I’ve been a big Kendrick fan ever since the release of his 2017 album, Damn. Before that I didn’t really understand any of his work, though on his second album, the concept-laden Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, I did enjoy the lovely "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe." Otherwise all the albums before Damn seemed too artsy, too intellectual.
To Pimp a Butterfly (Interscope; 2015) is Kendrick’s undisputed critically acclaimed masterpiece. It is an epic meditation on race, identity, and societal decay, wrapped in a veil of jazzy complexity and avant-garde production. All in all it ranks with the finest hip-hop achievements of the decade and the mastermind behind this album is the brilliant production ensemble of Thundercat, Sounwave and many others. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.
It was Damn (Interscope; 2017), where Kendrick Lamar’s presence became more apparent, and the music got more modern, the drum machine became more prevalent and the lyrics started getting less mystical and more specific, and complex, ambiguous studies of impoverished childhood grievances became, instead, smashing first-rate hip pop songs that I gratefully embraced (I can’t relate to being broke and I don’t want to).
The songs themselves seemed arranged more around Mike Will’s beats than Thundercat’s bass lines or Sounwave’s keyboard riffs. A classic example of this is “Humble,” which not only was the Kendrick’s biggest hit of the 2010s but also seemed to set the tone for the rest of his albums as the decade progressed. The other standout on Damn is “DNA,” which delves into themes of self-awareness, identity and heritage. On the other hand, “Fear” is a song I just don’t understand, while “Loyalty” is a touching love song examining the complexities of trust and faithfulness. Has the positive aspect of being loyal to money, fame, weed and alcohol ever been rendered in more intimate terms by a hip-hop artist? I don’t think so.
“Pride” and “Love” might mean something but it’s hard to tell what Lamar is singing about.
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (Interscope; 2022) was released shortly after Damn and it again benefits from the producer, Sounwave, who gives the album a more introspective, melancholic vibe and though the songs seem fairly generic, there are still great bits throughout: the raw, unfiltered narrative in "Mother I Sober" and the minimalistic instrumentation on “Savior” are just two examples. Again the songs reflect dark emotions and are about people dealing with themes of guilt, trauma and redemption, and the production and sound are often eerie (even if the titles aren’t: “Silent Hill,” “United in Grief,” “Savior”). My favourite track is “Die Hard”, a moving ballad with a pretty synthesized melody plus a riveting drum machine in the background. Although the themes of loneliness, trust issues and alienation are overly familiar, it also evokes Kendrick’s hopeful humanism. “Father Time” profoundly leans into the weight of generational trauma, Kendrick’s delivery full of raw emotion. “Purple Hearts” is another great song of complexity of love and loyalty (just like “Loyalty”, one of few examples where Kendrick plagiarises himself).
Kendrick Lamar’s recent single efforts seem to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying in a narrower way, especially songs like “euphoria” and “Not like us” (great, great song; a personal favorite). But I also think that Kendrick Lamar works better within the confines of the Super Bowl than as a solo artist—and I stress the word artist. Kendrick is still the best, most exciting artist to come out of Compton in the 2010s.