David Bowie cited Lamar as an influence on his final album, “Blackstar.” That was clearly evident. Kendrick Lamar continues to effortlessly merge visceral concepts that too often get swept under the rug with often sublime atmospheres.
In the end, “untitled unmastered.” plays like the little brother of “To Pimp A Butterfly.” It is just as bold and as compelling even if it is a tad gentler in its attack. (A vine has surfaced on Swizz’ Instagram of him making the beat, so it is indeed true.) Hip-hop, I guess, has a new child-prodigy on its hands. Most amazing, however, is the fact that apparently a portion of “untitled 07 | 2014-2016” was reportedly produced by the five-year old son of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. Being that this album comes without credits, information about who is behind what tracks is slowly trickling in across the Internet. Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad bring a beautiful bossa nova vibe to the Cee-Lo Green assisted “untitled 06 | 06.30.14,” while the rest of the set showcases many jazz and funk-flavored atmospheric touches. Production-wise, this record is just as sharp as it is lyrically. (Combined with the #OscarsSoWhite controversies, Lamar is just speaking to an obvious bigger problem that needs to be solved.) His goal is equality and how we can learn a lot from each other without exploiting each other for selfish gain. That being said, Lamar is expressing his sense of plight and in a world where Macklemore and Eminem get more press than most other rappers, the notions of inequality are pretty impossible to deny. If this makes you uncomfortable, you are not this record’s audience. On “untitled 03 | 05-28-2013,” he explores points of view from the perspectives of people of all different ethnicities, culminating on a reflection on how white people in charge of corporations have routinely exploited hip-hop. When we look back on 2016, his reflections will stand as authoritative examples of protest records that symbolize the turmoil of our time. Lamar firmly understands how cadence, repetition and rhythm can create a sonically stunning, attention-grabbing concoction.Īs he was on “To Pimp A Butterfly,” Lamar continues to be a biting voice on issues of racial tension. Listening to this, you wonder if this is a collection of tightly put-together words that were purposely written beforehand or possibly a free-styling master at work. On “untitled 02 | 06.23.14,” he delivers a seemingly stream of consciousness flow that circles both his personal inner-monologue and issues in the geo-political realm. Lamar knows this and his rhymes are filled with an extremely politically-minded fury as he approaches each track with the flexibility and the fearlessness of an unapologetic slam poet. Great hip-hop breaks boundaries and will no doubt make some people uncomfortable. This feels very much like it is in the same space as “To Pimp A Butterfly.” It’s every bit as confrontational and in some circles it will be seen as controversial with its topics and its phrasing, but that comes with the territory. Hanging out with Thundercat and Kamasi Washington has no doubt left an impression and Lamar himself has an other-worldly “jazz-cat” kind of vibe and an innate sense of wisdom beyond his years. This minimalist approach actually keeps things mysterious and of all the artists working in hip-hop today, Lamar is among a small group of MCs who are harkening back to a pre-hip-hop era. The cover is an alluring shade of pea green but again without an actual image. In keeping with its name, the songs on “untitled unmastered.” are left only identified by numbers and dates. The album is currently available on iTunes and on Spotify and Tidal.
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