He has indeed set the bar, so it's interesting to see which future album could surpass it in terms of acclaim.
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly |OT| It's The American Dream
- Thread starter CountBlack
- Start date
- Status
He has indeed set the bar, so it's interesting to see which future album could surpass it in terms of acclaim.
FrenchMovieTheme
Member
not much of a hip hop fan and ive never heard of kendrick lamar before but i listened to some of this and its pretty good. also i dont know what kendrick lamar looks like but in my minds eye i see him as lamar from revenge of the nerds!
He looks like a young skinny average height guy, some would say he's short.
Edit, I'm taller than him, so I guess he's short
he's like 5'6 if i recall
the poem at the end is my favorite part.
'i' is a great bridge to 'mortal man."
SyenceLabb
Member
For some reason Nas pops in my head in the beginning of Mortal Man with the "eh...yea". The track itself sounds like something he would bless.
Battersea Power Station
Member
It's funny now thinking back to Control and how he was calling on his peers to raise the bar higher. Everyone thought that meant Kendrick was going to rap harder than ever. But really it meant that he was taking hip-hop in a new direction and achieving a new level of artistry for this generation of rappers. He completely juked them, and I get a kick out of imagining them listening to the album in awe.
theignoramus
Member
What's the best scoring rap album?
But I thought Papoose was the king. In all honesty, though, I'd like to hear what other rappers are saying after they trashed him for saying he was the best on Control.
To Pimp a Butterfly is tied with Stankonia in critic score, but beats it in userscore, so technically TPAB is the best scoring rap album for right now.
theignoramus
Member
So it doesn't go that far back in time.or does it?
pokeystaples
Banned
Not even the best Outkast album. Weird.
I agree but "TECHNICALLY" Speakerboxxx and The Love Below are solo albums
Stankonia is like 2002 bruh
I personally like Speakerboxxx/The Love Below more, but Stankonia was amazing too.
Stankonia is 2000. It's been that long
theignoramus
Member
Critics love rap albums that bend genre conventions and have biting social commentary.
Byakuya769
Member
This is true. Makes them feel down for the cause.
The same way "i" became a lot more meaningful once contextualized by the album, the album itself is growing on me a ton as I catch onto the lyrics. GKMC is a great experience start to finish, but TPAB is on a whole nother level - so incredibly nuanced the more I listen to it.
Just reading a few reviews and seeing interviews, Kendrick just seems like a guy that's talented as hell, passionate about making a difference, and sincere about trying to be a positive force for change, while still being a fallible human being. Excellent album through and through.
Just reading a few reviews and seeing interviews, Kendrick just seems like a guy that's talented as hell, passionate about making a difference, and sincere about trying to be a positive force for change, while still being a fallible human being. Excellent album through and through.
SyenceLabb
Member
Speaking of Outkast - Can we please get a few collaborations with Kdot and 3000? Thank you.
:0
I wanna hear all 60
theignoramus
Member
I should have been more specific, does Metacritic do 90s albums?
I think it only covers albums that were released in the 21st century.
Literally have not listened to a single song not on this album since it dropped. I can't pull myself away from it. I thought my initial impression might die down after a few days and a few more listens, but the opposite has happened. It's pretty much perfect. It's incredible to think he topped GKMC and in such dramatic fashion.
Yooooo, serious? Thats four, five albums worth of material?
shadyspace
Banned
Why you questioning people's love for Yogi Bear breh
I like it.
But I find it's too demanding a listen. It's not something I could listen on loop, at all really. Lyrically it's very very strong, but musically I am not so enamoured; the entire sound of it all doesn't really make me feel, it's too analytical for that, just sort of acts as a block for me on a more emotional level.
He likely did this on purpose, the album is definitely seeking to do something a bit more, and that's a clever way of doing it. Super interesting album anyway though.
But I find it's too demanding a listen. It's not something I could listen on loop, at all really. Lyrically it's very very strong, but musically I am not so enamoured; the entire sound of it all doesn't really make me feel, it's too analytical for that, just sort of acts as a block for me on a more emotional level.
He likely did this on purpose, the album is definitely seeking to do something a bit more, and that's a clever way of doing it. Super interesting album anyway though.
PhoenixDark
Banned
I feel like To Pimp A Butterfly is the album I wanted in 2014 as I watched so much racial fuckery explode across the country. Instead of directly addressing a laundry list of the things that have happened over the last few years, Kendrick turns his focus inside. Much like Richard Wright and a host of other black writers he's concerned with understanding his own soul, his vices, his weaknesses, and how they relate to his community as a whole.
