Kendrick Lamar: good kid, m.A.A.d city

   

         There are plenty of people these days that aren’t exactly fond of hip-hop and rap music and culture. Much of this can be traced to the mature subjects and lines that come with this type of music. Hip-hop isn’t going to change because of this, and the main reason is because those are staples of the genre. From its beginnings in the burrows of New York and in the streets of Los Angeles, rap has been a common ground for artists to input references about drugs, alcohol, and sex. The childhoods of these early artists held violence, abuse, and hardship and that first generation of rappers turned hip-hop into a way to vent about social issues or bring back memories of the trials they faced at a younger age.  Rappers coming out of Compton had, at least from what their music presents, a lot of experience with these concepts. One such rapper that has emerged in the last few years is Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick’s family experienced the threat of violence often while living in Compton, yet Kendrick seemed to take it in as inspiration for stories or poems, which would eventually turn to lyrics. Kendrick’s debut album, released with the help of Dr. Dre’s record company Aftermath Entertainment, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” dropped in 2012 and it was a big deal. For an up and coming rapper, Lamar received support from around the hip-hop community and that album would eventually become Soul Train Music Award for Album of the Year and BET Hip Hop Award for Best Album of the Year in 2013, in addition to being a nominee for Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2014.

            Unlike many hip-hop albums of the day, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” follows the older formats and styles of rap culture: it’s focused on the message of the whole album, meaning every song is meant to play along with each of the other tracks. Rather than being 9 or so mediocre tracks that back up a few hit singles, Kendrick’s debut album follows his personal mission to make a story and picture out of all of the songs on the “tape.” This could be the reason why he subtitled his album “A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar.” His tracks are audial puzzle pieces that are arranged, in this case, to retell his past experiences and hardships through the lens of a cinematic experience. In an interview with XXL, Lamar said that it was strange for him to think that his music was able to speak to people, just by him rapping about his past. As he says in the interview, “I’d be lying to you to say I knew “good kid, m.A.A.d city” would be as successful as it has been. In the beginning I was very doubtful” (XXL Staff Article, Writer At War: Kendrick Lamar’s XXL Cover Story). His uncertainty of this album’s future is a common theme in the hip-hop world: not every album or mixtape is going to succeed. It may take years, or it could take a couple weeks for an artist’s work to blow up, or to not even scratch the surface of popularity. The genre is difficult to get into, because not just anyone can emerge from the underground, like how “good kid, m.A.A.d city” did. Granted, it helped that Kendrick got lined up with Aftermath Entertainment, but to get to that point, he had to rise through all of the underneath rap to get that kind of attention. This just adds to Kendrick’s credibility as a young writer and performer. “good kid, m.A.A.d city” is a quality example of how hip hop tells something more meaningful, beyond the generic norms and references that I referenced in the intro.

Although this album is mostly known for a handful of its tracks, the work as a whole contains the true scheme of Kendrick’s tale. Individual parts to the story may be more memorable or exciting, but every piece assists the proper telling of the tale at hand. Lamar starts his album off by bringing back the memory of a girl he met and knew in his later teens, named Sherane. He recalls the time he met her, and also the time when some guys harassed him and threatened for going to that side of town to see her, in “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter.”  Kendrick uses Sherane as a centering topic of the album, through the skits or through the 3 songs dedicated to her, including the sixth song, “Poetic Justice.” This song is all about Sherane and the way she made 17 year old Kendrick feel. The third song where Sherane plays a larger role is in “Swimming Pools (Drank).” The song goes back to the first time Kendrick and Sherane met, at a pool party, and it elaborates on the house party he raps about in the first track. The dynamic between these two gives Kendrick, or K. Dot, leverage with his homies because he has a girl, but also gets him caught up with the guys on Sherane’s side of town.

While Kendrick is laying out his story about riding around and doing hoodrat stuff with his friends and hooking up with Sherane, his mom leaves him quite a few messages about wanting her mini van back, always in the skits at the end of the tracks. It is really impressive to see where Lamar gets his influences, especially through these voice messages. His mother serves as a voice of reason throughout the piece and is a supporter of his musical endeavors, even though she really just wants her car back. In the background of these calls, you hear Kendrick’s dad in a high and craving some amphetamines, or dominoes (“Money Trees” and “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter”), which plays as another influence for Kendrick. The influence of drugs usually finds its way into rap, but rather than ignoring this reality of his home life, Kendrick acknowledges it and makes the concept almost comical, with the comic relief that his father adds to the skits. This isn’t the only reference to drugs in his story. In “The Art of Peer Pressure,” Lamar says, “Usually I’m drug-free, but shit I’m with the homies.” In “good kid” Kendrick blames his failure to stay sober on the city around him, claiming to be the only innocent and good kid in a city clouded by madness, hence the name of the album good kid, m.A.A.d city. These two tracks are the true centerpiece of the album, because they join the clouded, hoodie image of K. Dot and the “good kid,” Kendrick Lamar. The nickname K. Dot is tethered to the things that he and his friends would do, like rob houses (“The Art of Peer Pressure” and “Money Trees”) and send shots at people who had done them wrong (“Swimming Pools (Drank)”). After their friend Dave is shot, K. Dot and his boys realize the mistakes they’ve been making and repent, asking for forgiveness from God. This is the main premise of “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst:”a thirst for Holy Water, the desire to be renewed.

