DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar
Recommended for:
Anybody remotely interested in rap
Human beings in general
Pros:
Amazing Production and Beats
He's humble
Lyrics with actual substance
Beat Changes on Beat Changes on Beat Changes
Cons:
Not as consistent in quality as previous albums
Lacks jazz elements
AVERAGE RATING:
7.8/10
To the three people in the world that may not be aware yet, Kendrick Lamar has returned with a new studio album just two years after his magnum opus To Pimp a Butterfly entitled DAMN. DAMN. was promoted with the singles “The Heart Pt. 4” and “HUMBLE.” DAMN. has guest features from Rihanna, Zacari, and most surprisingly, U2. Some other notable people who worked on this album include Mike WiLL Made-It, Sounwave, Anna Wise, James Blake, BadBadNotGood, Thundercat, and Kamasi Washington.
MELoDY MAKER:
(Jake Marino)
Jesus Christ, Kendrick, let us breathe. Kendrick Lamar is on one of the hottest album streaks in the history of rap right now, releasing three critically claimed albums in a row (Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, To Pimp a Butterfly) and releasing a collection of throwaways from TPAB that still managed to be better than most rappers’ studio albums. To me, Kendrick is one of the most creative, consistently brilliant, and well-rounded rappers in the game right now. There are very few rappers right now that can stand toe-to-toe with Kung Fu Kenny when accounting for lyricism, creativity in flow, rhyme schemes, and delivery, and most of all, constructing albums with clear, conceptual focus. Needless to say, when it was announced Kendrick Lamar would release an album in April, I was very eager to listen (understatement of the year).
On DAMN., Kendrick once again reinvents himself and his sound. As opposed to the grand, funk and jazz infused sound that he mastered on TPAB, DAMN. is much more dirty, raw, and unpolished. It is also much more influenced by current music trends like trap and alt-R&B. While I am very unimpressed by the majority of trap artists and trap music in general, I was excited to see where someone with an immense amount of creativity like Kendrick can take this otherwise stale genre of music. For the majority of the album, Kendrick is able to triumph over the bland trap clichés and produce some of his sharpest-cutting, hardest-hitting, bangers and some of his most thought provoking songs he’s ever put out. However, there are occasions on DAMN. where Kendrick unfortunately falls victim to bland radio-music hit trends, which results in some of the worst music that Kendrick has put out ever.
Let’s go through this album. The track “BLOOD.” opens up this album with a blind woman killing Kendrick after he tries to help her. Quite the way to start the album. Samples of pundits on Fox News criticizing (and misinterpreting) Kendrick’s “Alright” swell in and introduce us to the second track “DNA.” Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not heard “DNA.” yet, I urge that you do so in a safe space, away from fragile objects and at least an arm’s length away from other people. Because when you do hear it, you will most likely be doing something along the lines of this. “DNA.” is Kung Fu Kenny at his most ferocious with razor sharp precision in flow and hefty swagger in delivery. And just when this song cannot get any more batshit, a beat change hits with bass that hits like a cylinder block to the face. DAMN. starts with as big of a splash as it could possibly start with. The collaboration of producer Mike WiLL Made-It and Kendrick works amazingly throughout this album. The other two songs featuring this duo are “HUMBLE.” and “XXX.” And if you were wondering if those songs are heavy bangers, well of course they are. “HUMBLE.” is simple in its structure, but effective. This song has a simple, booming beat with a little piano lick over it while Kendrick does what you expect him to do, which is spit. The result is an immense amount of head bobbing and adrenaline flow. It’s a fail-proof combo. The first half “XXX.” combats “DNA.” for the most intense moments on DAMN. with sirens firing off over another fiery instrumental from WiLL Made-It and some of the most violent lyrics Kendrick has released in a very long time.
DAMN’s first dip in quality happens on tracks 3 and 4 unfortunately, with “YAH.” and “ELEMENT.” Instrumentally, “YAH.” is dreary and hazy with a slight boom bap feel to it. Production wise, this song is actually a very nice addition to the album, but it is Kendrick’s input in this song that actually makes this song a little generic sounding and bland. He seems to take a page straight out of Drake’s book when it comes to the way he delivers, drowning his voice in auto-tune and singing a generic melody that we’ve all heard a million times by now. The chorus is still admittedly catchy, which is this song’s saving grace along with Kendrick’s insights into the criticism he faces and more interestingly, into Deuteronomy. “ELEMENT.” is one of the more inferior songs on this album for similar reasons. It’s not one of Kendrick’s best lyrically or most creative songs, but there are at least some interesting bars to listen through and once again, the hook is still catchy enough to save it from being a bad song.
