The major-label debut from the 25-year-old, Dr. Dre-endorsed Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city, is the Dark Knight of albums: led by a conflicted hero, it is rich, brainy enough not to be too brainy and utterly crowd-pleasing. Billed on its cover as "A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar," it's actually a feature-length narrative through his youth in Compton. The songs are so conversant with one another that it actually sounds a complete story.
As well as everything works in context, as much as good kid, m.A.A.d city demands repeat complete listens (imagine: a real album's album in 2012!), there are a lot of bites to appreciate on an ADHD level: intricate stacks of imagery ("Me and my niggas four deep in a white Toyota / A quarter tank of gas, one pistol, and orange soda /Janky stash box when the federales roll up / Basketball shorts with the Gonzales Park odor"), clever one-liners ("Hotboxing like George Foreman grilling the masses") and indelible, hooky outbursts ("Ya bish!"; "Every time I'm in the street, I hear ya-ya-ya!"). Its beats both tsk with a mechanical modernity (a la Lex Luger productions) and thud-pivot in a way that salutes hip-hop's past. Lamar is smart, deep and complex but he's also prone to weird voices: there's an Andre 3000 nasality during some hooks, an occasional Kanye growl, and a pitch-shifted Quasimoto-esque helium yelp—all in addition to his natural timbre, which The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones rightly compared to Butterfly of Digable Planets.
Basically, good kid, m.A.A.d city hits all buttons emphatically and with a dazzling dexterity. Its goals of informing and entertaining are simultaneous. In its flood of wordplay and imagery, it feels like an urgent statement, but it could also be read as this deliberate appeal to the taste of rap fans. It ingeniously aligns with their taste and has been embraced accordingly and adoringly.Nice one K.dot!!
Here, Rap Genius's track-by-track breakdown of the entire album
"Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter's Daughter"
Lamar lusts after a new girl but instead finds himself surrounded by mysterious men. There's a fluid, relaxed delivery here.
"Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"
With a driving beat, Lamar hopes to break out of Compton and never have to look back, vibe intact.
"Backseat Freestyle"*
Riding in the back of his mom's minivan, Lamar builds on the previous track's plans for his fame with a Hit-Boy beat.
"The Art of Peer Pressure"
Lamar is roped into a robbery by his friends. The four are almost caught, and Lamar panics. Like the first track, this one packs a lot of story in a fast, fluid rap.
"Money Trees" (featuring Jay Rock)
Jay Rock and Lamar describe the hustler lifestyle, and that same girl, Sherane, shows up again.
"Poetic Justice" (featuring Drake)*
Naturally, this will probably be the biggest radio hit. Drake and Lamar celebrate their lives, until Lamar ends up at Sherane's house with a gun barrel to his head. His delivery is flawless, leaving Drake sounding like a bit of an amateur.
"good kid"
Lamar gets a smooth beat from Pharrell as he talks about trying to run away from his life's problems. Finally he's beaten and kicked out of the neighborhood.
"m.A.A.d city" (featuring MC Eiht)
Lamar's Compton friends want to find the men who beat him. In the end, they convince him to drown his sorrows, leading to the alcohol abuse of the next track.
"Swimming Pools (Drank)"*
The darkest song on the album and another hit. Lamar stresses the word "drank" in an anthem for addiction. Unfortunately, booze doesn't offer him the road out of Compton he'd hoped for. Lamar's friends and the men who beat him meet, and a friend dies.
"Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst"
Still hitting the bottle, Lamar thinks about his dead friend and how so many dead young men are forgotten.
"Real" (featuring Anna Wise)
A woman from Lamar's church settles down his angry crew, and his mom takes a call from Dr. Dre, his way out of Compton.
"Compton" (featuring Dr. Dre)*
Dre joins Lamar, and the two know what they've both escaped. Lamar holds his own as a rapper. In fact, Dre borrows his flow.
*denotes highly-recommended tracks
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