Good Kid M.A.A.D. City

A prayer.  A simple prayer is what starts Kendrick Lamar’s epic album that shook the world of rap: Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (GK, MC).  The first words listeners hear is the powerful statement “Lord God, I come to you a sinner, and I humbly repent for my sins.”  This cry to the Lord sets a tragic tone which carries throughout the entire album, as we learn of the sins which are in need of forgiving.  It’s simple, yet powerful, and serves as a perfect intro into the mind of Lamar as he tells a story that is nothing short of a classic.

The uniqueness of GK, MC hardly stops here.  The album is fast paced, real, and a true testament to the sheer talent which Lamar possesses.  GK, MC articulates the metamorphosis from innocence to violence that many kids make in poor communities, and it speaks volumes on how little a human life can come to mean for some.  Lamar’s album is a lyrical piece of art, yet still musically unforgettable.  We are taken to Compton, as seen through the eyes of a young Kendrick Lamar.  Lamar voices stories of meeting a girl, committing a robbery, and even watching his friends die in cold blood.  The entire album is a harsh reminder of the problems that face young people in ghetto communities across the country.

Lamar’s ability to tell these stories through music is what makes GK, MC a legendary concept album.  Albums like The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd's The Wall made the idea of a concept album an interesting challenge that many artists took.  The concept album has transcended generic divisions, becoming an art form in and of itself.  A lot of rap today is about telling a story, but rarely is it done throughout an entire album, and executed so flawlessly.  But Lamar didn’t invent the rap concept album; that came years before.  Rap as a genre began in the 1970’s, when DJ’s across the nation began to put their own words to music, and the people loved it.  Shortly after came the famous “Rappers Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang (a rap song that my dad actually respects).  Rap back then was about having fun, and entertaining an audience, not to mention was notably less vulgar.  Over time, rap evolved into a sociopolitical outlet as rappers began to spit about the problems facing their communities.  This theme has yet to disappear from rap music.  Many artists, like Lamar, went on to make entire albums dedicated not only to entertaining, but to raising awareness of these misfortunes.  Not all rap concept albums have such serious topics though.  Prince Among Thieves by Prince Paul is considered by many to be the first great rap concept album, and this paved the way for GK, MC.  

Prince Among Thieves is a very cinematic, clear cut concept album about an aspiring rapper named Tariq, and his quest to make some extra cash before meeting with a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.  It is more laid back than GK, MC, yet still very effective and functional as a concept album.  The album utilizes gaps in between songs to play out a narrative, a technique that is still rare today.  The album has a plot, much like a movie.  In fact, fans have been wanting a movie adaptation every since its release in 1999.  Prince Among Thieves may seem even too movie-like for some, seeing that the lyrics in the songs never stray from the plot.  Lamar spins this idea by using same method of narratives between songs in GK, MC to give the audience more of the concept for which he is shooting, yet he keeps the album personal by exploring multiple subjects.  GK, MC fits well generically into the category of rap concept albums, but what makes it different is the perfect balance of cinema and reality.  It leaves room for interpretation and assimilation into the listener’s own experiences while still having a clear message.  Prince Among Thieves defied generic expectations in a way that may not be appealing to the masses, while GK, MC did it in a way that keeps listeners on their toes.

Using these in-between monologues and dialogues, Lamar sets himself apart from others in the broad genre of rap.  These extra pieces are disliked by many because of their length, as well as their ambiguity, but Lamar knows what he's doing.  For example, the opening track “Sherane, A.K.A. Master Splinter’s Daughter” closes with a phone ringing, no answer, and then Lamar’s mother leaving a voicemail.  It may seem random or unrelated, but hearing her voice personalizes the album, especially when Lamar later references his mother. https://youtu.be/BxY2AVYMw1w?t=3m10s (Here's the end of the song).  We also get to hear the story of Lamar and his friends robbing a house in “The Art of Peer Pressure.”  Once again, the dialogue during and after the song serve to put the listeners inside the situation even more.  The beat is simple yet deep as we hear Lamar rap about how “the sun is going down as we take whatever we want.”  We somehow find ourselves rooting for young Kendrick as he narrowly escapes the cops to wrap up “one lucky night with the homies.”  

The musicality of the work is still very mainstream and within the realm of current rap music, or as Lamar calls it “the music of being young and dumb.”  The beats are heavy and catchy, with a few features that serve as icing on the Kendrick cake.  Drake (one of my favorites) makes an appearance on “Poetic Justice” that juxtaposes Lamar’s style and provides a refreshing verse of classic Drake lines like "I write poems in these songs, dedicated to the fun sex, your natural hair and your soft skin and your big ass in that sun dress."  While

Lamar explicitly is referring to his previously mentioned woman, Drake makes you feel like he's right there complimenting you personally (well, for me at least).  When Lamar speaks, we hear every syllable, unlike many rappers right now (What’s that Future is saying? “Fuck up some commas?”)  This transparency not only makes the listening experience more enjoyable, but also makes Lamar seem much more intelligent.  His annunciation abilities showcase his control as well.  This is sadly something that seems to have slowly faded from some rap music today (Sorry Future).

This Grammy nominated smash hit album is the perfect combination of cinema and real life.  It breaks the mold of the generic expectation of rap music by following the road less traveled, that is, the road of musically superb concept albums.  That road has been traveled before by early rap artists, but Lamar’s execution is what sets him apart.  What Lamar does in Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is give us the rap album we’ve been waiting for:  One that is mainstream enough for popularity, yet different enough to keep us listening.

