Kendrick Lamar is Real West Coast Hip Hop

If you haven't heard of Kendrick Lamar yet, I'm happy to be the first to put him on your radar. Lamar is one of the latest hip-hop prodigies from the City of Angels, with a style more like the chilled out strangeness of Pharcyde or Souls of Mischief than the gangsta-funk of Dre or Snoop. The Compton-based artist popped onto the scene in 2010, with the release of his mixtape O(verly) D(edicated), and kept the buzz around his skills going with the 2011 album Section. 80, recently released exclusively on iTunes. My buddy Evan put me onto this album a few weeks ago and it keeps on surprising me.

Here are  Rigamortus, Hol' Up, A.D.H.D., and Ronald Reagan Era, four of my favorite tracks from Section.80 for your download/listening pleasure.



Lamar is a lyrical talent, alternating between a staccato rapid-fire flow reminiscent of Bone Thugs and a smoothed out style with the poetic depth of someone who clearly spent a lot of time listening to Tupac.  Lamar actually credits a visit he had with Shakur in a dream with the inspiration and motivation for Section.80 . Layered over a mix of old-school jazzy horn/keyboard riffs and modern electronic sounds, the tracks on this album emphasize introspective exploration of themes like self-hate, oppression, and revolution in a mellow chilled-out way that never seems overbearing. These themes certainly have been tackled in hip-hop before, but a good listen reveals something unique in Lamar's work. The music is anything but formulaic, each track deserving time to explore the layers of the complex muted production, and thoughtful lyrical construction. The dude has a lot to say, and does so in a way that is not gonna find its way onto your radio. The good news is that by continuing without a major record contract, his future work is not likely to be constrained by a need for mass public appeal. Hopefully this encourages Lamar to keep producing the slightly strange, high quality work that has already made him a great example of fantastic modern hip-hop.


Shout out again to Evan, for always having something awesome to listen to.