Good Kid A. D City Analysis

The decade of hip-hop is what some may call it. Tupac, Naz, Biggie Smalls, as well as other artists, were major contributions. Not only for the people who are trying to find their footing, but Buck as well. Throughout the book various lyrics were embedded in order to create a better understanding for its readers. In addition, this book is based upon a 90s lifestyle within Philadelphia, which included drugs, gang activity, crime, hip-hop, and havoc. Malo was directly in the center of everything, the girls, the fights, the guns. His experiences shed light towards what it’s like to as an African American individual living in or near the hood. Not everyone realizes what people go through while living there, but now it gives some readers an image of what goes on. Though times have changed, not all previous feelings

Dr.Dre, one of the biggest producers in the history of hip-hop, signed him to his independent record label named Aftermath Entertainment. In October 2010, his major labelled debut album, "good kid, M.A.A.D city" was released. In that album, he told a story of himself when he was a teenager. He was named lyricist of the year after the many success he had for the album. That year he had three hit singles “Swimming Pools (Drank),” "Good kid M.A.A.D city" and “Poetic Justice”. Those three songs got him to the spotlight and to popular TV shows such as Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Last year, 2015, he released his second hit album "To Pimp a Butterfly" with artists like Bilal, Snoop Dogg, and Pharrell Williams. He was nominated for eleven grammy awards and took five home with him. The last time anyone got nominated for that many grammy awards was Michael Jackson and he had twelve nominations. Kendrick Lamar is now considered one of the best rappers ever because he released another album in 2016, that has already reached the billboard's number one spot. Kendrick wants to spread the idea of positivity throughout the world because he grew up in a violent city but he is showing people that they can change

In the concept album, good kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar creates an autobiographical narrative that describes the societal pressures of growing up as a black teenager in Compton, and how his self-awareness and musical passion allowed him to escape from the city’s cycle of violence. Through the album’s storyline Kendrick makes the case that, despite coming from a hedonistic, gang infested city, he is able to transform into a puritan. Kendrick narrates this story through several different perspectives, including actual people from his life as well as his own psyche. Kendrick Lamar mainly invokes the persona of K.Dot, who is based on Kendrick’s actual seventeen year old self. This story begins from the first person perspective of naive K.Dot, who is characterized by a raspy, inflicted voice. The lyrics of this character show the ignorance and lack of direction in his life, as well his self-doubts and impressionability. It is eventually revealed that K.Dot has a passion for music. While K.Dot is a good kid at heart who is not gang affiliated, his innocence is tainted by the desires of the Compton lifestyle. After a violent encounter, a transformation begins to occurs from within K.Dot. He realizes that the negative influences of gang culture have corrupted him,

And if I got a brown nose for some gold then I’d rather be a motherfuckin’ baller, Kendrick is a very modest rapper, he isn’t in the ‘game’ for the ‘gold’ (money). He does what he does to influence other people with his rap and change lives, as he understands the struggle for people of color to survive in a world where discrimination and racism exist. He does what he does in hope of bettering the world.

He opens the song abrasively, reminiscing on aspects of his Compton childhood and goes on the bare the distinction between his present and past. (“I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances/Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits/But now I’m countin’ this/Parmesan where my accountant lives”) These lines entail the ride that Lamar has been on from day one, from a young kid surrounded by all variations of violence in one of the most crime-ridden and notorious cities in California, to a successful, musical visionary that has taken the world by storm one song a time.

Throughout the thirteen years between his debut and latest Kanye West has been angry. He has also been insightful and provocative but has mostly been yearning, for a full force return to the themes and ideas that were spread around the evolution of rap a decade beforehand (Gibbons, 2007.) An era when the genre angered the privileged whites of America and added an voice for the impoverished minorities around the country. Kanye West is a product of our time, each year and major event reflective of his work and emotional state. He produced what was needed for pop music at the time, wether we like it or not.