2014 Forest Hills Drive - Revised 12/8

2014 Forest Hills Drive

Fayetteville, NC

28303

The above address is a mere 2 and a half hours from where I currently reside in Columbia, SC.  The house here lies in a part of town where its dangerous to be out past dark.  This same house is featured on the cover of J. Cole’s newest album, and is where the rapper spent the latter of his childhood.  Cole has come a long way since his days at Forest Hills, and his latest album reflects on his adolescence spent at this household as well as his fame.  2014 Forest Hills Drive is a deeply reflective album that is both entertaining and thought provoking.

Cole has since purchased the home and has made it a safe haven for families in need of a place to stay

The opening track of the album, "Intro", lyrically foreshadows what is to come.  The soft vocals and piano guide us into the past, into the past of Jermaine Cole.  After the slow fade of the first track, we’re eased into the next track, “January 28^th”, which sports a beat that feels something like waves lapping against a beach.  The song is good, but really nothing special, nothing like the next track, “Wet Dreamz”.  The song has everything; lyrically and musically.  “Wet Dreamz” is a superb example of what sets J. Cole apart from other rappers:  his ability to tell a story.  He takes listeners back to his first time having sex, perhaps in a little more detail than most would prefer.  I won’t lie, I blushed a little the first time I heard it.  But this depth of detail isn’t like the often crude and vulgar depictions of sex heard in the world of rap; this one is innocent, playful, and unforgivingly relatable.  

The listener is then swiftly brought back into the harsh reality of Cole’s hometown and childhood.  The next track, “’03 Adolescence” opens with the simple but effective line “I grew up a fucking screw up”, and we realize that play time is over.  Cole spits anecdotally about growing up without a father, and about a conversation with a good friend who was much worse off than Cole, which kept him in check.  This is all rolling over catchy and slightly repetitive beats.  The songs dabble around a theme of struggling to “stay alive in the city where too many niggas die”.  The lyrics put things in perspective for many listeners and drive home the point that this was a different time, and a different J. Cole.   Cole plays with perspective in “A Tale of 2 Citiez”, writing the first refrain about his friend being robbed at gunpoint, while the second refrain is from the point of view of the robber; only the pronouns of the stanza switch.  The is not only lyrically creative, but it shows how easy it can be to fall into the trap of criminality.  The songs are musically dramatic as well, featuring a chorus of singing women that sound eerily like that “there’s something behind you” feeling in horror movies.

 As soon as I start to become sympathetic for Cole, he begins to come off cocky and offensive in “Fire Squad”.  I am no doubt a Cole fan, but I’m not sure if he’s earned “the crown” that he speaks of.  Not to say he can't reach legend status, he just has yet to ripen into a true super star.  He then goes on to take jabs at multiple white artists, including Justin Timberlake, Eminem, and Macklemore.  He claims that “white people have snatched the sound”, which is a ridiculous claim considering that rap and hip hop should not be an exclusive “black only” club, although sometimes it may seem like it.  As a white woman who is a huge hip-hop fan, I was a little disappointed to hear these lines.  Sure, rap is historically black, but we don't see any white country artists taking jabs at Darius Rucker.  To anyone breaking the stereotypes in the music world, I say more power to ya!  However, as much as I dislike this verse, its just too catchy to not sing along with, which is a testament to Cole’s musical talent.

We then see the album take a turn to focus on Cole’s newfound fame, “Hollywood Cole” as he now calls himself.  And here comes the smash hit in my mind; the homerun of the album: “No Role Modelz”.  The beat is powerful and room shaking, it’s the kind of song that you never knew you needed until you found it.  The song speaks on the corruption of morals, observing how too many women are “shallow but the pussy deep”.  Then, almost 3 minutes into the song, the voice of George W. Bush makes an entrance into the rap classic (bet you thought you’d never hear “George W. Bush” and “rap classic” in the same sentence).  The music cuts completely, so we can truly focus on W stumbling over his words as per usual.  “There’s an old saying in Tennessee, I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says fool me once, shame on…shame on you.  Fool me…can’t get fooled again.”  Cole then cuts back with “Fool me one time shame on you, fool me twice can’t put the blame on you, fool me three times, fuck the peace signs, load the chopper let it rain on you”. 

Why Bush?  Well, maybe it's a loving tribute to the charming former president, or perhaps Cole is making a point here.  The song is about how he's had no role models, and perhaps he puts Bush in here because even though he was our president, we couldn't even look up to him.  He's saying that even a former president wasn't a role model for this country (I think this argument could be made with much more evidence using our current president, but that's a discussion for another time).  Either way, “No Role Modelz” is certainly the climax of the album, and from that point on, we wind back down into some classic Cole love songs.  There’s a verse from “Hello” that still gives me chills: “I always thought that we would be together.  I always knew that we would be together.  But I don’t wanna wait forever”.  That’s real, and we’ve all been there.  Cole devotes a song to his mother as the album continues to wind down, and finally sums up the message of the entire album with “Love Yourz”.  The album should have ended there, but it doesn’t.  Cole finishes with a 14 minute “Note to Self” outro that is hard, if not impossible to get through.  

2014 takes us on a journey that can be most nearly described as an emotional rollercoaster, even for those who’s life experiences relate so little to the harsh realities of growing up in the ghetto.  That takes a true artist.  Cole’s lyrical genius is diverse, and his musical talent does not fail to deliver.  This album is a continuation of Cole’s ascension to hip hop stardom, and is nothing short of timeless.