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Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city |OT| No Beats By Dre

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I love Anna Wise's part on Money Trees for some reason.

be the last one to get this dough, nooo way
love one of you bucket headed hoes, no wayyy
etc...
 
Collect Calls Lyrics


[Intro]
Look at all the bullshit I been through
If I take you home, will you tell the truth
Look at all the bullshit I been through
If I take you home, will you tell the truth

[Verse 1]
Momma take this mothafuckin' block off
Tryna reach you everyday, collect calls
Never get through, and I go through withdrawals
Say who told you that I wanted this the
I just wanted to vent or
Ask you if you give me your rent for
A attorney, I can pay you back more
Soon as I get out, yea every record, shows
Commissary running low, I need help
Not too much, I hustle up the rest myself
K Dot wrote me saying Marcus got killed
If you knew me, then you know how bad I feel
Quisha prove me wrong, and never came to visit
And I heard she fucking on some other nigga
And my niggas left me in the dark, blind
Mama just get back at me this last time

[Hook]
Men lie, Women lie
Men lie, Women lie
Men lie, Women lie
Men lie, Women lie
Look at all the bullshit I been through
If I take you home, will you tell the truth
Look at all the bullshit I been through
If I take you home, will you tell the truth

[Verse 2]
Mama take this mothafuckin' block off
Thats the date the state will take the blocks off
Pulled up, and they put me in them cop cars
Please believe me, This ain't easy by far
You forgot you're talking to your only son
Remember when you put me in that relay run
I was racing, chasing dreams to be the best
You had told me that the very day I won
All I need is you to give me some support
Investigation saying that the same report
From a witness just might testify in court
DA say I take a deal, or take a loss
I ain't built for all them god damn numbers
God's will, say a prayer for me mama
If you can't, then open up the phone lines
Mama just get back at me this last time

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Dante, if I stress to take the block off
That's the day the state had take them locks off
I could only help but do so much
Bettering yourself, your own crutch
Look at your reflection tell me who you see
Who is your protection, G-O-D
No it's not neglection, I have just accepted
Your fate and what its gon' be
Remember all the nights that I cried
Thinking that my only son just died
Peeking through the window, Kicking through the door
It's you they looking for, Raid outside
Rather see you locked up than dead
Only you would say that I'm selfish
So before I take the stand, and put this bible in my hand
Son, let me say this
Click to expand...

Reading it without even listening to the song at the same time, still strikes me. Especially when you can relate to the situation Dante (the person Kendrick is impersonating) is in.

I haven't been to jail
 
the Conan performance was pretty bad. Don't know if he was just having an off day or if he has terrible stage presence, but Kendrick looked like he didn't want to be there.
 
Ninja Scooter said:
the Conan performance was pretty bad. Don't know if he was just having an off day or if he has terrible stage presence, but Kendrick looked like he didn't want to be there.
Click to expand...

His Fallon performance was horrible as well. If it isn't a small/medium venue, it'll probably look/sound terrible.
 
Watching Conan repeat of kendricks performance.

I always find it funny when I hear Swimming Pools playing at a house party...I just assume alot of people don't see the irony in it

EDIT: yea he looked disconnected on the stage...definitely not feeling it
 
Kendrick just doesn't perform his songs that well regardless of the venue. I mean, I'm sure with more crowded, it'd be a lot more hype, and you'll be feeling it more, so you'll care less. But his songs, he always seem to have a hard time replicating them live or just changing his voice that sounded nothing how it actually sounds.

At least from most videos I've seen that happens, of course there's some songs he is able to do with ease.
 
Cudder said:
Late night TV studios are smaller than the average venue where Kendrick would perform.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think thats his point. If it were any bigger, it would of looked much worse. Kendrick isnt that good live, based on second hand reports and youtube videos. He seems to cut short a lot of words, and sometimes outright skips them.
 
Tguy said:
Kendrick just doesn't perform his songs that well regardless of the venue. I mean, I'm sure with more crowded, it'd be a lot more hype, and you'll be feeling it more, so you'll care less. But his songs, he always seem to have a hard time replicating them live or just changing his voice that sounded nothing how it actually sounds.

At least from most videos I've seen that happens, of course there's some songs he is able to do with ease.
Click to expand...

This came across as well. He didn't even try to make the chorus on Swimming Pools sound remotely like the record. He rapped it the same way he did the verses.
 
Both of his on TV performances were lackluster. He doesn't really try all to hard, I don't know why but whatevs.

