Guest Blogger: Tyree #1

The king of rap is what the rapper Kendrick Lamar calls himself. Kendrick, a west coast rapper surprised everyone with his album good kid M.A.A.D. city when it shook the rap game. Kendrick’s album sold over 1 million copies, with his album debuting at No.1 on the top R&B/Hip Hop albums and No.2 on the Billboard 200 in early November of 2012. A quarter of the sales were sold the first week. Kendrick is unique because he is bringing back story telling in his music. In the first track on the album “Sherane A.K.A Master Splinter Daughter”, it opens with a prayer and ends with a hook when he pulled up to two black people in black hoods and then his phone rang. The first song is a great example of how he tells stories in his music because he is giving background information about a girl he like when he was 17. Kendrick’s album is supposed to play out like a story not like an album. It is a reflection on his life and how he grew up in Compton. With this album Kendrick has made a spot for himself in the rap game. Kendrick doesn’t just offer nice beats and catchy songs but he gives you a reason to listen to whole albums over and over again. For me I find it difficult to return to albums after listening to them once or twice but Kendrick’s album gives me a unique listening experience. It allows you to re listen to it multiple times to follow along with the story and the more you listen to it you catch one detail that makes it even better. Kendrick also isn’t afraid to call out things he doesn’t like. With his latest verse on Big Sean’s song “Control”, he called out multiple artists telling them that they need to step up their lyrical game. With Kendrick’s story like albums and his bold moves in the rap game you can’t go wrong when listening to his music.