However, the songs “LOVE.” and “GOD.” are flat-out bad. Generic, unimaginative, poor vocal performances, these songs have it all. Not much can be said about these songs besides the fact that there’s no reason that these songs should have been recorded by Kendrick, and there’s especially no reason for them being included on this otherwise excellent album.
DAMN. is not all comprised of bangers and mediocre songs, though. “FEEL.” is an almost heart-breaking song that lays down a mellow, minimalistic, vibey instrumental while Kendrick opens up about his struggles with isolation and his stardom status. As Kendrick pours his heart out, the song escalates to a climatic ending with haunting strings swelling in and Kendrick very passionately capping off the ending verse. “FEEL.” shows an incredibly vulnerable and borderline depressed side of Kendrick Lamar.
In general DAMN. has Kendrick at his most self-aware and vulnerable to the point that you wonder if he’s doing alright. Songs that show this include “FEEL,” “PRIDE,” and “XXX.” In “XXX.,” Kendrick tells a man whose son has just been killed that if someone were to kill one of his family members he’s getting revenge and killing someone himself. This message in itself is something quite contradictory to many of the messages Kendrick has given us through his songs. What makes this song even more jarring is Kendrick ending the verse with a soundbit of him speaking to kids at a convention on gun control, which exhibits the major hypocrisy in himself by his personal statements/actions and his position in pop culture and more particularly African American culture. “FEAR.” is another favorite of mine off this album. This song is an amazing 8 minute, 3 verse song that explores Kendrick through 3 stages of his life: one as a kid, one as a 17 year old, and one as a 27 year old. The intro to the song is very interesting as well, as he seems to question God about his deep misery that burdens him. The main fears Kendrick goes through as a child and teenager are abuse from his apparently strict mother and death as a 17 year old by anything from police brutality, to gang affiliation, or by crack addicts robbing him. His fears that Kendrick face now are the most striking though. Kendrick seems to be tormented by the fear of losing everything he has worked so hard to obtain and end up right back at Section 8. He’s tormented by how he wants others to think of him and his overall legacy and image, and whether he will leave a lasting impact or just disappear forever once he’s gone. Kendrick’s songs about coping with his fame are much more intriguing than the standard rap song that copes with this topic. Kendrick isn’t just complaining about bitches only loving him for the money or about having too many cars to count. The problems he faces are so much deeper emotionally than these generic surface level complaints, which makes him so much more sympathetic, relatable, and most of all, believable.
There’s one last song that needs attention, and that is “DUCKWORTH.” First of all, the beat changes on here, good gracious, Mary, Joseph they’re good. But anyway, this song is about the incredible true story of how Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith (the founder of the record label Kendrick Lamar is on) almost killed a man working at KFC named “Ducky” while robbing it, but instead spared him because of how well he was treated by him based on past experiences with him. This would lead to Ducky’s son becoming a rapper that you may know by the name of Kendrick Lamar. That’s right, Kendrick’s boss almost killed Kendrick’s father. And according to Kendrick, had that happened, instead of rapping Kendrick would have grown up fatherless and died in a gun fight. Amazing story, amazing song.
DAMN. is another sharp stylistic shift from this incredible artist. Kendrick seems to not be so keen to making the same album twice, and I greatly appreciate that about him. DAMN. shows Kendrick in either a concerning mental state or a mental state we are not used to seeing from him. He’s either vicious, violent, and braggadocios like on “HUMBLE.” or “DNA.” or he’s borderline depressed and tormented like on “FEAR.” or “FEEL.” While this album does include a couple duds and is not as consistently brilliant as TPAB or arguably even GKMC, there’s still some of Kendrick’s most genius stuff on here and fantastic production of course. This album seems like it’s going to be Kendrick’s most successful album commercially and there’s not a single rapper out there that deserves the attention more.