In concert his energy is crazy
 
It just doesn't work because there's so much atmosphere and shit in his music and its totally lost in a live format (especially like this).
He needs more people on stage with him and/or a live band i think.

Not to mention he doesn't sound anything like he does on his albums when performing live.
 
I actually think channel ORANGE is a better album than Kendrick's by a country mile. Neither are remotely close to 9.5 Pitchfork caliber, but I could certainly make a case for Frank Ocean's debut album.

good kid, m.A.A.d. city is hokey, melodramatic tripe that favors hip-hop gimmickry over substance. The mere presence of an overarching storyline doesn't justify the lavish praise. MBDTF had a clear thematic coherence without shoving rap operatic nonsense down the listener's throat. The skits on Kendrick's album are intrusive and are generally of no intellectual worth.

Sure, Kendrick "goes hard" on m.A.A.d. city, but the people claiming vicarious thrills and touting the authenticity of his lyricism are identical to pseudo-intellectual buffoons constantly parroting the same unctuous talking points about The Wire.* In isolation from the self-indulgent story over the album, which provides nothing novel or substantive in my opinion, the beats are notably weaker than on section.80. I ultimately think there are moments of sporadic brilliance on the album: I really like Swimming Pools and Money Trees and Good Kid, for instance. Other than that, though, a completely ordinary hip-hop album that probably won't make my top 10 hip-hop albums of the year list.

*I do want to clarify that I'm not likening the quality of The Wire to this album, if such a cross-medial comparison were even feasible. The Wire is obviously a masterful show, but the overwrought rhetoric on the internet about the show is so exhausting and pervasive that it very nearly adulterates my viewing experience. I feel my perhaps unfair criticism of this album stems, in part, from the ridiculously gushing and homogenous praise for this album. My thoughts are best encapsulated by the TMT review posted tonight.
 
channel orange, maad city and MBDTF only have one thing in common, and that's wal-mart putting them under "urban"

i mean that's it
 
EchosMyron1 said:
here comes the backlash
Click to expand...
To be fair, I posted the same sentiments a week ago.

IrishNinja said:
channel orange, maad city and MBDTF only have one thing in common, and that's wal-mart putting them under "urban"

i mean that's it
Click to expand...

I compared the three because they're the highest rated hip-hop/R&B albums on Pitchfork ever basically. MBDTF was their album of the year in 2010, and I expect 2012 either to be the year of Lamar or Ocean on P4K.

overcast said:
What the hell do Channel Orange and Good kid have in common?
Click to expand...
Same score on Pitchfork, to which I was directly responding.
 
What the hell do Channel Orange and Good kid have in common?

The beats, lyrical content, consistent fresh sound all contribute to the cohesiveness of the album. It feels as if this dude really spent years putting it together. Each bar feels personal, as do those "not intelligent" skits.
 
okay gremlin, but

GremlinFool said:
good kid, m.A.A.d. city is hokey, melodramatic tripe that favors hip-hop gimmickry over substance. The mere presence of an overarching storyline doesn't justify the lavish praise.
Click to expand...

GremlinFool said:
MBDTF had a clear thematic coherence without shoving rap operatic nonsense down the listener's throat.
Click to expand...

i mean, did we even hear the same albums there? you could literally swap them and keep those exact words and id be in complete agreement

EchosMyron1 said:
here comes the backlash
Click to expand...

maaaan ya'll a good 10 pages of love, go look at the first reply to my MWTIF thread
 
GremlinFool said:
I actually think channel ORANGE is a better album than Kendrick's by a country mile. Neither are remotely close to 9.5 Pitchfork caliber, but I could certainly make a case for Frank Ocean's debut album.

good kid, m.A.A.d. city is hokey, melodramatic tripe that favors hip-hop gimmickry over substance. The mere presence of an overarching storyline doesn't justify the lavish praise. MBDTF had a clear thematic coherence without shoving rap operatic nonsense down the listener's throat. The skits on Kendrick's album are intrusive and are generally of no intellectual worth.

Sure, Kendrick "goes hard" on m.A.A.d. city, but the people claiming vicarious thrills and touting the authenticity of his lyricism are identical to pseudo-intellectual buffoons constantly parroting the same unctuous talking points about The Wire.* In isolation from the self-indulgent story over the album, which provides nothing novel or substantive in my opinion, the beats are notably weaker than on section.80. I ultimately think there are moments of sporadic brilliance on the album: I really like Swimming Pools and Money Trees and Good Kid, for instance. Other than that, though, a completely ordinary hip-hop album that probably won't make my top 10 hip-hop albums of the year list.

