This is just the beginning, I just want to know how it is so far.
I remember watching an interview not too long ago and when asked if he thought his album was a classic, Kendrick Lamar answered, "When creating this album, I had intentions of making it a classic but right now it is too early to tell". What Kendrick Lamar failed to realize is that, you cannot intentionally make a classic album. If someone told me that Nas's "Illmatic" and Biggie's "Ready to Die" were successful attempts at intentionally trying to make a classic, my answer to that would be: I beg to differ. There is no formula to creating a classic album, that sort of thing just happens. Those albums were classic because they represented the era and struggle while coming from the heart. While I enjoyed Kendrick Lamar's debut album "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", at times, I felt Lamar was too focused on trying to recreate the 'magic' from the golden age of hip hop that his music did not sound authentic but rather tailored and manufactured. The skits that would play in between tracks were nice at times but sometimes felt forced. It seemed as if Kendrick recorded those messages just to put them in the album like he had contemplated creating the album for years. Though some may think that the skits play like an introduction and allow the album to flow as it is conceptual, I feel like he abused his creativity to the point where it seemed ridiculous. Honestly it makes it hard for me to really rank this album with the likes of Nas, Biggie, Jay-z, or Eminem. I just don't think Kendrick has reached that level yet. But for his capabilities, Lamar has created a lyrical masterpiece that formulates fictional tales of love and violence influenced by his own upbringing in Compton, California.
I remember watching an interview not too long ago and when asked if he thought his album was a classic, Kendrick Lamar answered, "When creating this album, I had intentions of making it a classic but right now it is too early to tell". What Kendrick Lamar failed to realize is that, you cannot intentionally make a classic album. If someone told me that Nas's "Illmatic" and Biggie's "Ready to Die" were successful attempts at intentionally trying to make a classic, my answer to that would be: I beg to differ. There is no formula to creating a classic album, that sort of thing just happens. Those albums were classic because they represented the era and struggle while coming from the heart. While I enjoyed Kendrick Lamar's debut album "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", at times, I felt Lamar was too focused on trying to recreate the 'magic' from the golden age of hip hop that his music did not sound authentic but rather tailored and manufactured. The skits that would play in between tracks were nice at times but sometimes felt forced. It seemed as if Kendrick recorded those messages just to put them in the album like he had contemplated creating the album for years. Though some may think that the skits play like an introduction and allow the album to flow as it is conceptual, I feel like he abused his creativity to the point where it seemed ridiculous. Honestly it makes it hard for me to really rank this album with the likes of Nas, Biggie, Jay-z, or Eminem. I just don't think Kendrick has reached that level yet. But for his capabilities, Lamar has created a lyrical masterpiece that formulates fictional tales of love and violence influenced by his own upbringing in Compton, California.