that shitting on the album or just don't care for it, it's what it is but at least respect what he's trying to do for the music industry during a time where folks rather get "turnt up" and dance rather than tap into what's real in this modern day society of mis communication, frustration, and anger.

I'm just saying....

 

[Cerity]

Lucy is also a euphemism for drugs (Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds). Really sounds like Kendrick was fucked up last year, drugs and depression.

Wasn't there a (fake) rumor that he beat the shit out of some girl at a hotel last year also? I wonder if something happened there, hence u.
http://www.mstarz.com/articles/3623...otel-room-fight-charges-soon-video-rumors.htm

Maybe dude just snapped but a chick wasn't involved.

I think he's just using Lucy as a term for his bane or a vice, probably alternating between drugs, lucifer, women etc. pretty similar to how eyedea used it.

 

[poopninjamvc3mk]

I'm sure some will find it blasphemous, but I made an edit of the album where I stripped out all the interludes/ spoken word sections/ tupac interviews and then narrowed it down to (what I feel are) the 10 best songs. It's absolutely killer now that it's not constantly testing my patience. It's just a sleeker, if more conventional, rap album that I can easily jam to. What I did:

01 Wesley's Theory - removed intro. It now starts at "Hit me!"
02 King Kunta - removed spoken word outro
03 These Walls - removed spoken word intro/outro
04 Alright - removed spoken word outro
05 Hood Politics - removed spoken word outro
06 How Much A Dollar Cost - no change
07 The Blacker The Berry - no change
08 You Ain't Gotta Lie - earlier fade out
09 i - single version (I prefer the album vocals, but this works better for me overall)
10 Mortal Man - fade out before Tupac

Comes in at about 40 minutes. It won't replace the original album for me, but so far it's really helping me get into it.

No institutionalized? One of the best tracks

 

[phanphare]

ok yeah so both for free and for sale open with these luscious vocal harmonies and also happen to be the only songs where lucy speaks directly. kind of presents them in a heightened way.

 

[Fry]

The album lacks good beats. Even the first version of i had better beats than the album version. :/

 

[RP912]

The album lacks good beats. Even the first version of i had better beats than the album version. :/

What kind of beats you were expecting? Judging by the single...he was heading into a funk/jazz type of sound on this album rather than the typical bangers.

 

[Darkman M]

The album lacks good beats. Even the first version of i had better beats than the album version. :/

Wat? I really dig all the different type of instruments used, rather then straight beat machine tunes.

 

[Fry]

What kind of beats you were expecting? Judging by the single...he was heading into a funk/jazz type of sound on this album rather than the typical bangers.

Was expecting something like GKMC, not gonna lie.

I like this album, don't get me wrong. But its not really what I had in mind.

If Kendrick were to ask hia fans if they want his 3rd album to be more similar to GKMC or TPAB, I wouldnt have second thoughts.

Its more my style. I just wanna put the song while in my car and listen to it pretty loud. His new album doesnt have many songs that allow me to do that.

 

[RP912]

If anything hip hop needs more experimental beats like the ones on TPAB. So much noise in most albums nowadays, dudes forgetting the roots of hip hop. It was built on soulful/funk beats.

Hell The Chronic was funk oriented and it took hip hop to a brand new level.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Was expecting something like GKMC, not gonna lie.

I can understand preferring the sound of GKMC but to say this album doesn't have good beats...nah. The production is amazing and quite diverse.

Do you like the beats on Section80?

 

[Floridian]

The album lacks good beats. Even the first version of i had better beats than the album version. :/

The instrumentals are one of the highlights imo.

 

[RP912]

Was expecting something like GKMC, not gonna lie.

That's defeats the purpose of artistic growth though. It's no different from Radiohead switching their style after OK Computer. If Kendrick would have used the same type of beats from GKMC...it would be another typical sophomore album.

Sometimes it's good to fix a unbroken thing...

