LA’s lightly chilled songstress initially rose to prominence as a collab artist. View Post →
Lurk us
Kendrick Lamar – “Backseat Freestyle” VIDEO Keeps You on the Yo-Yo
The boy has gone completely atom bomb. View Post →
Culture Check: Kendrick Lamar Cleans Up “Swimming Pools” for MTV and Runs the Radio
Music is more than the music itself. Culture Check brings you footage and dialogue with your favorite artists. View Post →
The Stepkids – “Suburban Dream” Remix f. Pharoahe & Sandman
Touché Tuesday happens when a producer does a remix and it’s better than the original. View Post →
ScHoolboy Q – Habits and Contradictions
I’d like to make up for the three winks I slept last night, but I drink two cans of caffeine and hit the gym instead. I should get a jump on my work due Monday, but I’m too set up by what I’m hearing in my headphones. View Post →
Kendrick Lamar – Section.80
I ate a whole bag of tortilla chips last night. My head was stirring from the herbal supplements and my appetite was on the rise, so Section 80 and Tostitos ended up being too good a match. Soon I was having insights on how to untangle this tightly wound life of mine.
It had been awhile.
Like many blog surfers, Kendrick Lamar is a new discovery for me, after finding recent smash “Rigamortis,” which has been wiping everyone’s poker face into loose awe.
Lamar’s delivery style and willingness to rap in weird intonations is the definition of the 180 degrees that artists are encouraged to shoot for, yet rarely achieve. Too many weird-on-purpose dudes in the indie biz are trying real hard but don’t have much to show for it. Except maybe as entertainment.
Section 80 has a few weird spots but it’s all in experimentation. You’re almost offended by how well he pulls it off. You keep listening, because dude knows what he’s doing. Kendrick raps for the man behind bars, the battered girl, the smothered boyfriend, and the bouncy, comically motivated “fuck bitches, get money” dude whose “shit don’t stink.” More than all that, he offers a seriously different angle on the city of Compton.
He’s not a skater, he’s not a G, and apparently he witnesses plenty of gunplay. Yes he likes weed; but who doesn’t? Watching his videos, doing some music sociology research through his pictures, you still have a hard time putting your finger on him. This is a good thing.
And finally, bumping “Kush & Corinthians,” Kendrick slowly pivots the mirror on to you. He did it for me, and I got some good ideas out of it. You gotta have an active hand in the gears of your life. Just don’t forget to get loose on the regular, or you might get gnarled. Kendrick helps with that. So do a steady supply of munchies.