Now that the dust has settled what's the consensus? Disappointment? One of his best?

Now that the dust has settled what's the consensus? Disappointment? One of his best?

Big disappointment, worst of all his studio albums

i will never believe anyone who says it's better than TPAB

It's good but no where near his best. I put it above S80. So his second worst album.

It's still a lot better than most rappers best.

Strong 7

I really like its better

TPAB was shit

Its growing every day for me but I don't think it can top TPAB, which is okay. It's a very enjoyable album on its own.

if TPAB was shit this album is toxic waste

How?

it's extremely overt, but this is kendrick at his most technical rapping. i also like the future-soul beats. but in general, yeah i wish there was more storytelling present in his other work. i guess it does give the vibe of ANTI-KENNY on purpose though

It's boring af.

In terms of personal enjoyment, I rank it as my second favorite Kendrick album so far. I get that TPAB has more meaning, and I love that record too, but you pretty much have to sit there and listen to that whole album. Individually the songs don't hold up as well in my opinion. Even at his worst (Section 80) he's still a solid 8/10 though.

Pretty much agree with this
Imo
GKMC > DAMN. > S.80 > TPAB > UU

I couldn't get into TPAB outside a few tracks
I justy dont think the instrumentals went well with kendrick's voice, even though i did like the two by themself, coming together just didn't sound that great imo

DUCKWORTH. is one of his best tracks. FEAR. and LUST. are great as well. I could leave tracks like GOD., LOVE. and the chorus of XXX. I'm totally addicted to this album's vibe. The other tracks are good for trap and more Drake-type melodic stuff, but I'm not big on them. All in all, a very enjoyable concept album sans a few tracks.

[spoiler]can't wait for part 2 later today[/spoiler]

GKMC > DAMN > TPAB > UU > S80

Objectively true

Switch s80 and UU and you're good

Slightly better than TPAB, not as good as GKMC.

Pretty nice production but big disappointment overall. I can already see it being forgotten.

It's basically the album I expected him to drop with TPAB. Lyrical rappers never last beyond 2 or 3 albums because they run out of things to say and don't have the musical inclination/creativity to make up for it.

Put Damn at the bottom and I'm satisfied

it's a drake album

I agree with this but I hated the production on some songs, not saying it was bad but I hate trap shite

>Its a Drake album
>still ends up being better than anything he's made

really strudels the noodle...

Replay Value/Enjoyable:
S80>DAMN>GKMC>UU>TPAB

Content Value/Lyricism:
TPAB>DAMB>GKMC>S80>UU

GKMC > TPAB > UU > DAMN > S.80

Some facts

I still need to listen to it a few more times but so far it's a huge disappointment.
Nothing but commercial rap.
Maybe it'll grow on me

this is literally perfect user, good job

It feels like this should have been the first album after S.80 but at the same time possesses qualities of GKMC and TPAB, I'm still hoping it's a two parter because it feels underwhelming as a whole. There are some great tracks but it lacks the cohesiveness of the last two albums but isn't as lose as UU.

whether it's better or not is irrelevant. kendrick raps the same way as drake, even uses drakes semi-singing shit. kendrick even uses very similar ambient shit backing tracks, like drake does.

TPAB>DAMN=GKMC>S80

In terms of replayability, though, its the best.

element is the only real song that reminded me of Drake for all the reasons you stated.

define commercial rap.

please help me find the main guitar sample in PRIDE.

I really don't like it. It blows my mind that the guy who gave us gkmc and tpab gave us this pile of generic blackwashed trash.

If there's some underlying narrative or concept aside from being the most cookiecutter rap album ever, it's lost on me

It's exciting. If anything, GKMC is boring at times.

I like Kendrick because I live in LA and his music always captures the vibe here really well. Damn sounds a bit like something I would have heard on MTV in the early 00's. Not really a fan.

