Concept wise it's good yes, but it's just so poorly executed. Holy shit, I'm not sure what's worse, for free or u.
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GVF-Hop l0 13l La Soulja Nostra
- Thread starter HiResDes
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Psychological Intellect
Banned
is that who i think it is that kendrick is talking to on 'mortal man'?
Holo Tupac is sentient.
Frankensteiner
Banned
Maaaaaan For Free is one of most putrid shits I've ever heard. Never go full dusty, brehs.
Discotheque
Banned
How Much a Dollar Cost is the first song I genuinely like. This one is nice.
First Impressions (lol so hot takes)
1.Wesley's Theory - Tis Ok. I will say this alot but its good but I may not return to it too much. He is spitting here tho
2. For Free? - yo...this shit sucks..like wtf man
3. King Kunta - I listened to leak. Still like it a lot. Really Bouncy.
4.Institutionalized - Pretty good. Not much else to say.
5. These Walls - One of the many beats that eat him alive but again it is good but I doubt I come back to it.
6. U - I get what he was trying here...but naw. Both beats have things working for it but neither work with Kendrick.
7. Alright - Love it. One of the better tracks on here and this is where the album begins to shine tho. Everything works for me here.
8. For Sale? - I like it, some weird fuckery at points but it saves itself as it goes on.
9. Momma - Kinda boring...Kendrick doesn't work here.
10. Hood Politics- That Killer Mike line alone makes this awesome to me. I like the beat too. The chorus and the constant boo boo are a bit grating.
11. How Much a Dollar Cost - This is the most realized track IMO. Everything is working. Good song.
12. Complexion - Good track. Rapsody's verse is really good.
13. TBTB - Love this song...not sure If I am feeling the wailing at the start tho. Might stick with the single version.
14. You Aint Gotta Lie - Tis Ok....could do without it. It sums up a lot of the album..technically good but nothing I will return to.
15: i - I want to like this version but the abrupt stop ruins it IMO.
16. Mortal Man - I generally hate long ass songs but this is really good. The song and the spoken word stuff are good.
This feels like Section.80 era stuff. Its kidna bloated really and sometimes he gets ate alive by the beats or they just don't fit him or the track is just kinda boring. Outside of For Free? everything is solid with few tracks I will come back to more than others.
Solid album, not sure if its better than GKMC overall but it also doesn't have as many dead periods either...it just a solid album with little super highs or super lows.
1.Wesley's Theory - Tis Ok. I will say this alot but its good but I may not return to it too much. He is spitting here tho
2. For Free? - yo...this shit sucks..like wtf man
3. King Kunta - I listened to leak. Still like it a lot. Really Bouncy.
4.Institutionalized - Pretty good. Not much else to say.
5. These Walls - One of the many beats that eat him alive but again it is good but I doubt I come back to it.
6. U - I get what he was trying here...but naw. Both beats have things working for it but neither work with Kendrick.
7. Alright - Love it. One of the better tracks on here and this is where the album begins to shine tho. Everything works for me here.
8. For Sale? - I like it, some weird fuckery at points but it saves itself as it goes on.
9. Momma - Kinda boring...Kendrick doesn't work here.
10. Hood Politics- That Killer Mike line alone makes this awesome to me. I like the beat too. The chorus and the constant boo boo are a bit grating.
11. How Much a Dollar Cost - This is the most realized track IMO. Everything is working. Good song.
12. Complexion - Good track. Rapsody's verse is really good.
13. TBTB - Love this song...not sure If I am feeling the wailing at the start tho. Might stick with the single version.
14. You Aint Gotta Lie - Tis Ok....could do without it. It sums up a lot of the album..technically good but nothing I will return to.
15: i - I want to like this version but the abrupt stop ruins it IMO.
16. Mortal Man - I generally hate long ass songs but this is really good. The song and the spoken word stuff are good.
This feels like Section.80 era stuff. Its kidna bloated really and sometimes he gets ate alive by the beats or they just don't fit him or the track is just kinda boring. Outside of For Free? everything is solid with few tracks I will come back to more than others.
Solid album, not sure if its better than GKMC overall but it also doesn't have as many dead periods either...it just a solid album with little super highs or super lows.
Syphon Filter
Member
cry more.
Face it Tiger..
Banned
Clivia Demo>>>TDE's output in 2014 & 2015.
oh that's for damn sure.
Discotheque
Banned
most definitely. i appreciate his ambition but this is just kind of a chore to sit through.
blacker the berry is hitting me in the head though, i really like it in the midst of this album. and how much a dollar cost is nice as well.
lolIt's still some passive aggressive type shit.
"Oh wow this album is great so far. Fire!"
