**Official Kendrick Lamar Thread 4th Studio Album ''DAMN.''Out Now**

This album only better with every spin. The Killer Mike shoutout and the letter to 2Pac, then the interview :smh: This music is much appreciated. Worth the wait. Will be purchasing the CD and LP.



**** Taylor Swift. She can go eat a **** and stay in her world.
 
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This album feels like a raw attempt to go in a different direction. In my opinion, his message is lost in this unpolished presentation. There are a few standout tracks, I've only listened twice so maybe my opinion will change. So far it seems like he took a major step back from GKMC and its ability to tell a story while making music everyone can relate to. That to me was the real magic of Kendrick Lamar.
 
Wow. Joint takes me on a journey. We needed this.

The beat changeup on complexion had me trippin the second time through.
 
AmericanGenius said:
This album feels like a raw attempt to go in a different direction. In my opinion, his message is lost in this unpolished presentation. There are a few standout tracks, I've only listened twice so maybe my opinion will change. So far it seems like he took a major step back from GKMC and its ability to tell a story while making music everyone can relate to. That to me was the real magic of Kendrick Lamar.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, solid work but def feels like a step back. As stated before, he def raised the bar, so to go into this expecting nothing less, you're lying to yourself......sophomore slump is hard to avoid, all the greats hit it imo (Minus a few obviously)
 
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Interview part:  Kendrick & 2pac....WOW:

 http://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-mortal-man-lyrics

[Outro: Kendrick Lamar & 2Pac]
[Kendrick Lamar]
"I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power, full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in the hotel room
I didn’t wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went running for answers
Until I came home
But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt
Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang colour than mines
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another *****”

**** and that’s all I wrote
I was gonna call another ***** but, it ain’t really a poem, I just felt like it’s something you probably could relate to. Other than that, now that I finally got a chance to holla at you, I always wanted to ask you about a certain situa--, about a metaphor actually, you spoke on the ground. What you mean ‘bout that, what the ground represent?

[2Pac]
The ground is gonna open up and swallow the evil. That’s how I see it, my word is bond. I see and the ground is the symbol for the poor people, the poor people is gonna open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people.  Cause the rich people gonna be so fat, they gonna be so appetising, you know what I’m saying, wealthy, appetising.  The poor gonna be so poor and hungry, you know what I’m saying it’s gonna be like… there might be some cannibalism out this mutha, they might eat the rich

[Kendrick Lamar]
Aight so let me ask you this then, do you see yourself as somebody that’s rich or somebody that made the best of their own opportunities?

[2Pac]
I see myself as a natural born hustler, a true hustler in every sense of the word. I took nothin’, I took the opportunities, I worked at the most menial and degrading job and built myself up so I could get it to where I owned it. I went from having somebody manage me to me hiring the person that works my management company. I changed everything I realised my destiny in a matter of five years you know what I’m saying I made myself a millionaire. I made millions for a lot of people now it’s time to make millions for myself, you know what I’m saying. I made millions for the record companies, I made millions for these movie companies, now I make millions for us

[Kendrick Lamar]
And through your different avenues of success, how would you say you managed to keep a level of sanity?

[2Pac]
By my faith in God, by my faith in the game,  and by my faith in all good things come to those that stay true. You know what I’m saying, and it was happening to me for a reason, you know what I’m saying, I was noticing, I was punching the right buttons and it was happening. So it’s no problem,  you know I mean it’s a problem but I’m not finna let them know. I’m finna go straight through

[Kendrick Lamar]
Would you consider yourself a fighter at heart or somebody that only reacts when they back is against the wall?

[2Pac]
I like to think that at every opportunity I’ve ever been threatened with resistance it’s been met with resistance.  And not only me but it goes down my family tree.  You know what I’m saying, it’s in my veins to fight back

[Kendrick Lamar]
Aight well, how long you think it take before ****** be like, we fighting a war, I’m fighting a war I can’t win and I wanna lay it all down

[2Pac]
In this country a black man only have like 5 years we can exhibit maximum strength, and that’s right now while you a teenager, while you still strong or while you still wanna lift weights, while you still wanna shoot back.  Cause once you turn 30 it’s like they take the heart and soul out of a man, out of a black man in this country. And you don’t wanna fight no more. And if you don’t believe me you can look around, you don’t see no loud mouth 30-year old mutha*****s

[Kendrick Lamar]
That’s crazy, because me being one of your offspring of the legacy you left behind  I can truly tell you that there’s nothing but turmoil goin’ on so I wanted to ask you what you think is the future for me and my generation today?