*I do want to clarify that I'm not likening the quality of The Wire to this album, if such a cross-medial comparison were even feasible. The Wire is obviously a masterful show, but the overwrought rhetoric on the internet about the show is so exhausting and pervasive that it very nearly adulterates my viewing experience. I feel my perhaps unfair criticism of this album stems, in part, from the ridiculously gushing and homogenous praise for this album. My thoughts are best encapsulated by the TMT review posted tonight.
Click to expand...

valid criticism. im buying stock in this post.
 
GremlinFool said:
I actually think channel ORANGE is a better album than Kendrick's by a country mile. Neither are remotely close to 9.5 Pitchfork caliber, but I could certainly make a case for Frank Ocean's debut album.

good kid, m.A.A.d. city is hokey, melodramatic tripe that favors hip-hop gimmickry over substance. The mere presence of an overarching storyline doesn't justify the lavish praise. MBDTF had a clear thematic coherence without shoving rap operatic nonsense down the listener's throat. The skits on Kendrick's album are intrusive and are generally of no intellectual worth.

Sure, Kendrick "goes hard" on m.A.A.d. city, but the people claiming vicarious thrills and touting the authenticity of his lyricism are identical to pseudo-intellectual buffoons constantly parroting the same unctuous talking points about The Wire.* In isolation from the self-indulgent story over the album, which provides nothing novel or substantive in my opinion, the beats are notably weaker than on section.80. I ultimately think there are moments of sporadic brilliance on the album: I really like Swimming Pools and Money Trees and Good Kid, for instance. Other than that, though, a completely ordinary hip-hop album that probably won't make my top 10 hip-hop albums of the year list.

*I do want to clarify that I'm not likening the quality of The Wire to this album, if such a cross-medial comparison were even feasible. The Wire is obviously a masterful show, but the overwrought rhetoric on the internet about the show is so exhausting and pervasive that it very nearly adulterates my viewing experience. I feel my perhaps unfair criticism of this album stems, in part, from the ridiculously gushing and homogenous praise for this album. My thoughts are best encapsulated by the TMT review posted tonight.
Click to expand...

Irony

Dude, you're trying way too hard.
 
GremlinFool said:
I actually think channel ORANGE is a better album than Kendrick's by a country mile. Neither are remotely close to 9.5 Pitchfork caliber, but I could certainly make a case for Frank Ocean's debut album.

good kid, m.A.A.d. city is hokey, melodramatic tripe that favors hip-hop gimmickry over substance. The mere presence of an overarching storyline doesn't justify the lavish praise. MBDTF had a clear thematic coherence without shoving rap operatic nonsense down the listener's throat. The skits on Kendrick's album are intrusive and are generally of no intellectual worth.

Sure, Kendrick "goes hard" on m.A.A.d. city, but the people claiming vicarious thrills and touting the authenticity of his lyricism are identical to pseudo-intellectual buffoons constantly parroting the same unctuous talking points about The Wire.* In isolation from the self-indulgent story over the album, which provides nothing novel or substantive in my opinion, the beats are notably weaker than on section.80. I ultimately think there are moments of sporadic brilliance on the album: I really like Swimming Pools and Money Trees and Good Kid, for instance. Other than that, though, a completely ordinary hip-hop album that probably won't make my top 10 hip-hop albums of the year list.

*I do want to clarify that I'm not likening the quality of The Wire to this album, if such a cross-medial comparison were even feasible. The Wire is obviously a masterful show, but the overwrought rhetoric on the internet about the show is so exhausting and pervasive that it very nearly adulterates my viewing experience. I feel my perhaps unfair criticism of this album stems, in part, from the ridiculously gushing and homogenous praise for this album. My thoughts are best encapsulated by the TMT review posted tonight.
Click to expand...
"YAWK! YAWK! YAWK! YAWK!"
 
For what it's worth, I think Aesop Rock, El-P, Killer Mike, and Billy Woods all released better hip-hop albums this year. Probably more that I'm forgetting.
 
siddx?

GremlinFool said:
For what it's worth, I think Aesop Rock, El-P, Killer Mike, and Billy Woods all released better hip-hop albums this year. Probably more that I'm forgetting.
Click to expand...

i think i might agree with the bolded, at least
id wiki Billy Woods but i'm afraid he'd be in doomtree or something and somebody might see me reading that
 
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