Kendrick Lamar has claimed his place in the world of hip-hop music over recent years. After recently winning 5 Grammy Awards, including “Best Rap Album,” his sophomore album “To Pimp a Butterfly” had fans eagerly awaiting a new project to sink their teeth into.
And it wasn’t as far off as some might have thought it would be.
The self-proclaimed “GOD MC” released an album named “untitled unmastered” on March 4th, which brought to the table a collection of 8 songs thoughtfully strung together and recorded between 2013–2014.
The album’s first week sales of nearly 200,000 copies sold or streamed attested to the enthusiasm many hip hop fans have for Kendrick’s message and presence. For an album that had no promotion or warning, it has been extremely successful.
Part of the album’s allure comes from the way that it offers a rare and unique insight into the behind the scenes progression of his current sound. Some tracks are comparable to the raw and rough sound of “Good Kid M.a.a.d City,” while others more alike the smooth, “jazz fusion with the trap music” sound found in “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Much like “TPAB,” “untitled unmastered” includes heavy political messages encoded for close listeners.
The album shows strength when listeners move to track “Untitled 2,” which appeals to the up-beat and hard sound that Kendrick has always used so successfully. The track served as a clear reminder of the strong vision and aggression behind the sharp lyrical content, and excites listeners into craving more. The bass-infested track has been one of the most popular songs on the album so far. The song gathered recognition for the album that helped it land a spot on Billboard’s top 200.
“Untitled 3” was a heavily anticipated track that featured first on an episode of “The Colbert Report.” The track features a smooth sound with an underlying Jazz tone and powerful lyrics that speak of the differences in the races and the ways that different men gain power within their cultures. Comparing the way Asian men are centered in spirituality, Indian men in owning land, Black men in their connection to women, and White men in ownership of money and prestige in careers. He compares the music industry to a modern day form of slavery in how they “Sell him for 10.99” meaning his music and his livelihood, which revealed a rebellious dimension to the track that satisfied the anger he curated in previous tracks giving a greatly appreciated release.
Another strong point in the album lies in the track “Untitled 7,” an 8 minute-long song in which Kendrick speaks to the superficial pleasures in life and how they lack the ability to give you a truly good high. It fades into a subtle yet striking skit that pays homage to his hometown of Compton CA, and then another verse of him speaking on how he believes he inspired so many of his colleagues in the rap industry to be better. Kendrick understands his influence in hip-hop and uses it to his full potential at every opportunity he gets.
The album had minimal features from other artists, showcasing Lamar’s ability to captivate an audience without any extra bells and whistles just as he did in “TPAB.”
Though the content of the album is extremely strong in sound and lyricism, the element of it being un-mastered is detectable. Some tracks aren’t to the standard quality of his usual work and that brings it down a few pegs from what is normally expected. However, for those that are put off by the quality of the album, a mastered version is currently available by the time of this review’s release.
The album has drawn attention to Kendrick Lamar and his ever present voice for the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the push for equality. The thread of ever present originality, awareness and raw hip-hop lyricism is present once again in Lamar’s work. Many fans enjoyed the random album drop and look forward to hearing where his sound will take them next.
In the words of Kendrick himself: “Pimp Pimp, Hooray!”
Grade: B+