Kendrick Lamar grew up in the city of Compton. Lamar’s father was a member of a gang in Chicago before they moved to Compton. His mother’s brothers had ties to the notorious gang the Compton Crips. When Lamar was eight

Through Kendrick’s symbolism he describes

In this album we are seeing a way more vulnerable Kendrick; he’s always been a storytelling kind of rapper, but in “DAMN.”, Kendrick admits to more personal opinions and events that he’s experienced, withholding no thoughts. By doing so, Kendrick accomplishes getting his listeners to relate to him and ultimately we have a true example of how realness is revealed.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper who was born on June 17, 1987 in Compton, California (“Kendrick Lamar Biography”). Performing as Kendrick Lamar, he has won seven Grammy awards and has two Platinum albums. Lamar's first major-label album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, met with critical acclaim and within nine months of its release was certified platinum by the RIAA. Good kid, m.A.A.d city was “a commercial success that skyrocketed the rapper’s career into super-stardom, the album captivated music purists with an intricate story that unfolded throughout the opus” (V.C.). Kendrick Lamar’s third album, To Pimp a Butterfly, slightly deviates from that, instead finishing with a grittier and deeper product. In the individual songs, Lamar addresses some kind of social problem ranging from black on black crime to the government’s neglect of minorities. “Each song is characterized by its own distinctive concept and, on a larger scale, all the songs are interconnected by a wider narrative that revolves around Kendrick becoming a celebrity in a system owned by ‘Uncle Sam’ and ruled by the ‘evils of Lucy,’ a personification of Lucifer” (V.C.). Critics and fans alike have praised To Pimp a Butterfly for it’s

Regardless of whether or not a collaborative group album ever sees the light of day, it is undeniable that Black Hippy is unique in the climate of today’s music industry. The individual successes of Lamar, Q, Soul, and Rock are the product of their core values as a group: charisma, substance, lyrics, uniqueness, and work ethic. Kendrick Lamar is the most popular, and he writes about African-American history, race relations, and his experiences as a good kid in a mad city. ScHoolboy Q writes about his daughter, his life growing up as a member of the 52 Hoover Crips, as well as themes related to partying and drug use. Ab-Soul writes introspectively, often relating his experiences to philosophical and cultural topics. Jay Rock writes about his

TPAB is a long, heavy, dense record. Not only is it bearing an important message, the album managed to give us a lot of great music. Inside one CD, Kendrick bounces from hip-hop to jazz, from R&B to rock, from giving us the funk to interviewing Tupac himself and managed to make it sound new and exciting every time. Highlights are all around the album, be it the aforementioned Alright, the dancefloor-filling King Kunta, the tour-de-force rap on For Free? (Interlude), the drunken tearjerker in u or, apparently, How Much a Dollar Cost (at least, if you are Barack Obama). But more important, To Pimp A Butterfly ends up being more than just a sum of its parts. The most ambitious album of the year ends up being the best one, crowning Kendrick once and

As, an incoming student at Heidelberg University I know my first semester will be epic. I’m starting a new book of my life, and I’m looking forward to make it an amazing story. I have to get to a fast start within my journey to success, which I will have to get involved on campus to reach my many goals.

I'm far from a stan of Kendrick Lamar and based on only one listen, I can say that this is the best album of the year so far. The production throughout the album was mind blowing as Mike Will, 9th Wonder, and everyone involved with the album completely killed it. The only thing that I'm worried about is will I want to listen to some of the songs I love now in October. TPAB and Untitled Unmastered were great sit down and listen albums to me, but it was music that I didn't want to hear on a regular basis. The themes and lyrics of the album is obviously something that I would have to listen to more, but I have to tip my hat off to Kendrick. As incredible as the album was, the crazy thing about it is the last song "DUCKWORTH" makes the album seem incomplete. I wanted to get this review out earlier than expected as I now believe we'll be getting more music. With all of that being said, I can say that Kendrick Lamar is back on my good side. If he decides to drop another album, I'll gladly give him more of my

Along with this, it also talks about the increased isolation that ensued as a result and left both groups of people from rarely ever integrating with each other. This hypersegregation thus resulted in huge gap in resources, levels of crime, and price levels between predominantly white and black neighborhoods. The effect of this hypersegregation is constantly seen in Kendrick’s song as he describes growing up in a neighborhood full of crime, and few people working. However, through Kendrick’s verses the listener can see the internal struggles hypersegregation has on a human being living in the ghetto away from any other life different than his surrounding. This is not only seen internally in Kendrick as he deals with the struggle of getting exposed to a whole new environment and shaking away the tendencies of the old one. The effect is also is seen in his friends when he raps “But something' came over you once I took you to the fuckin' BET Awards, You looking' at artists' like the harvests, So many Rollies around you and you want all of them” (Source). His friends are experiencing two effects of hypersegregation, the first being that they are shocked to see a whole new world other than the poverty stricken neighborhood they always are around. The Second is that as a result of only operating in one segregated setting Kendrick’s friends