Kendrick Lamar — DAMN. Review

Kendrick Lamar at 29-years old is already considered one of the greatest to ever grab the mic. His music expands from gritty raps to melodic rhythms that continuously makes you think with it’s deep nature. Throughout the past few years, Kendrick has truly expanded the hip-hop genre.

DAMN is Kendrick’s fourth studio album. It opens with an eerie spoken word skit segment entitled, “Blood.” The next track (“DNA”) dives right into a heavy bass infused beat by Mike Will Made It. Throughout the album, Kendrick weighs on everything that’s going on in his life, and others. Kendrick lays his introspect on some very touchy issues that needed to be addressed.

DAMN is loud, gritty, angry and yet — Kendrick will continue to rap cool, calm and collected flows. It’s unlike To Pimp A Butterfly in the sense that Kendrick literally rapped a song while sounding like he was having a breakdown. All the while, the beats will sporadically change on a few songs.

Through the fame and fortune — Kendrick feels just as damned as any other. He’s in sync with everything that’s going on. Tempted by the lusts and loneliness of fame. On the tracks “Elements,” and “FEEL,” Kendrick will say the lines, “Ain’t nobody prayin’ for me.” He’s torn in between relationships and whether it’s love or lust on the song, “LOVE.” Rihanna was a great touch but the most surprising feature was U2 on the track, “XXX.” I wouldn’t usually feel like a U2 feature would work on a Kung-Fu Kenny album, but they fit perfectly.

Kendrick Lamar knows he’s lyrically the best artist since Tupac (one could argue Eminem as well). He can be braggadocios and humble at the same time. (Speaking of “Humble,” the single sounded a lot better in the context of the album). KDot shows no signs of slowing down. This is the era of Kendrick Lamar.

Overall, I was very impressed by this album. I can already say that it may be some of his best work. Damn Kenny…damn. I’ll give it a strong 9/10

Favorite Tracks:

• DNA.
• YAH.
• ELEMENT.
• FEEL.
• LOYALTY. (Feat. Rihanna)
• LOVE. (Feat. Zacari)

Least Favorite Tracks:

• PRIDE.