While not as commercially successful as DAMN (or the prior release, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City), one could argue it’s Kendrick’s best album. The top score (96) belongs to To Pimp A Butterfly, the album Kendrick released in 2015. Kendrick Lamar at the 38th Brit Awards in 2018 (Shutterstock) Currently, DAMN has a 95 on Metacritic, an unthinkably high score…but Kendrick’s second-highest score.
Numerous music publications named it either one of or the Best Album of the year. Subsequent singles “Loyalty” (featuring Rihanna) and “Love” (featuring Zacari) also went Platinum multiple times. The album’s lead single, “Humble,” went Platinum seven times. Commercially, DAMN is currently certified triple-platinum by the RIAA. Through his lyrics, there is room to reach above that.Kendrick’s previous solo album was DAMN, which arrived in April 2017 to massive success. Listening to Lamar is making ourselves aware of disenfranchisement, our limitations and our place in the world. Lamar is able to address subjects of African-American vulnerability such as police brutality and make a compilation of music that raises him above any level of inequality to make a strong, bold statement. “Why, God?” Lamar asks, conveying the feeling of being powerless. In this calmer track, there is a sense of vulnerability. “FEAR.” and “DUCKWORTH.” express the confusion of, but also offer an explanation for, the disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the United States. “I’m willing to die for this,” Lamar says on “ELEMENT.” What Lamar keeps constant in his music is the mixture of political topics and the importance of his legacy in hip-hop music, as well as his upbringing and his relationships with his family. On these tracks, instrumentals are warmer to signify the difference of importance of these tracks compared to more domineering tracks. “LOVE.” describes how he prevailed through his difficulty with lust. This flows into “LUST.”, which exposes his struggle with desire over his loyalty to his significant other. “LOYALTY.” explores his loyalty to his family and friends, and to his partner. Where production is heavy, we see more importance placed on sensing his feelings through instrumentals. Lamar’s soul-filled instrumentals are almost bare on most tracks in comparison to his prior albums “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” “Untitled” and “To Pimp a Butterfly.”īut the change is a good one. His vocals and his lyrics are placed on a higher pedestal and we focus more on his words than heavy production. The most upfront track that establishes dominance is “HUMBLE.” Perhaps the boldest track on the record, it begins with a raucous guitar distortion before we are immediately hit with a constant, strong piano riff. “I’m so f***ing sick and tired of the photoshop, show me something natural like afro on Richard Pryor,” Lamar says on that track. “XXX.” calls out the political atmosphere and how it works against black people. “FEEL.” features his proclamation that “Ain’t nobody praying for me,” as well as a female voice that repeats him, showing that black America, male and female, suffers from disregard.
“YAH.” further references the political attention he receives and how his loved ones react to this attention. “DNA.” explores Lamar’s pride for African his heritage, despite the depiction of African-Americans in U.S. society. “Is it wickedness? Is it weakness? You decide,” Lamar says. “FEAR.” features Lamar’s cousin explaining how the inequality of people of color stems from their walking away from God. We are introduced to Lamar’s choral-like soul instrumentals, a possible tribute to gospel and an embracing of black culture. He is questioning how black America will survive systemic racism. Lamar kicks his album off with a vision of his own death on “BLOOD.,” a depiction of police brutality, which features reporters discussing the lyrics, “and we hate the popo, wanna kill us in the street fo’ sho’” with disapproval. The album’s tracks are divided into one-word, single-subject ideas, much like chapters in a novel. Kendrick Lamar answers this question throughout “DAMN.,” in a way that straddles the line between boldness and composure. It is a question that many within the United States have been asking themselves for several years now. “But is America honest, or do we bask in sin?” Lamar raps on the track “XXX.” In these times of political hysteria, “DAMN.” offers a compilation of black power, an assertion of dominance and insight into Lamar’s personal life.
On his new album, “DAMN.,” Kendrick Lamar guides us through the life of a black man in white America. “DAMN” album cover/courtesy of Top Dawg Entertainment”