The Faves: “FEAR.” “DNA” “XXX” “DUCKWORTH” “PRIDE”
8.2/10
MOM:
(Luke Culhane)
This album puts me in a terrible place. For one, this album is yet another great showing of Kendrick’s artistry and abilities. He is able to lay down hard-hitting bars and back it all with catchy beats and quality production. On the other hand, this was no To Pimp a Butterfly (TPB). So I am left in a mess of a situation. Comparatively, this album does not match the greatness of TPB, but it offers plenty of virtuous components. Rather than trudge through track by track, I will explain why DAMN. was no TPB, and then take a peek into the highs and lows of the album. Le’go -
DAMN. was not different. If you’re short on time, you can skip this entire paragraph. I already gave you the answer. TPB essentially brought jazz rap to pop culture. Kendrick’s inclusion of various jazz elements, paired with expert rap lyrics, and a consistent theme all made this album hit perfectly. This album had a narrative. This album flowed perfectly. The big punch behind this album was the unique production and progressive styling. The album went somewhere, and along the way the production was not quite like anything else in mainstream hip-hop. This album changed things. This album was outside of the norms of the genre, but was so influential that it shifted the norms to include itself. Hot damn. DAMN. on the other hand, did not do this. Say what you want to about the new album, give me its best and worst moments. But when all is said and done, DAMN. does not have the same cultural impact that TPB did, not in the slightest. TPB changed the way people thought of hip-hop, DAMN. may be well done, but it is not revolutionary.
After all that, you probably want to know if the new album is any good. Kendrick can still rap. Nothing changed here. He is still beautifully crafting words. But Kendrick does not explore a great deal of unique or groundbreaking topics. When you take out childhood, life on the streets, and partying, hip-hop struggles to find new topics. Kendrick does a better job with this, but some times finds himself in the same pits as most other rappers. The production does not go anywhere too crazy with this one. I will say, Kendrick does a superb job crafting the mood flow of an album. With his use of lyrical themes and dynamics, he can take you to low lows, and high highs, very distinctly. I appreciate the limited number of features with this one, too. He is Kendrick, and he knows that. I do not want to hear miscellaneous rappers on the album, give me Kendrick. The two features on the album fit and were tasteful. Nothing was forced. With that, this album has a level of class. I think of it as well done. I want to close this post off with the question: would this album’s reception be drastically different, if Kendrick did not have the reputation he has now?
Favorite track: “XXX. Ft. U2”
7.2/10
MAGICFINGERS:
(Andrew Shults)
I FEEL like this album had a little bit of something for everyone. First and foremost, it is definitely a departure from To Pimp A Butterfly. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences, but you won’t find the same level of intricate instrumentation and jazz influence on this record, which was a small disappointment for me.
That being said, this record makes up for the lack of instrumentation in ample amounts of incredible vocal performances, lyrical showcases, and dynamite production. It seemed to me that with DAMN., Kendrick was looking to strip things back in order to highlight his vocal and lyrical abilities. It’s hard for anyone to argue that in terms of these categories, he is the best there is right now.
By keeping things simple, K-dot proves his songwriting ability is unique and accessible. This album has some of the most diverse song structures I’ve heard in a long time. Often times it seems like he incorporates a number of different ideas into one song and it still flows effortlessly. This is largely thanks to his incredible lineup of producers and the absolute fire transitions that glue the pieces together.
In terms of accessibility, I felt like the energy and layout of these songs were able to gain a larger popularity among the public than previous projects. Since its release, there hasn't been a day that I haven't heard this album blasting out of houses and passing cars. Everybody is hyped on this release and it has impressed even the most casual rap fans. Something that To Pimp A Butterfly didn’t really pull off.
All in all, it’s hard to say whether DAMN. is a step forward for Kendrick or simply something different for him. Only time will tell, and we’ll have to see what his next release looks like. But one thing is sure, with this release, Kendrick once again dishes out incredible content in the most HUMBLE way. He has consistently put himself at the head of the pack in the rap industry and his closest followers are no where near his level. This record is further proof to that. I would recommend you go check it out, but no doubt you already have.
Favorite Songs: “FEEL”, “DNA”, “PRIDE”, “LUST”
8/10
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