TPAB was a really unique album pushing the genre forward, very few albums these days feel like that. This one just feels like a step back, not really anything new or innovative, just kinda generic.

also loyalty, love, and god

>lost on me
It's about trying to decide whether he's a good person or not. Just listen to XXX - he gets a call from a friend that asks for him to pray for him and guidance because his son was just killed. Kendrick responds by saying, "I know what I'm supposed to say and what God says is the right thing, but if it was my kid I'd kill whoever is responsible." Then he lays out how he would go hard on someone who messed with his family but stops short because he has to give a speech to kids about gun control, ironically.

the whole album is about this duality of wanting to be a good person but being a slave to your DNA/programming and trying to figure out how to balance the two.

>pushing the genre forward

bruh it sounds like flylo made a tribe called quest album. i love kendrick as a rapper but i wouldn't call him forward thinking ever

I think this is a good example of how DAMN is a mishmash of concepts in the genre just sort of thrown together with no overarching cohesive force

"Need to pay the bills, guess I'll kick out an album of some of my cuts." - KL 2017

im still undecided. but it's between a 4.5 and a 5.5. Tho to me it wasn't a disappointment sense I don't think any of his other records were masterpieces. He is like the Beatles of hip hop, unoriginal content but it's easy to listen so people like it.

>Music criticism in 2017

I give it a strong 6 or a light 7

I came buckets!

either that or it's a diss album, mocking other rappers styles, lol

i'm glad it isn't one-dimensional in its sound though

GKMC>TPAB>S.80>DAMN

it's about a 7/10

It is as good as the last 2 albums. Who cares if slightly better or worse, its just great and good clasic for the years to come.

Disappointing.

I'm waiting for P4K to tell me what to think of it.

Whosampled you cuck. Otherwise it's not a sample

Bigquint put it best: It's dope as fuuuck.
I enjoy it more with every listen. Much more sublte than his other albums as well.

I think it's pretty good. Fear, XXX, and Duckworth are god-tier. There are some low points, but even the generic songs like Yah are done well. Anybody who thinks it's worse than a 6 has questionable taste.

TPAB > GKMC > DAMN > S80 > UU

this is objective btw

I feel like i would've preferred another more story telling album but i still like it a lot

I agree with this
I feel like the theme is similar to TLOP but more about you as a person vs who you should be while Pablo is more fame affecting who you want to be
Both have a theme around God and self though

why are u fags stil talking about this ""artists"" that doesnt even produce his own music. so who cares he didnt even make the songs. Just wrote some words for it.

God fucking kill yourself

What's wrong with that??

maybe pay attention to the consistent theme of reversal. The album is very conceptual it jsut doesn't force the concept down the listeners throat like his earlier albums. Apart from that, his flow and the beats are just very enjoyable.

TPAB (9) > GKMC (9) > S.80 (7) > Damn (6/7)
it's his worst yet but still better than the vast majority of hip hop that comes out. XXX Fear and Duckworth are unlikely to be topped as far as rap this year goes.

his worst album by far
people under 25 who listen to drake and migos will probably like it though

GKMC>S80>UU>TPAB>DAMN.

>UU>TPAB
retard

Which is infinitely more innovative than Drake / trap / futurebeats

From a completely unbiased opinion because I only started listening to Kendrick at the start of this year, consider the following.

TPAB > GKMC > UU > DAMN > S80.

He's a pretentious nog.

His music is annoying, tacky, pretentious bullcrap that communicates nothing of value and the more you listen to it the worse it gets.

This album is nothing new. Next thread.

UU > TPAB > DAMN > GKMC > S80

they'll give it an 8.8 BNM but that will secretly be a pan. also the review itself won't talk about the music but the political implications of kendrick's rise and his apparent anger with himself

I think you meant to use < user, not >

It was a fine album but I'd group it with Overly Dedicated and Kendrick Lamar EP (UU if you don't want to go back that far), its not the big three.

The only thing it has over S80 is the mixing and mastering quality. S80 retains its ranking because Kendrick was still hungry as a lyricist. Although Kendrick is at his prime conceptually, his lyricism was sharper on OD, S80 and GKMC to an extent that we may never see again.

