Hold up, sit down, be humble when listening to this gem from Kendrick Lamar. On April 14, Lamar released his fourth studio album titled “DAMN.” It had been over two years since his previous release of his third, now critically acclaimed album, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” The transition from his previous album to his newest installment is noticeably different in regard to production. “To Pimp a Butterfly” didn’t care for commerciality; the album includes a motif found in most of his music: remaining genuine to the African-American community. “DAMN.” is more reminiscent of his second album, “Goodkid m.A.A.d City” because of it’s commercial sound.
In the weeks following the release, Lamar dropped a freestyle entitled, “The Heart pt IV.” Here, he continues a running trend in hip-hop of taking jabs at other rappers without calling them out by name. “The Heart pt IV” took aim and what seems to be fellow contemporary rhymers, Drake and Big Sean. One of the boldest statements made by Lamar was a phrase where he crowned himself king and placed himself atop everyone’s “Top 5” rappers list, and went on to say, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I am the greatest rapper alive.” This line would give us the best indication of what to expect of the coming album.
Following “The Heart pt IV,” Kendrick released the lead single to his album, “HUMBLE.” Sound-wise, this track captures the energy of the album and gives the best representation its direction. “HUMBLE” provides a loud 808 beat, as is typical of most contemporary beats in hip-hop; however, Lamar provided a twist.
Compared to the singles of other big name rappers with their very top notch production, coated in complex layers of melodies as the main attraction of the song, in typical Lamar fashion, the focus of his single is complex lyricism. Rather than having an over-the-top beat, he incorporates a humble piano riff. “HUMBLE” was met with much praise, and is currently sitting at 90+ million views on YouTube and stands at the number 3 position on Billboard’s Hot 100 songs at the time of this review.
The album itself opens with “BLOOD,” a Lamar monologue behind a slow-building, 60’s soul-style instrumental of him describing an interaction between himself and a blind woman he believes to be in need of help. After a jaw dropping ending to the interaction, the album transitions to the hard hitting “DNA” (which also was recently was given its own music video, starring Don Cheadle).
The album takes a slower turn in the following track, “YAH,” but picks up the tempo in the next track, “ELEMENT.” This theme persists throughout the album, typically going from a few low energy, slow tempo songs to a high energy, fast tempo beat.
I found one of the most impactful tracks on the album to be “XXX (FEAT. U2).” In this track, Lamar attempts to reach beyond the African American community to speak to all of America. In the United States, U2 is a well known, older Irish rock band, and their fan base wouldn’t typically consider purchasing a contemporary hip-hop album.
I believe this demographic is who Lamar was trying to reach with this song. It begins, “America, God bless you if it’s good to you, America please take my hand, can you help me underst—.” Before the word “understand” can be finished, the line is cut off by a fast and loud hip-hop beat, where Kendrick then proceeds to get political. In the second verse of the track, I also felt a strong influence from fellow California, Norf-side Long Beach rapper, Vince Staples.
“I was a big fan of the mad city album, I had “Money Trees” and “m.A.A.d city” on repeat all day, but in his last album I felt he was being really direct with all the politics which was different from what I wanted to hear from Kendrick, but I like what he did with this new one,” Colorado Mesa University student Jimmy Nevarez said. “[I] like the album, it’s real. Kendrick’s real, and nothing beats the real.”
CMU student Brayan Daniel had some reservations about the album.
“[…] I’m not sure how I felt about him going in on my boys Drake and Big Sean before he dropped the album. You know people can talk all they want about Drake using ghost writers and stuff, but at the end of the day, you have to admit he comes consistent with the hits,” Daniel said. “There aren’t any features from any of the other TDE guys. It would have been the craziest thing to have seen J. Cole on this album too. That’s what I want. I want a Drake, Big Sean, J. Cole Kendrick track; someone make it happen please.”
Overall, I believe this was a very well-rounded album worth listening to. Like all other Kendrick Lamar albums, it has all the elements to stand the test of time. Some of the tracks are so catchy, I suspect most people will be listening to them more than a handful of times. It remains sincere and true to form in terms of lyricism. About a week into its release, it’s well on its way to being another classic.
