![]() ![]() He describes his transformation as an outside observer on the track "m.A.A.D City": On the novel-like album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Kendrick is a bystander exploring the dichotomy of good and evil in his community, using clever lyrics recited over drums that punch like Kimbo Slice. I mean, the guy won a freaking Pulitzer for DAMN-a Pulitzer for spitting rhymes-did we even know that was possible?Īnd even in failure, like losing a Grammy to some white guy from Seattle, Kendrick won our hearts-and proved why the act of reworking your craft is important. Kendrick's career is decorated with honors and accolades, from executive-producing the Black Panther soundtrack to performing at this year's Dr. (Hell, even if we just get that song from the opening of the "Alright" video, I'd be happy.) The Black Hippy tracks are dope, and despite his impending departure from their shared record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, I hope we get more collaborations from him and Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. Kenny's catalog boasts songs with Travis and Drake that have been played so many times it'd be torture to hear them again. I'm not taking away from his collaborations with Bono or Beyoncé, and definitely not the voice of Tupac Shakur ("Mortal Man") or the song that President Obama said was the best song of 2015 ("How Much a Dollar Cost"). It's not the one that gets the party turnt ("Michael Jordan"). No, it's not his highest charting song ("Humble"), nor his most famous ("Alright"). ![]() Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Concert at L.A. So let's be clear: I'm here to tell you why the track "Average Joe," from Kendrick Lamar's 2010 Overly Dedicated EP, is his most important song. Kendrick, too, has managed to work and rework one specific concept, and we've watched it grow from a couple of lines, to a song, to a concept album and signature aspect of his artwork. Issa Rae created her idea of an awkward Black girl first as a YouTube series, and from that came a bestselling memoir, the hit show Insecure and more. Thelonious Monk reportedly wrote the jazz standard " Round Midnight" as a teen, and played thousands of renditions of it his whole life. Poets famously revisit concepts, as do comedians. Old art gets remixed everyday, B.īut the act of revising and revisiting, expanding and expounding on a piece of art-it's seen more often in other mediums. Which in art, especially in hip-hop, isn't new, revolutionary, deep, or profound. He's also revisited, or remixed, "She Needs Me," "P&P," and "Vanity Slaves," among others. (In the video, he uses deepfake technology to morph into the likeness of Kobe, Nipsey and more.) He dropped the fifth entry in this series this past Sunday just days before his full album release, as he's done in the past. The king MC from Compton has done it with his "The Heart" series, often using that title as a jumpoff to spaz and let loose on the issues he's dealing with at the time of recording. If you listen closely, the arc of his musical output shows that refining and retelling your story, over and over, is an important aspect of growth, both as an artist and a human. K-dot is a master of retelling the same story again and again, but on a larger level each time. ![]() Which is fitting, because one of Kendrick Lamar's greatest gifts is going back and revisiting-or rather, revising-his earlier music. In the half decade since Kendrick dropped Damn, fans have been left to revisit old tracks repeatedly during his hiatus. Morale and the Big Steppers, it's the perfect time to argue about his most significant song. With Kendrick Lamar about to drop his fifth studio album, Mr. ![]()
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