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GVF-Hop l0† 13l La Soulja Nostra

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H

HiResDes

Member
In light of the recent GKMC discussion I recently discussed and argued in favor of the album's greatness on another forum. Here's a short blurb from what I wrote:

Just so people don't think I'm talking out of my ass or just trying to be contrarian. I definitely think GKMC is quite cohesive, and don't believe in this sort of weighted outlook on sonic cohesion vs story driven cohesion. GKMC is a story of growth, it starts out with this sort of adolescent outlook on life and tells the tale of religious and spiritual redemption and the subsequent ascension of success that followed Kendrick. And this growth is very well integrated into the very fabric of the album, which is why you have these somewhat big dynamic changes in the sound like the Backseat Freestyle, which portrays Kendrick at the height of his immaturity and ignorance. The abrupt transition from Good Kid to Maad City captures Kendrick's spiritual change from glorifying the gangsta culture that surrounded him to being horrified by it. The brilliance of a song like Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst can not really be overstated. It features an epic tale in of itself. Within the song, Kendrick raps from the perspective of all of these different people throughout his life whom died without redemption or "of thirst". And the song is quite moving and extremely well nuanced with little attentions to detail like Kendrick's slight change in cadence and tone to represent each persona and having his voice kind of fade off at one point to represent their untimely death. The closer Compton perfectly encapsulates Kendrick's meteoric rise out of the ashes of the imporverished and crime-ridden streets of LA. GKMC manages to pay homage to the history of urban West-Coast culture while also being able to sort of transcend it musically.

...Having the b-sides and bonus tracks Black Boy Fly, The Recipe, and Cartoons & Cereal definitely elevates the album quite a bit too.
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M

MuddyDonut

Member
Zeus Molecules said:
I would counter that the overall "plot" of GKMC was what really made it unique and that the three song chain of TAofPP, Money Trees, and Poetic justice is better than any 3 songs on TPAB save for Blacker the Berry and "The Cost". TPAB is lacking in that cohesiveness and it shows.

Also Bitch don't kil my vibe as a phrase was a great enough song to become a popular culture meme which TPAB has nothing on. Now I know Kendrick wished to be more afrocentric (and less mainstream....because sure why not) on this this album and songs like "Complexion" and "Aint gotta a lie" achieve this but then songs like "for Free, King Kunta, and institutionalized are just bad.... Also lets ignore the sexual imagery in these walls because that doesn't fit at all with the afrocentric theme (even though its a good song). Meanwhile GKMC had no bad songs and as a complete project was better in just above every way.
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Advocate #memerap brehs
 
E

Esch

Banned
These Walls is cool but dragged down a little by overdoing it. Cut Anna Wise and most of the bullshit out of that beat (ie focus on the dope ass miami vice sounding guitar in it) and it's a classic. But right now it's like watching your girl at her gymnastics competition and she does a dope double flip or something but instead she tries to pull off some absurd triple screwdriver leap and stumbles when she hits the mat.
 
M

MuddyDonut

Member
I don't like Anna Wise anymore. Didn't like her in GKMC and don't like her here. However, she was fine on any of the CunninLynguists albums.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Esch said:
These Walls is cool but dragged down a little by overdoing it. Cut Anna Wise and most of the bullshit out of that beat (ie focus on the dope ass miami vice sounding guitar in it) and it's a classic. But right now it's like watching your girl at her gymnastics competition and she does a dope double flip or something but instead she tries to pull off some absurd triple screwdriver leap and stumbles when she hits the mat.
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She has a nice melodic portion of the chorus, I don't see the point in replacing her specifically. But I love how Bilal's part of the chorus perfectly compliments the guitar and synths; it's like an instrument.

(I noticed SZA has a couple vocal credits on the album...I definitely think she would sound better than Anna on certain tracks like Institutionalized, but I like Ann on These Walls.)

That song really remind's me of As, by Stevie Wonder. Both have some pretty ominous, dark sounds mixed into more traditional upbeat "love song" canvas. As' chorus and ending sound forboding to me, and These Walls has a similar feel when the darker synths kick in+the ending.
 
S

silentcapybara

Banned
overcast said:
What else was it supposed to be? Kendrick shouldn't be boxed in to make music for a certain person, he should make what he wants. As a fan I'm more than happy with the result of him making an "album for Kendrick Lamar".
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i meant that people going in with expectations of gkmc or michael jordan/control kendrick or whatever may not find what they were looking for with this album. certainly, artists shouldn't be expected to make the same thing over and over and should be able to express themselves freely.
 
K

Koozek

Member
Whew, guys, I always thought Tinashe was just a generic R&B singer.
The Amethyst and Black Water tapes are actually solid. And I rarely comment on someone's look, but man is she cute.



 
P

pronk420

Member
the new wiley album is pretty great,

also this article about an article about future brown getting taken off the Red Bull Music academy site is pretty amusing:
http://alexmacpherson.tumblr.com/post/112145310779/i-wrote-about-future-brown-last-week-when-the

At the heart of the Future Brown project is a co-option of “hood” artists into a thoroughly bourgeois milieu for the sake of street credibility. It’s an old story, so maybe it is music for the world we live in – but it’s not such a futuristic concept, after all.
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sounds about right
 
K

Kimosabae

Banned
Blasian Persuasion said:
Happy St. Patrick's Day Gaf-Hop!

ZuU4kTs.gif
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Sorry to quote but I need to know who this is
 
C

Courage

Member
Drake is in a similar predicament that Kendrick was before TPAB. You're at the peak of your career, where do you go next? Do you continue what you've been doing with your past albums and continue your reign? Do you take a left turn, a la Kendrick, and do something experimental, risking your dominance? Will it be a hybrid of both?

This is something that can probably be answered when you examine Drake as a musician and a person to a degree. He's a perfectionist but seems comfortable with where he is. I don't see him taking risks like Kendrick or Kanye. It might be the beginning of the end for him, in terms of his mainstream stranglehold. It's also possible he'll adapt in the upcoming years and still maintain his popularity, although maybe not to today's extent. Personally, I just want a good album that expands on some of the elements from IYRITL.
 
O

overcast

Member
silentcapybara said:
i meant that people going in with expectations of gkmc or michael jordan/control kendrick or whatever may not find what they were looking for with this album. certainly, artists shouldn't be expected to make the same thing over and over and should be able to express themselves freely.
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Oh okay, yeah I got you.
Courage said:
It might be the beginning of the end for him, in terms of his mainstream stranglehold. It's also possible he'll adapt in the upcoming years and still maintain his popularity, although maybe not to today's extent.
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Naw, don't Drake isn't losing popularity any time soon Courage. He's quite clearly on top of the game relevance wise. He has a knack for crafting hit songs, good melodies.
 
T

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
does anyone else find themselves listening to like the first minute of all day and then skipping to the end? the outro goes in so hard.
 
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