By: Michael Bayliss
When Kendrick Lamar first released his sophomore album To Pimp a Butterfly before it's release date the world went crazy. People were astounded by the brash, stylistic, and original sound comprising of all the genres of music Hip/Hop is primarily based around. It took jazz, funk, rock, and r & b to different levels never seen before. People not only loved it for its production but the messages every song relayed back into one another. TPAB was a story about what it means to be Kendrick, a black man in this fucked world. This albums dizzying array of beauty gave the populous wanting more from the Compton MC, and oh boy did we get it.
Just earlier this month K. Dot decided to drop a bomb on us in the form of a compilation album entitled Untitled, Unmastered. A collection of eight songs recored from 2013 to now. Unlike Kendrick's previous albums the continuity in Untitled, Unmastered is virtually non existent. Usually his albums convey a similar theme and message through stylistic similarities. But every song on Untitled, Unmastered is completely different in the best way possible. The songs also don't have real titles and can only be told apart by a number and the date it was recored. Maybe it's because Kendrick would rather have us focus on the tracks singularly rather than as a whole, giving each one a personal identity, or maybe he just though "fuck it" and decided to rain lyrical fire down on his biggest fans who eagerly awaited more from him.
The work and passion that you can hear behind each track makes it hard to choose a best one. Every song is my favorite but two that stand out because of their openings have to be the ones that appeal to me the most. Track 2 and Track 7 share a haunting beginning of Kendrick and a crowd chanting "Pimp, Pimp" and the response of "hooray" but after that the two diverge in separate paths. Track 2 starts to build up with a funky jazz sax fiddling around, the beat then drops as Kendrick says "Get God on the phone". It then delves into another outstanding track about glamour and drugs as a Kendrick continues his journey of being Hip/Hop royalty. Track 7 is different but it follows the classic west coast hip hop synth and has a much darker tone as Kendrick starts to rap about the music itself is what gets you the highest. The song is three parts, the rush in the beginning, the initial elation, and coming down.
Every song on Untitled, Unmastered is Kendrick in his rawest form. Just him, his band and whoever is in the studio. He's just making music for the sake of making music. That's what makes Kendrick Lamar one of my favorite rappers. His ability to make these masterpieces of music without an end goal is what's missing with many other artist in this genre of music. If you've been hesitant to listen to this album stop and download it right away.
When Kendrick Lamar first released his sophomore album To Pimp a Butterfly before it's release date the world went crazy. People were astounded by the brash, stylistic, and original sound comprising of all the genres of music Hip/Hop is primarily based around. It took jazz, funk, rock, and r & b to different levels never seen before. People not only loved it for its production but the messages every song relayed back into one another. TPAB was a story about what it means to be Kendrick, a black man in this fucked world. This albums dizzying array of beauty gave the populous wanting more from the Compton MC, and oh boy did we get it.
Just earlier this month K. Dot decided to drop a bomb on us in the form of a compilation album entitled Untitled, Unmastered. A collection of eight songs recored from 2013 to now. Unlike Kendrick's previous albums the continuity in Untitled, Unmastered is virtually non existent. Usually his albums convey a similar theme and message through stylistic similarities. But every song on Untitled, Unmastered is completely different in the best way possible. The songs also don't have real titles and can only be told apart by a number and the date it was recored. Maybe it's because Kendrick would rather have us focus on the tracks singularly rather than as a whole, giving each one a personal identity, or maybe he just though "fuck it" and decided to rain lyrical fire down on his biggest fans who eagerly awaited more from him.
The work and passion that you can hear behind each track makes it hard to choose a best one. Every song is my favorite but two that stand out because of their openings have to be the ones that appeal to me the most. Track 2 and Track 7 share a haunting beginning of Kendrick and a crowd chanting "Pimp, Pimp" and the response of "hooray" but after that the two diverge in separate paths. Track 2 starts to build up with a funky jazz sax fiddling around, the beat then drops as Kendrick says "Get God on the phone". It then delves into another outstanding track about glamour and drugs as a Kendrick continues his journey of being Hip/Hop royalty. Track 7 is different but it follows the classic west coast hip hop synth and has a much darker tone as Kendrick starts to rap about the music itself is what gets you the highest. The song is three parts, the rush in the beginning, the initial elation, and coming down.
Every song on Untitled, Unmastered is Kendrick in his rawest form. Just him, his band and whoever is in the studio. He's just making music for the sake of making music. That's what makes Kendrick Lamar one of my favorite rappers. His ability to make these masterpieces of music without an end goal is what's missing with many other artist in this genre of music. If you've been hesitant to listen to this album stop and download it right away.