It's an ambitious album that could have easily missed its target with overly preachy lyricism or a boring narrative. Kendrick avoids this by putting his contradictions on full display, refusing to provide direct answers to the questions he raises, and rocking over some truly amazing production. The album touches nearly every aspect of black music with effortless precision. The funk of Wesley Snipes, the slam poetry of For Free, the r&b vibes of You Ain't Gotta Life...you can't pull this off without being a great, versatile artist. Throughout the album he displays near perfect control of his voice as an instrument, bending and strangling it to whatever emotion is required.
I genuinely don't think there's a bad song on the album. More impressively, the standout tracks aren't just standouts - they're some of Kendrick's best songs. These Walls (which reminds me of Stevie Wonder), the Dilla-esque marvel that is Momma, Hood Politics, and How Much A Dollar Cost - Kendrick's best song, period. The depressing u, the rage of The Blacker The Berry...there are too many standouts here.
And then he tops it off with Mortal Man. I've been a 2pac stan since I was a kid, I cried when he died...and I have no qualms about admitting Mortal Man brought water to my eyes. As with GKMC I haven't really found any urge to skip the skits throughout the album, or the long dialogue on this particular track. And each time it hits me in the gut.
After GKMC I reserved my expectations for its followup. I figured it would be good, but didn't expect it to surpass or match GKMC. Yet the more I listen to TPAB the more I want to declare it superior. I'm not there yet, but I strongly believe its standout tracks are better, and the songwriting is better. And I prefer the organic production. Regardless both are two of the best rap albums of the last decade. Kendrick could have easily given us GKMC 2.0, and I doubt fans would be disappointed in that. Instead he gave us the rap Sign O The Times.
9.5/10
It's an ambitious album that could have easily missed its target with overly preachy lyricism or a boring narrative. Kendrick avoids this by putting his contradictions on full display, refusing to provide direct answers to the questions he raises, and rocking over some truly amazing production. The album touches nearly every aspect of black music with effortless precision. The funk of Wesley Snipes, the slam poetry of For Free, the r&b vibes of You Ain't Gotta Life...you can't pull this off without being a great, versatile artist. Throughout the album he displays near perfect control of his voice as an instrument, bending and strangling it to whatever emotion is required.
I genuinely don't think there's a bad song on the album. More impressively, the standout tracks aren't just standouts - they're some of Kendrick's best songs. These Walls (which reminds me of Stevie Wonder), the Dilla-esque marvel that is Momma, Hood Politics, and How Much A Dollar Cost - Kendrick's best song, period. The depressing u, the rage of The Blacker The Berry...there are too many standouts here.
And then he tops it off with Mortal Man. I've been a 2pac stan since I was a kid, I cried when he died...and I have no qualms about admitting Mortal Man brought water to my eyes. As with GKMC I haven't really found any urge to skip the skits throughout the album, or the long dialogue on this particular track. And each time it hits me in the gut.
After GKMC I reserved my expectations for its followup. I figured it would be good, but didn't expect it to surpass or match GKMC. Yet the more I listen to TPAB the more I want to declare it superior. I'm not there yet, but I strongly believe its standout tracks are better, and the songwriting is better. And I prefer the organic production. Regardless both are two of the best rap albums of the last decade. Kendrick could have easily given us GKMC 2.0, and I doubt fans would be disappointed in that. Instead he gave us the rap Sign O The Times.
9.5/10
At least this guy is being honest. My problem is that he didn't go too in depth with his review, and his comment on "lack of melodies" is LOL.
Honestly i didn't think Kendrick would release an album like this. Im not the biggest Kendrick fan so I didn't know what to expect in the first place, but I definitely didnt expect this. Kendrick Lamar is easily one of the biggest acts in mainstream hip hop today, and considering his fanbase I was kind of in shock when I went through the first couple of tracks. Typically in regards to both lyrical content and samples/beats used. It seemed at least to me that he came out of left field with this album, which is why I understand that some of his fanbase wouldn't like the album.
Bought the album yesterday for $10! Well worth it.
It's crazy to think that Kendrick gave us back-to-back classics. Not back-to-back good albums, back-to-back classics. Who the hell even does that? Not very many people.
The last one was Dre with The Chronic/2001, right?
Ready to Die/Life After Death
College Dropout/Late Registration
Food and Liquor/The Cool
Well I'm assuming he means first two albums.Kanye with MBDTF &.808s
IrishNinja
Member
the man said classics, not good/great albums
you heard em
Kanye with MBDTF &.808s
are you just trynna make m'man RBK feel better or what
Kanye is full of classics. *Kanye shrug*
All subjective. Already stated a lot of Kendrick's praise comes from the Dre co-sign plus Interscope backing. Not going to knock people who find both albums amazing.
Be prepared to finish what you start.
Byakuya769
Member
Can't put Dre's work in the same lot as Kendrick's.
Rerecording reference tracks gets no credit from me.
Rerecording reference tracks gets no credit from me.
- Status