This revitalization of Kendrick reflects a trend used by other artists in the genre, including my last post’s subject Childish Gambino. Artists use an album or, in Kendrick’s case, an event to change who they are or what their purpose will be. The shift from K. Dot to the real Kendrick is a lesson that listeners use as inspiration to get past dark parts of their lives. In that XXL article, Kendrick brought up how fans would come up to him and say his music saved their lives, and was the reason why they didn’t end their own lives. This is what hip-hop is capable of, as a genre and community and Kendrick, whether he intends to do it or not, was and is able to tell his story in such a way that can help someone else. The way he crafted his story was choppy in terms of the chronology, yet he did it in such a way so that he could get across the influences of family and God in his situation and in his life. The “good kid” from Compton continues to compose himself as he once did before fame, and as he continues to put his work out and get more attention, Kendrick Lamar will always be influenced by those experiences of his childhood, as are many of today’s artists. I hope to see more content like Kendrick’s in the future that bring out stories presented through the flow of the album that bring out the rapper’s experiences that, in turn, will help the next wave of hip-hop supporters find some form of closure or support in their lives.

Childish Gambino: STN MTN/Kauai

When we hear someone talking about a certain hip hop artist these days, much of what comes to mind has to deal with image. I'm talking about the mental image that the music reflects on the artist who performs it. When you hear, or taste, or smell something, you get an image or memory about that thing. I think that music is the same way, and it can relate the sound to the artist performing it. It's for this concept that I want review the STN MTN/Kauai mixtape that was dropped in October, 2014 by Donald Glover turned Childish Gambino.

"Turned?" you ask? I'll lay it out for you: actor Donald Glover, hailing from Atlanta (a vibrant hip hop community), creates an alternate persona to begin a rap career where he can use his comedy background as a basis for clever yet consistently good tracks. 10ish albums/EPs later, hard hitting and "savage" Glover puts out an album with two parts: STN MTN and Kauai. The theme of location plays a big role in Gambino's work, as made evident by the titles of some of his songs and the background behind the name of the mixtape: the beaches of Kauai versus the terrain of Stone Mountain. STN MTN, a reference to Stone Mountain in Georgia, brings back some of the themes from early rap in Atlanta, which seems to me like a tribute to Donald's roots and inspirations. Kauai on the other hand is a whole new Glover, with chill themes and lyrical elegance that represent a symbolic transition to maybe fully becoming his alter ego: Childish Gambino. 

A lot to comprehend? Think of it this way: STN MTN/Kauai is symbolic of the evolution from Donald Glover to Childish Gambino. Yeah, he's always been "Childish" but the diversity between these two parts of the mixtape definitely shows a musical identity shift. This brings it back to the concept of music reflecting the artist's personality and ideas. Donald Glover has a different kind of vibe to his work, because he really is different and doesn't hold himself to any musical restrictions. The difference brings people IN to his music: he's new, fresh, and he isn't one to hold back any kind of lyric or line. This mixtape is full of differentiating themes that adds to Gambino's wide array of content. For example, his opening track of STN MTN is a mashup of three titles, starting with a spoken intro about his dreams, which flows into Southern Hospitality and then into Partna Dem. This jumble of music styles is something that Gambino does so effectively and often. Another thing he does is break up verses or hooks with spoken lines, quotes, or statements that serve as supplements to the theme of the track in particular. One such place where this happens is in Kauai twice: in Pop Thieves and Late Night In Kauai, both featuring Jaden Smith in long monologues that, in "Jaden Smith" fashion, are just plain weird and awkward. Childish does this a lot anyway, which you get used to if you listen to a lot of his stuff, but it is, for sure, a different sound and vibe.  

Since this is the most recent album from Glover, his past titles and styles still take precedence in his music. STN MTN covers this well, but, as a fan of his past work like Bonfire and LES (from Camp, 2011), I wish that he had spit some more savage or insensitive verses. When people think of Donald Glover, they think rapper, yes, but also as an actor, a stand up comedian, etc. Puns, metaphors, and jokes are still embedded in his work, yet they aren't as blatant as before. Much of his quality comes from the way he aligns his lyrics with the beats, every drop or hook works towards a better overall track. STN MTN has a harder set of instrumentals and beats than Kauai, which I think Gambino intended because of the tone each part is trying to present. 

Of the two parts, Kauai definitely stood out as my favorite. The mix of Childish's rap style with his chill instrumental beats combined for a solid EP. The seven tracks on this part of the mixtape bring out more of a romantic feeling than his previous albums. Sober and The Palisades get into heartbreak and the relation between love and feeling high or in another place. In Sober, Gambino talks about how his last break up was so bad that he’s going to have to drink to get it off of his mind and that he’ll never be able to recover. He sings “and now that's it's over, I'll never be sober. I couldn't believe, but now I'm so high.” Being high applies to his emotional condition but also to where he is mentally. Feelings sway more towards the R&B categorization of music, and Gambino melds that with his lyricism and mellow beats in this EP. I think the musicality definitely attests to his transition in personality in this album.

Above all else, Childish Gambino is a symbol in the hip hop community. His somewhat unorthodox methods make him stand out, and this mixtape brings his skills and techniques to the forefront. Perhaps it's a hint as to what the next few albums or mixtape will follow in terms of style and musicality. Whether you're the type to climb up STN MTN or chill on the beaches of Kauai, Donald Glover provides enough diversity in his sound for you to decide.