"but he didnt use all MY music. I gave him all the best stuff too! I was gonna use it myself! and now you're NEVER gonna hear it"
Just Blaze tier whine tactics. foh
I'm not even going to try and write out anything well thought out in that Kendrick thread. I'll put up some impressions in here tomorrow. I'm not mad at this album and I'm not down on what he's trying to do. This album just doesn't work for him. His voice, his lyricism, his flow, his presence. It just doesn't work.
Lol. It's on the same level as Cilvia for me right now. Gotta let it marinate for me.
PhoenixDark
Banned
I'm not gonna lie and I don't give a shit what anyone says. The end of Mortal Man, ie that part, brought a tear to my eyes.
Finishing up the first listen, initial reaction is :
There's some stuff i really like. I knew when i was running through this that we were going to see lots of complaints of production from the kanye stan/soulja girlbase who can't listen to anything without an 808 in it / any music made before 2003, but I'd say it's got some really really high points. Some of this shit is soulful as hell or sets nice vibes that remind me of the best of Nujabes / TDE inhouse, other times it can be meh. Kendrick himself is all over the place on it too, sometimes i'm like damn this dude is one of the most poignant writer/rappers ever, others i'm like holy shit this guy needs to tone it down waaaay all the fuck down.
Pretty weird album overall. Will drop an Esch scale track by track in a week when the lurkers leave and the hysteria subsides. Overall though, I'd say I like it; if only for the fact that it's a interesting case study and has so many bizarre creative extremes, peaks and nadirs. And in that sense it's not really safe at all, especially wrt the microphone work. but we all know how much that matters to you wastecadets
There's some stuff i really like. I knew when i was running through this that we were going to see lots of complaints of production from the kanye stan/soulja girlbase who can't listen to anything without an 808 in it / any music made before 2003, but I'd say it's got some really really high points. Some of this shit is soulful as hell or sets nice vibes that remind me of the best of Nujabes / TDE inhouse, other times it can be meh. Kendrick himself is all over the place on it too, sometimes i'm like damn this dude is one of the most poignant writer/rappers ever, others i'm like holy shit this guy needs to tone it down waaaay all the fuck down.
Pretty weird album overall. Will drop an Esch scale track by track in a week when the lurkers leave and the hysteria subsides. Overall though, I'd say I like it; if only for the fact that it's a interesting case study and has so many bizarre creative extremes, peaks and nadirs. And in that sense it's not really safe at all, especially wrt the microphone work. but we all know how much that matters to you wastecadets
MorisUkunRasik
Member
Solid so far, fell really short of GKMC. Didn't think he'd be able to match that heat, but didn't think he'd fall this short either.
I resisted the temptation to re-play GKMC tracks when I first heard it to keep the album going.
I resisted the temptation to re-play GKMC tracks when I first heard it to keep the album going.
I think it has moments where it comes together, but they are in isolation, and usually followed by some other song connected by very, very loose threads.
Whether I should treat this as a concept album or not, I don't think it hits it's mark and doesn't do a good job of making you try to care. I mean, the album version of "i" is one of the better songs on here.
Was mostly referring to the production. His delivery/presence is unsafely awkward to shit. The concepts are also fine on paper, but most of these songs are simply executed poorly.
How Much A Dollar Cost the only song that's legitimately incredible. I'll post a lengthier writeup tomorrow since the weird noises already tired me out.
How Much A Dollar Cost the only song that's legitimately incredible. I'll post a lengthier writeup tomorrow since the weird noises already tired me out.
People just going through withdrawal from anticipation and the real thing isn't enough to curb their sobering pains. Gotta let them wind down before restoring the positivity.
I think the important thing to take away is that regardless of how you perceive its quality it has lots of ideas even if a lot of the execution is ??? is this garbage or brilliant? so in that sense it bodes well for Kendrick because he's still not running out of things to say or ways to say them
well, first listen is over.
outside of some occasional weirdness (interludes/odd delivery), i actually really enjoyed it. production really stood out to me throughout. didn't hate a single song honestly outside of the first interlude of course lol.
definitely looking forward to sitting with this some more.
outside of some occasional weirdness (interludes/odd delivery), i actually really enjoyed it. production really stood out to me throughout. didn't hate a single song honestly outside of the first interlude of course lol.
definitely looking forward to sitting with this some more.
Yeah I agree with it having moments where it comes together. I've got no problems with experimental albums. My biggest problem with this album is that it feels like Kendrick threw shit on the wall and went with everything regardless of whether it stuck or not.
Discotheque
Banned
that track, blacker the berry and mortal man for me.
Rastafarian42
Member
So far the music in this album lends itself well to being put on in the background of a low-key gathering of friends relaxing. But the lyrics require more attention than that. It's an arduous listen that requires everyone to be on board with whatever comes. Feels like a struggle for both Kendrick and the listener(s).