 

[Remark]

I'm sure some will find it blasphemous, but I made an edit of the album where I stripped out all the interludes/ spoken word sections/ tupac interviews and then narrowed it down to (what I feel are) the 10 best songs. It's absolutely killer now that it's not constantly testing my patience. It's just a sleeker, if more conventional, rap album that I can easily jam to. What I did:

01 Wesley's Theory - removed intro. It now starts at "Hit me!"
02 King Kunta - removed spoken word outro
03 These Walls - removed spoken word intro/outro
04 Alright - removed spoken word outro
05 Hood Politics - removed spoken word outro
06 How Much A Dollar Cost - no change
07 The Blacker The Berry - no change
08 You Ain't Gotta Lie - earlier fade out
09 i - single version (I prefer the album vocals, but this works better for me overall)
10 Mortal Man - fade out before Tupac

Comes in at about 40 minutes. It won't replace the original album for me, but so far it's really helping me get into it.

You basically just fucked up the whole album. No point in listenin to that. If you don't like the album you don't like it. Don't force yourself fam.

 

[Fry]

That's defeats the purpose of artistic growth though. It's no different from Radiohead switching their style after OK Computer. If Kendrick would have used the same type of beats from GKMC...it would be another typical sophomore album.

Sometimes it's good to fix a unbroken thing...

My main grip with this album are the bloated songs. Too many interruptions, some are not direct songs. Too many voices and weird sounds in the middle.

 

[RP912]

You basically just fucked up the whole album. No point in listenin to that. If you don't like the album you don't like it. Don't force yourself fam.

This...

It's like taking a perfect meal and throwing the veggies away. It's defeating the purpose of a full course meal.

 

[RP912]

My main grip with this album are the bloated songs. Too many interruptions, some are not direct songs. Too many voices and weird sounds in the middle.

Thats the whole purpose of the album. It's not a typical album, but more of a personal album. It's no different from 2pac's "Me against the world" and Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" which went a different path compared to their past albums/mixtapes. Even then the albums didn't suit most fans desires because it wasn't the same material, but it was critical acclaimed and well accepted as time progress.

If TPAB didn't have these types of songs...honestly, it would be just another album that'll be long forgotten like Food and Liquor 2.

 

[Remark]

My main grip with this album are the bloated songs. Too many interruptions, some are not direct songs. Too many voices and weird sounds in the middle.

Main reason why is that this album is meant to be listened to front to back most of the time. This isn't like GKMC where you could grab a couple songs out, Kendrick crafted this to be a full experience while it sacrifice single song replay-ability it brought a whole new dimesion to the album.

 

[Fry]

Guess you guys are better appreciators of music than I am.

 

[RBK]

Main reason why is that this album is meant to be listened to front to back most of the time. This isn't like GKMC where you could grab a couple songs out, Kendrick crafted this to be a full experience while it sacrifice single song replay-ability it brought a whole new dimesion to the album.

 

[Booshka]

Main reason why is that this album is meant to be listened to front to back most of the time. This isn't like GKMC where you could grab a couple songs out, Kendrick crafted this to be a full experience while it sacrifice single song replay-ability it brought a whole new dimesion to the album.

Ya this is a true Album to me, meant to be ran all the way through, not shuffled and picked apart a la carte.

Also, very glad it doesn't have typical beats or bangers, Hip Hop's roots are soul, funk, jazz, motown, etc. It's best when produced with that in mind, imo.

 

[Psychoward]

Listened to the first half of it or so, not a gigantic fan but my favorite part so far is 2:05 to 2:43 in King Kunta.

Main reason why is that this album is meant to be listened to front to back most of the time. This isn't like GKMC where you could grab a couple songs out, Kendrick crafted this to be a full experience while it sacrifice single song replay-ability it brought a whole new dimesion to the album.

GKMC was just as conceptual if not more than this...

 

[Pinko Marx]

If anything hip hop needs more experimental beats like the ones on TPAB. So much noise in most albums nowadays, dudes forgetting the roots of hip hop. It was built on soulful/funk beats.

Hell The Chronic was funk oriented and it took hip hop to a brand new level.

I wouldn't call anything on this album experimental, even if we're talking strictly hip-hop. Kendrick is borrowing directly from sources that hip-hop was born from, and that frequently get sampled anyway.
Theres nothing experimental about funk and/or jazz inspired beats.

