Kendrick Lamar-Good Boy, M.A.A.D. City

Artist: Kendrick Lamar

Album: Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

Label: Top Dog/Aftermath/Interscope

Producers: Soundwave, Scoop Deville, Neptunes, Just Blaze, T-Minus others

The west coast has been silent just like the east coast with music. Nothing was popping off to its intensity since the Game sprouted under G-Unit. Finally the west has set off through its emergence with Compton’s Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick Lamar sounds like a breath of fresh air, which spits without the gangsta rap flow unlike many of his cohorts as he released his highly anticipated studio debut album “GOOD CITY, M.A.A.D CITY”.

            The album starts off very impressive something the average listen wants to engage to without any interruptions. The Bizness produced “Sherane aka Master Splinter’s Daughter” is the storytelling track of a seventeen year old adolescent in the streets of Compton meeting up with various voice mails from his parents. “Money Trees” is a smooth laid back beat with perfectly fitted snares on the track produced by DJ Dahi. The guest appearances fit their role on the album which makes the album cohesive. “M.A.A.D City” featuring MC Eiht is an aggressive hard gem based on trading stories from the perspectives of a lyrical assassin and an O.G. while “Compton” featuring his mentor Dr. Dre shows how you really end the album on the right note. The paying homage track “Black Boy Fly” only on the deluxe edition, shows Kendrick lyrical flair showing love to his Compton cohorts while dreaming of getting out the hood. The bonus tracks from the deluxe edition and the ITunes deluxe edition add spark to the already living album that makes it worth listening.

            Throughout the whole album, there are no weak tracks but the small minor misstep is a few songs are very lengthy like some of the old school 90’s hip hop tracks which most hip hop listeners will not have the patience. The “Backstreet Freestyle” track has good expectations and a hard beat while the Janet Jackson influenced sample “Poetic Justice featuring Drake produced by the impressive Scoop Deville another mellow laid back track which is a radio friendly song for the ladies. Although both tracks are great songs, they can’t compete with the perfectly laced tracks on the album. Other than the small mishaps, this quality of the album overrides the miscues.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is a very closely impeccable album that will force rappers to step up their album game; still a well-deserved five star package from start to finish. Not a classic album like most critics say but this is a definite west coast album classic since the Game’s “The Documentary”. Kendrick called it a short film but a well watched short one. Kendrick Lamar placed the main ingredients to his recipe and created a masterpiece. It comes to show you that you don’t have to have every single known guest appearance or producer on an album; you just need the right people for the part.  

            Strong Tracks: “Money Trees”, “M.A.A.D City”, “Sherane aka Master Splinter’s Daughter”

            Weak Tracks: None

            Rating:  out of