Kendrick Lamar - good kid m.A.A.d city

9.4

Its about damn time a rapper fully committed to the "concept album." Amidst the contemporary scene filled with blunt smoke and dubstep crossovers, Kendrick Lamar turns the clock back to the early 90's and (gasp!) weaves a cohesive story! Hints of Tupac, Ice Cube, Kanye West and every notable rapper of the past 20 years pop up throughout Lamar's ambidextrous flow. The real treat is, even after wearing his influences on his sleeve, the album still could only have come from Kendrick. Contrasting the refreshing riffs from the Clinton era ["m.A.A.d city (part 2)," "Compton"] the majority of the album is akin to the freshness of Kanye's debut. At its best, Lamar's origin-story LP marks a new direction in hip-hop.

Thankfully, the album avoids most of the pitfalls of any rapper's auto-biography. All the ingredients of ghetto life are present but tired concepts like shootouts, 40's and bitches are turned upside down through Lamar's unique point of view. Every blunt hit and party is seen solely through Kendrick's eyes, building a strong character and a vibrant, detailed story. The creative device of videotape interludes index the album's mosaic of Compton and maintain the LP's stone-faced seriousness. Lighter moments peek out here and there to remind listeners that any life, no matter how ghetto-centric isn't all doom and gloom. One of the album's highlights, "Backseat Freestyle" contextualizes Lamar's chest-beating rhymes as the character's first freestyle. Thus his hubris chanting "Damn I got bitches!" actually feels endearing.

Overall, the album paints a bleak picture that, for all intensive purposes is real as fuck. Kendrick censors names and fills the gaps between songs with tape-recorded slices of ghetto life. Featuring characters we are all familiar with through pop culture, the skits are ridiculously well-performed. Equally overdramatic and off-the-cuff, they feel surprisingly genuine. Herein lies the key to the album's message of redemption, which wouldn't work so well if it wasn't so damn real.

The transformation of rap music in the last decade is mainly due to the over-exposure of the Internet. When anyone can make a career out of rhyming, newer artists strive to set themselves apart using bizarre studio techniques and one-of-a-kind personalities. Enter the Danny Browns and Odd Futures who justify their existence with off-kilter flows and in-your-face personas. Kendrick Lamar message-driven music overshadows his fellow newcomers by not letting his unique voice outweigh the enjoyment of listening to his music. Lamar does occasionally falls victim to this pitfall and alienates his listeners. "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Sing About Me" feature competent verses that are slaughtered by annoying, unbearable choruses.

The puzzling choices in a few of his cuts don't overshadow the fact that is easily the best rap album of 2012. It doesn't come close to comparing to the front-heavy disappointment of Kanye's Cruel Summer. Compared to that, the production is refreshing and straightforward. Lamar's lyrics can hold up on their own. Its too early to tell if good kid, m.A.A.d city will stand among the Chronics and the Reasonable Doubts but compared to every other high profile release of the year, it's a breath of fresh Compton air.