[2Pac]
****, I think that ****** is tired-a grabbin' **** out the stores  and next time it’s a riot there’s gonna be bloodshed for real. I don’t think America can know that. I think American think we was just playing and it’s gonna be some more playing but it ain’t gonna be no playing.  It’s gonna be murder, you know what I’m saying, it’s gonna be like Nat Turner, 1831, up in this mutha*****. You know what I’m saying, it’s gonna happen

[Kendrick Lamar]
That’s crazy man. In my opinion, only hope that we kinda have left is music and vibrations, lotta people don’t understand how important it is. Sometimes I be like, get behind a mic and I don’t know what type of energy I’mma push out, or where it comes from. Trip me out sometimes

[2Pac]
Because the spirits, we ain’t really rappin’, we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us

[Kendrick Lamar]
Damn

I wanted to read one last thing to you. It’s actually something a good friend had wrote describing my world. It says:

“The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it
Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this mad city
While consuming its environment the caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive
One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly
The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar
But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits
Already surrounded by this mad city the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him
He can no longer see past his own thoughts
He’s trapped
When trapped inside these walls certain ideas start to take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city
The result?
Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant
Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the eternal struggle
Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same."

What’s your perspective on that?
Pac, Pac, Pac
 
**** don't change till' you get up and wash yo *** ***** 
pimp.gif
 
This album truly is a breath of fresh air. I'm loving the instrumentation and diversity in sound. Not sure how many of yall messed with Jay-Z and the Roots unplugged album, but the Roots and Kendrick live version of To Pimp A Butterfly would be :pimp:
 
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lokid300s said:
Interview part:  Kendrick & 2pac....WOW:


 http://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-mortal-man-lyrics

[Outro: Kendrick Lamar & 2Pac]

[Kendrick Lamar]

"I remember you was conflicted

Misusing your influence

Sometimes I did the same

Abusing my power, full of resentment

Resentment that turned into a deep depression

Found myself screaming in the hotel room

I didn’t wanna self destruct

The evils of Lucy was all around me

So I went running for answers

Until I came home

But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt

Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned

Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was

But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one

A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination

Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned

The word was respect

Just because you wore a different gang colour than mines

Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man

Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets

If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us

But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another *****”



**** and that’s all I wrote

I was gonna call another ***** but, it ain’t really a poem, I just felt like it’s something you probably could relate to. Other than that, now that I finally got a chance to holla at you, I always wanted to ask you about a certain situa--, about a metaphor actually, you spoke on the ground. What you mean ‘bout that, what the ground represent?

[2Pac]

The ground is gonna open up and swallow the evil. That’s how I see it, my word is bond. I see and the ground is the symbol for the poor people, the poor people is gonna open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people.
 Cause the rich people gonna be so fat, they gonna be so appetising, you know what I’m saying, wealthy, appetising.
 The poor gonna be so poor and hungry, you know what I’m saying it’s gonna be like… there might be some cannibalism out this mutha, they might eat the rich


[Kendrick Lamar]

Aight so let me ask you this then, do you see yourself as somebody that’s rich or somebody that made the best of their own opportunities?


[2Pac]

I see myself as a natural born hustler, a true hustler in every sense of the word. I took nothin’, I took the opportunities, I worked at the most menial and degrading job and built myself up so I could get it to where I owned it. I went from having somebody manage me to me hiring the person that works my management company. I changed everything I realised my destiny in a matter of five years you know what I’m saying I made myself a millionaire. I made millions for a lot of people now it’s time to make millions for myself, you know what I’m saying. I made millions for the record companies, I made millions for these movie companies, now I make millions for us


[Kendrick Lamar]
And through your different avenues of success, how would you say you managed to keep a level of sanity?


[2Pac]
By my faith in God
, by my faith in the game,
 and by my faith in all good things come to those that stay true. You know what I’m saying, and it was happening to me for a reason, you know what I’m saying, I was noticing, I was punching the right buttons and it was happening. So it’s no problem,
 you know I mean it’s a problem but I’m not finna let them know. I’m finna go straight through


[Kendrick Lamar]
Would you consider yourself a fighter at heart or somebody that only reacts when they back is against the wall?