 

[MikeBreezy92]

GKMC is definitely better. I get the concept but its almost too heavy at times. You need to break the concept from time to time for some levity I feel. This didn't really have it.

 

[RP912]

I wouldn't call anything on this album experimental, even if we're talking strictly hip-hop. Kendrick is borrowing directly from sources that hip-hop was born from, and that frequently get sampled anyway.
Theres nothing experimental about funk and/or jazz inspired beats.

I mean as far as it being all over the place as far as sound is concern. For Instance, Hood Politics had like three different beats going on throughout the song. Experimental is a bad choice of words but it's a form that's rarely used nowadays.

 

[Red_Man]

GKMC is definitely better. I get the concept but its almost too heavy at times. You need to break the concept from time to time for some levity I feel. This didn't really have it.

"Definitely"? Nah. Once you accept TPAB for what it is and not what you want it to be, you can see how it's on a higher level than GKMC. GKMC has the more powerful single elements, but when you digest it all together TPAB ranks above GKMC IMO.

 

[phanphare]

wesley's theory - overture/overview
for free - before kendrick was famous. he wants to be famous. has a chip on his shoulder about it.
king kunta - kendrick has made it and is exactly the type of person the girl in for free would want (let's call her "lucy" ;p), hence the easy transition. since lucy is obviously not an actual girl this is where kendrick's relationship with lucy begins.
institutionalized - kendrick realizing that he still has evil inside of him
these walls - kendrick giving in to those evils
u - kendrick reaching rock bottom
alright - kendrick realizing that his relationship with lucy needs to end which also means starting one with god
for sale - kendrick sees through lucy at this point, hence lucy sounding ugly and sort of demonic ("waaannntt youuuuuu"). Kendrick also realizes that he was still immature in some ways after making it, hence sounding really clueless ("where's Ricardo?"). he essentially escaped one evil for another and seems ashamed that at least for a little bit he was smitten with her. we can assume kendrick's relationship with lucy is over at this point and he has once again accepted god.

so from momma on it's basically kendrick realizing that even though his relationship with lucy is over he still had a lot of shit to deal with and then eventually coming to i which serves as the realization of the album. kendrick is also trying to preach this message because in this instance his love interest for the album is someone we can all fall prey too.

(I'm gonna go to bed now haha, let it marinate. the narrative is stronger than gkmc in my opinion, the music plays a larger role. I dig that)

 

[RP912]

The criticism for TPAB reminds me of the part on Mr. Hollands Opus when Mr. Holland compared his wife's pregnancy to John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. His first listen he hated the record, but as he continued listening...he understood it and loved it.

I'm just saying...the album is tough to get through on first listen (even I was like wtf to a few tracks), but over the course of a few days...this is probably one of the best albums I've heard in such a long time.

 

[HawkeyeIC]

Not feeling it. Seems like an an album specifically targeted for live band shows. Barely any hard beats.

I love this album, but am really really interested to see what happens live. It could be amazing or terrible, but I'll be there to see it.

 

[HawkeyeIC]

That's defeats the purpose of artistic growth though. It's no different from Radiohead switching their style after OK Computer.

I would love to see live twitter reactions to Kid A.

 

[RP912]

I would love to see live twitter reactions to Kid A.

lol probably the same reactions when they put out "In Rainbows".

 

[NervousXtian]

"Definitely"? Nah. Once you accept TPAB for what it is and not what you want it to be, you can see how it's on a higher level than GKMC. GKMC has the more powerful single elements, but when you digest it all together TPAB ranks above GKMC IMO.

I dunno. . Little early to go there.

We'll see how this holds up. . But I can see this being hated by a lot of people. I'm digging it. But as of now I'm GKMC is better.

 

[Remark]

Listened to the first half of it or so, not a gigantic fan but my favorite part so far is 2:05 to 2:43 in King Kunta.


GKMC was just as conceptual if not more than this...

GKMC a 7/10 doe

 

[XBP]

The album's getting amazing reviews by the way. Getting positive scores by every critic. Currently at 94 on metacritic with 8 reviews counted.