User Rating:  / 4
The golden-age of hip-hop is long gone. The days when rappers used the mic and headphones to tell a story are all but over, and have been replaced by pseudo-gangsters who would rather brag about money, cars, and women than tell a story that the average person can connect and identify with. Granted, this can make for some great music, as rapper’s such as Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, and even 2 Chainz have released solid efforts this year. But that’s an act that can get real stale real quick, and leave hip-hop fans hoping and praying for someone to come along and change the game. A savior for the modern rap scene, someone who is able to tell of struggles and hardships while still retaining a modern sound. Someone who we as people can connect with on a personal level. Enter Kendrick Lamar, the next great American rapper.

Growing up into Compton, California (the birthplace of West Coast Hip-Hop, a genre that Lamar has perfected) K.Dot was no stranger to violence, gangs, drugs, and death. However, he strayed from the darkness that his friends and family embraced, and managed to stay a good kid in the mad city of Compton. His debut studio album serves as a chronicle of life in that city, with songs that touch on themes such as prostitution, gang violence, love, sex, family, drugs, and the pressure to fit in.

The opening track makes for a perfect welcome to the journey Lamar is about to take us on, one that will captivate us for the next hour of the record. “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter” opens with a prayer, before the dark synths and funky bassline kick in. Lamar takes us through the tale of his first meeting with Sherane at a house party, his recurring love interest. By the third verse he is on his way to her house, blinded by the thoughts in his head as she texts him nude pictures. So blinded he doesn’t notice the two men in black hoodies waiting for him across the street. The song ends with a voicemail left on Kendrick’s phone from his parents. While Lamar gets jumped, his mother and father rant on and on about how they need the car back ASAP, while making sure Kendrick knows to stop at the local Dominoes and bring back some pizza for his father.

Perhaps the greatest thing about this album is how cohesive it feels. The production credits are as diverse as they come, but the beats never feel out of place. The standout “Backseat Freestyle”, produced by Hit-Boy, is the perfect example of this. Theres no denying it’s a Hit-Boy beat, but it’s not your typical Hit-Boy fare. It’s tweaked to fit Lamar’s standard, not the other way around, which is a rarity in the rap game today. It’s also the only track where K.Dot hits us with the typical cocky rapper bravado. It’s reminiscent of Kanye West’s 2010 record “Power”, another song where the rapper makes outrageous claims over a perfectly fitting beat.

The album is surprisingly light on features, which is another step in the right direction. Too many rap records have a feature on every other song, which makes the album feel less like an album and more like a mixtape. The features here are few, but absolutely one of the best things about the album. On the albums strongest overall track, the perfect “Money Trees”, Lamar’s label mate and friend Jay Rock comes in and rips his verse apart, delivering a song-stealing performance and actually managing to outshine Lamar’s two quality verses. Drake adds the extra touch to the smooth as silk “Poetic Justice”, a Janet Jackson sampling slow jam for the ladies where Kendrick gets his Barry White on. Finally, on the albums glorious and triumphant closer, “Compton”, Kendrick brings in the legendary Dr. Dre for a love-letter to their hometown. Yes, Compton may be a mad city, but it’s home to these guys nonetheless.

The feature that is most noteworthy appears on “m.A.A.d city”. The song begins with a bass-heavy, angry sounding beat that is sure to have many a trunk slumping for the next few months. Kendrick sounds just as angry, spitting his best verse on the album before the beats fizzles into a classic West Coast beat straight out of the 80’s. Kendrick delivers another strong verse over this beat before giving the stage to another Compton native and man who got his start in the 80’s Compton rap scene, MC Eiht. The song is something truly special, linking the modern rap game to it’s 80’s counterpart flawlessly.

With this record, Kendrick Lamar has done something myself and many others thought wasn’t possible. He has saved modern hip-hop. If you only know the name because you pre-game to “Swimming Pools” before going out on Saturday night, please do yourself a favor and download this record. You’ll get “Swimming Pools”, (an extended version, actually) and you’ll also get eleven other tracks that just might blow your mind. And hey, if you don’t like what you hear, that’s ok. Lamar isn’t a rapper that’s going to please everyone (rapper Shyne called the album trash, but that’s just a washed-up MC trying to remain relevant through hatin’). But if you don’t like it, at least you can say you experienced a little bit of history. This is not just another rap album meant to generate as much money as possible. This is a man opening up to us about his struggle, telling his story through the best and most accessible medium in the world; music. This is an album that has revamped a genre that has lost it’s way over the past few years. Lamar has created history by breathing new life into music. It may not make the history books quite like Biggie, Tupac, and Eminem albums have, but believe that Kendrick Lamar is a name that belongs right up there with those greats.

Overall: 8/10
Download These Now: Money Trees, m.A.A.d city, Backseat Freestyle