I don't know. I'll need to listen more and probably a few times. Just feels like two great projects that were mixed together when they shouldn't have been and it's created a dissonance. Or I just have a normal headache.
I don't know. I'll need to listen more and probably a few times. Just feels like two great projects that were mixed together when they shouldn't have been and it's created a dissonance. Or I just have a normal headache.
the riffs and bops are too strong on Wesley's Theory. It more or less drowns out Kendrick, and he can't corral the beat. It gathers what I'm guessing to be all of the album's themes (black pride, anti-establishment, community outreach), buttressed by the snazzy, jazzy beat in a hodgepodge offering that kind of overwhelms. At least at first.
For Free? sounds like a cut gag from Black Dynamite.
One thing Kendrick is really good at - and all the great rappers have this talent - is to paint a picture. And with King Kunta, Kendrick is presenting you this embodiment of black spirit. Powerful, larger than life, thoroughly black - perhaps sauntering down the street. The track name and the baseline that sounds straight from a blaxploitation flick more than validate the idea (a bit over much, but it's cool). It's a brag track all the way through, but instead of money and cars like most rappers generically go on about, Kendrick is telling you he's got the crown cuz he's that nigga. Perhaps the best lyricist, the most poignant story teller, the most critically vaunted...but really the one (at least in the mainstream) that's gonna do the topics featured on his album justice.
It's the logical continuation of his sentiments on the Control verse that lit 2013 on fire, and kin to the first verse of his well received single The Blacker the Berry. And the lack of Kendrick's personal history or other such identifiers in the song make it seamless for the listener to self insert.
After such an energetic track full of flexing and braggadocios frolicking, tamping down that energy and bottling it with an oppressive song like institutionalized is sort of a surprising move. I suppose this song is supposed to be the other side of the coin that is the black perspective - prideful but sometimes self defeating. This is the kind of stuff that got Kendrick in trouble a month or two ago. It's no coincidence that it's placed right after a track like King Kunta.
i'll get to the rest later. I like it so far.
For Free? sounds like a cut gag from Black Dynamite.
One thing Kendrick is really good at - and all the great rappers have this talent - is to paint a picture. And with King Kunta, Kendrick is presenting you this embodiment of black spirit. Powerful, larger than life, thoroughly black - perhaps sauntering down the street. The track name and the baseline that sounds straight from a blaxploitation flick more than validate the idea (a bit over much, but it's cool). It's a brag track all the way through, but instead of money and cars like most rappers generically go on about, Kendrick is telling you he's got the crown cuz he's that nigga. Perhaps the best lyricist, the most poignant story teller, the most critically vaunted...but really the one (at least in the mainstream) that's gonna do the topics featured on his album justice.
It's the logical continuation of his sentiments on the Control verse that lit 2013 on fire, and kin to the first verse of his well received single The Blacker the Berry. And the lack of Kendrick's personal history or other such identifiers in the song make it seamless for the listener to self insert.
After such an energetic track full of flexing and braggadocios frolicking, tamping down that energy and bottling it with an oppressive song like institutionalized is sort of a surprising move. I suppose this song is supposed to be the other side of the coin that is the black perspective - prideful but sometimes self defeating. This is the kind of stuff that got Kendrick in trouble a month or two ago. It's no coincidence that it's placed right after a track like King Kunta.
i'll get to the rest later. I like it so far.
Discotheque
Banned
Mortal Man is legit glorious, i wouldn't call it a better song than my favorites from GKMC and Section 80. But content/concept-wise etc. this is his best. HIS BEEEEST
CountBlack
Member
Institutionalized..
PhoenixDark
Banned
Will review this tomorrow or later this week. This is one of the most ambitious albums I've heard in awhile, When it works it's stunning. At other times it feels like it suffers from studio isolation: overthinking shit, born from spending too much time trying to perfect things. That being said overall I think the album hits more than it misses.
The production is amazing, the concept is well executed. It builds up to quite a climax and nails it.
With respect to For Free...he's not talking about women, I don't get the Black Girl Lost/What Girls Life comparison.
And I agree Anna Wise shouldn't be on Institutionalized.
The production is amazing, the concept is well executed. It builds up to quite a climax and nails it.
With respect to For Free...he's not talking about women, I don't get the Black Girl Lost/What Girls Life comparison.
And I agree Anna Wise shouldn't be on Institutionalized.
I feel like this album could have been better than GKMC if a lot of extra fat was cut.
Edit: 2nd half is by far the better part of the album. Almost everything in the end tail of the album works.
yeah...this is what I am thinking too.
I still like it a lot tho.
2015 has been a nice year
fuccouttahere gumps
these walls and king kunta are solid
Agreed but they're brought down so much by what precedes them and follows.
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