TPAB>GKMC=S80>OD>DAMN=UU>KEP>C4>HYNIC

Gonna be Blonde of 2017

It doesn't stop growing on me and I listened to it 10 times already. Even took a shot at that reverse theory and liked the album that way too, really recommend trying it, there are a few lyrics that start making much more sense, and otherwise you can say it puts everything a new interesting perspective, changing the concept.

I'd put it on par with TPAB as an album (concept/lyrics and all), but it is infinitely more enjoyable to listen to, you don't have to sit through the whole album or stop on e.g. King Kunta + These Walls + Alright + How Much A Dollar Cost, getting a half-baked experience. Every song on DAMN. is self-contained and enjoyable on its own.

Also I'm sorry, but GKMC didn't age that well and after both TPAB and DAMN. I have no desire to come back to it.

Kek

>t. dumb frogposter

I don;t expect anyone here to know who this guy is, but his name is Skooly.

If anyone has listened to Skooly's music, can you let me know if I'm the only one who thought Kendrick sounded exactly like him on LOVE? I actually had to check to make sure he wasn't a feature.

This family

listening to LOVE again I hear what you mean
imagine kendrick ft. rich kidz

TPAB>DAMN>GKMC>S80>UU

I have no idea where people are getting the idea that UU is anything but his worst. It's literally the scraps from his better albums.

>Kendrick raps like drake
wow its almost as if they're the same genre.

That's what I'm hoping for. Mainly so I can discount both Kendrick and P4K.

Better than To Pimp a Butterfly but not as good as Untitled Unmastered.

you know what he meant so why did you make this stupid comment?

>infinitely more enjoyable to listen to
agreed

disagree. i think he's more subtle now if anything. not that those albums aren't greatness, but he's still there. Just changed up the way he approaches lyricism in his work.

>communicates nothing of value
either you are 14 as indicated by your PoV and meme picture, you just aren't paying attention, or this is b8.

...

Real strong 8 to maybe a light 9 if I'm really feeling it.

All these songs got some great replay value. I also like how these songs all feel different and independent enough that there's an even spread of each song being people's favorite.

100 percent agree with this.

Untitled 2,3 and 7 is better than anything in Damn

bait

9/10 solid

this
wrong/bait
some of his strongest flows are here (DNA, FEEL)
i could agree with this although i think DAMN and UU are equal and TPAB is better than both
idk what ur talking about dude, this is gonna be in the top albums of the year

I would probably switch DAMN and S.80 but otherwise correct

GKMC >>>> TPAB > DAMN

Honestly didnt love it as much as TPAB, but still a really fucking good album

This album is about feeling alone at the top.

give him a break. he released two godtier rap albums in the span of 3 years. he's allowed to take a breather if he wants because he has nothing to prove. even if this is a more casual album it's a damn good one at that

>scraps can't be good
One artist's trash could be a fan's favorite ie Kanye - Never See Me Again is one of my favorite Kanye tracks

Although i do agree with you in this situatuon that UU is bottom, i can understand why some enjoy it

a god released another 9/10 minimum and a lot of people chatting shit

The album deals with a few interesting themes which are present through out it's entirety. A few to mention is reversal/opposites staying loyal and others people's motives that keep them loyal.
It's so subtle though i wish it was more in my face because for the first time ever I've had to actually sit there and disect some lines and still have no clue what he's trying to convey take blood for example I like the idea of it being lady justice but I think Kendrick was going for something else. Not to mention lines like what happens on Earth stays on Earth or you decide wether we live or die.
Back to the theme of reversal I can't see why he chose to reverse the tracks at specific times like the hook reversal in fear and at the end of duck worth(is it the whole album he rewinds there?).

I think it's easy one of if not the best album for replay value.

Ill probably listen through it more then tpab but tpabs content lyrically was more there
Personal enjoyment:
Gkmc>damn>tpab>sec80>uu
Artistic content:
Tpab>gkmc>damn>section80>uu

I just like stories man

Accurate

THIS WHAT GOD FEEL LIKE
LAUGHIN TO THE BANK LIKE AAAHAAA

Pretty good, best in terms of development of Kenny's emotions, this is obviously a more reflective album. Production was really nice, but still falls short compared to TPAB