[2Pac]
I like to think that at every opportunity I’ve ever been threatened with resistance it’s been met with resistance.
 And not only me but it goes down my family tree.
 You know what I’m saying, it’s in my veins to fight back


[Kendrick Lamar]
Aight well, how long you think it take before ****** be like, we fighting a war, I’m fighting a war I can’t win and I wanna lay it all down


[2Pac]
In this country a black man only have like 5 years we can exhibit maximum strength
, and that’s right now while you a teenager, while you still strong or while you still wanna lift weights, while you still wanna shoot back.
 Cause once you turn 30 it’s like they take the heart and soul out of a man, out of a black man in this country. And you don’t wanna fight no more. And if you don’t believe me you can look around, you don’t see no loud mouth 30-year old mutha*****s


[Kendrick Lamar]

That’s crazy, because me being one of your offspring of the legacy you left behind
 I can truly tell you that there’s nothing but turmoil goin’ on so I wanted to ask you what you think is the future for me and my generation today?


[2Pac]

****, I think that ****** is tired-a grabbin' **** out the stores and next time it’s a riot there’s gonna be bloodshed for real. I don’t think America can know that. I think American think we was just playing and it’s gonna be some more playing but it ain’t gonna be no playing.
 It’s gonna be murder, you know what I’m saying
, it’s gonna be like Nat Turner, 1831, up in this mutha*****. You know what I’m saying, it’s gonna happen


[Kendrick Lamar]

That’s crazy man. In my opinion, only hope that we kinda have left is music and vibrations, lotta people don’t understand how important it is. Sometimes I be like, get behind a mic and I don’t know what type of energy I’mma push out, or where it comes from. Trip me out sometimes


[2Pac]

Because the spirits, we ain’t really rappin’, we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us


[Kendrick Lamar]

Damn


I wanted to read one last thing to you. It’s actually something a good friend had wrote describing my world. It says:


“The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it

Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this mad city

While consuming its environment the caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive

One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly

The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar

But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits

Already surrounded by this mad city the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him

He can no longer see past his own thoughts

He’s trapped

When trapped inside these walls certain ideas start to take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city

The result?

Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant

Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the eternal struggle

Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same."


What’s your perspective on that?

Pac, Pac, Pac
Click to expand...
His poem at the end brought a tear to my eye
 
The album is quality. :nthat:

Much different from GKMC but it's message is on the same level. I'm happy Kendrick delved more into conscious rap in this album. :nthat:

Bought the album last night and thoroughly enjoying it today.

Complexion. :smokin

Hom Much A Dollar Cost :smokin



-Drew
 
AmericanGenius said:
This album feels like a raw attempt to go in a different direction. In my opinion, his message is lost in this unpolished presentation. There are a few standout tracks, I've only listened twice so maybe my opinion will change. So far it seems like he took a major step back from GKMC and its ability to tell a story while making music everyone can relate to. That to me was the real magic of Kendrick Lamar.
Click to expand...

After reading this and reading/listening To Kendricks poem, I kinda just realized the story telling is really his poem. The poem is the album. Even literally because one of the songs of the album is "institutionalized" or "These Walls" which I would venture to say is the walls of the cocoon.

It gives the album a lot of replayability too after listening to the poem, it jumps right back to the first track without the answer from pac. It's how you want to perceive it, as the caterpillar or the butterfly leaving something for the listener to answer.

Or maybe it's just finals week and I need to get some sleep. :lol:
 
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I think the main problem is most of you created the album you wanted to hear in your mind already before it dropped instead of just enjoying the music and taking it for what it is.

It's really not comparable to GKMC as it doesn't sound the same or flow the same...so to compare them is a waste...also the story telling is definitely there...if you don't hear the story telling, sorry to hear that :lol:
 
I mean, off the few listens I can definitely hear a story, but sonically nothing really sticks out to me on this album at all. I kinda dig the production on a few tracks, but NOTHING stands out.

And people say the production on 2014 FHD was boring.... Smh.
 
This reminds me of when Good Kid came. People were swearing that nothing stuck out and then they fell in love. Maybe the same will happen.
 
mjhead23 said:
This reminds me of when Good Kid came. People were swearing that nothing stuck out and then they fell in love. Maybe the same will happen.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I do this with at least 80 percent of albums that I end up loving lmao.

I'm hoping I do end up loving it. I was bumping section 80 all last night, Kendricks been one of my favorites since I first heard it.

I think it just sorta failed the gym test though, it definitely is not gym music, which is wear I listen to 80% of my music.
 
This is so not what's out today in hip-hop and that's such a good thing. A lot of people aren't going to like it for that reason. The lyrics are incredible and production is top notch. This should be highly critically acclaimed, but won't be loved by the masses which is a shame.
 
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