Well…that year-end album list is delayed now. I don’t want to spend the whole time here talking about the whole sage between him and Drake, It’s so tiring at this point. Every day I log in, it’s the same discussion over and over, we get it, SHUT UP. We have more topics we should be talking about! The world is falling apart! I enjoy both of them, I'll admit I'm more critical of one artist than the other but I digress. He’s a special case study, why did you do a stream with a gambling addict? I do have to say, what a year for Kendrick. Man just been taking his “victory lap” nonstop since Cinco de Mayo weekend. “Not Like Us” is an overplayed and bit overrated record in my opinion from the whole beef but it was HUGE. That beat is still sinister, fun moments, the whole shebang. Kendrick’s whole explanation about the meaning of the song is pretty stupid, however. I’ve said in my “Mr. Morale” review that Kendrick can be a hypocrite at times and he does have flaws with his characters and ideologies. Drake has some explaining to do with so many of the allegations and his character that have been talked about since the beef kicked off to the max but Kendrick also has some explanation about some of the people he hangs and champions with. His flaws still show heavily on this record from time to time, I’ll explain that later. However, there’s this one line I want to discuss this whole beef that brings this whole “album”(?) together and its whole “concept” and “sound”. Bear with me here.
Side note the cause of writing this review, Drake is suing UMG and Spotify cause they claimed bots and favoritism to hype up and build of that record, holy fuck I can’t stop laughing. Labels are bad yea, he’s not wrong but it does make Drake look like a bigger dork than what he currently is now. Anyway, let me get back on track. On “Family Matters” Aubery said he had more love in Dot’s city and also he doesn’t do enough for his city. Seems like Kendrick took that to heart and did a whole tape of songs that sound like the current LA Area sound, but also showcased tons of up-and-coming artists from those areas. Now I will admit, Kenny does do his best impression of Drakeo The Ruler (he’s gonna be mentioned here a lot forgive me) on most of these songs, which to be fair most artists from LA do/did copy Drakeo’s flow when he was locked up and when he was killed. Sure, West Coast rappers do sound like they’re just talking on the mic off-beat but something about Drakeo’s flow when he was still here on this planet was captivating. I do miss that man.
Another thing about this whole tape is that this is one of those times where I don't have to break down an entire Kendrick album in full length like I have in the past. I guess there are moments I can break down and overanalyze but this is more focused "DAMN" meets "Mr. Morale" with a dash of new LA. This is easily Dot's most fun, cohesive, and enjoyable album, maybe ever. My brain wasn't hurting overthinking what he was saying, if anything, I was just vibing and having fun.....but, as I said, I had moments of going "Wait for a second?'. "watched out murals" he rapped how a mural that was made for him was tagged up and upset he was. That does suck but it doesn’t shock me at all, most of your biggest haters besides Drake stans are people from your city. Honestly, this gets overshadowed by him talking about how Lil Wayne was “snubbed” from doing the halftime show in his city. I get it Wayne, it sucks but no one wants to see a 2024 Lil Wayne concert, you barely remember your lyrics. It’s so annoying how they treat Wayne like a fucking child and baby him cause of this, he ain’t what he used to be for your 13-year-old brain. Kendrick doing the halftime show is funny, with him being anti-industry. The Super Bowl is very pro-industry dude. Anyways, Him taking shots at Snopp for posting that shitty AI Drake song was funny, Snoop has been bipolar lately during this whole beef but that weed has been fucking with his mind since birth.
Hearing “squabble up” make the final cut which was teased in the “Not Like Us” video was dope to hear in full length. I like the 80’s freestyle sample, reminds me of the shit my dad would bump when I use to come over to visit, I have a soft spot for that genre. “Luther” with SZA sounds like a leftover from the “DAMN” era but also a Drake song in a way. Like I wonder if Kendrick was in the studio like “I CAN MAKE MELDOIC POP TRACKS YOU BITCH!”, The two have good chemistry together. Love the lustful beat, has a late-night summer drive vibe to it, they play off each other well when the duet moments happen, also how their perpsective float back to each other with ease. One wants the world to no longer endure pain and suffering and wants empowerment and love from his lover while the other says I’ll be there for you when you feel vulnerable and yearning so hard for them. I love good “I’M YEARNING” ass songs when done right.
“Man at the Garden” refers to a tale from the bible about a man who talks about the hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices they made to get this garden and Dot’s philosophy is the same on how much he had to to get where he’s at now in his life. I think this could’ve been like an outro for “Mr. Morale”, to me it sounds like he’s talking us through one of his therapy sessions. The whole chorus of him just “I deserve it all” sounds egotistical and these types of tracks I roll my eyes at Like I get it man, get off your fucking high horse, my life sucks. Some of the quotes sound he’s giving a life story at a Ted Talk event but.. i will say it grew on me after a few more spins. It’s one of typical “lift yourself” or “look what you’ve done in your life” or “how to improve yourself” ass songs but I think it works cause it’s not like a fucking anthem song you hear at stadium games in the mid 2000’s to pump yourself up bullshit. Maybe some out there took this song to heart with his latest session with his shrink here.
“Hey now” dead-ass sounds like a Drakeo song, I think he came back to earth and took over Kendrick’s soul and spirit for most of this tape I swear. It’s a good track, I love the eerie beat, shit sounds like an evil super mario bros level and I love when Dody6 comes in and they both exchange lines back and forth. I think this track needs more love in my opinion. “Reincarnated” I’m 50/50, I love the Tupac sample, and I get what the track was trying to do, rap from the perspective of other artists but it’s an oxymoron itself when he was upset when Pac was used for an AI verse. I think “Mortal Man” was done way better than whatever this was and was just out of spite of what Drake did. “Tv off” is the best track, this shit is gonna be used everywhere from sports games to meme culture cause of Kendrick doing his best Goku impression screaming “MUSTAAAAAAAARD!”, please don’t let that be a new producer tag. I wanna know if they sample the ultra instinct theme when the beat switches, I swear it sounds like it. It was dope to hear Lefty Gunplay make a cameo, He’s pretty polarizing, many with how he looks, his beef with fellow Mexican rappers, and his views about not having his daughter dating a black guy. Sounds like a guy Dot wouldn’t hang with, especially with his point of views and activism, Lefty did give his reason why and clarify what he meant, it is a shitty point of view but it’s more common behind closed doors when you actually think about it.
“Dodger Blue” is another late-night summer drive synth-wave jam, I know Padres and Giants fans are gonna skip this track every time this comes out. Wasn’t sure if it was Wallie, Roddy, or Siete but one of them sounded like prime Kid Cudi, tripped me the fuck out. “Peekaboo” another Drakeo the Ruler cosplay song (compliment), fuck he was even doing the voice on the bridge. Happy to hear AzChike hear, I have a feeling he’s gonna be a TDE artist sooner rather than later or one day, he fits like a glove with them. The real “heart pt. 6” is here, and it’s good. Shocking I know. It’s better than whatever the fuck Drake was doing, the SWV sample is pretty good, sounds like Drake would’ve done and make it somehow worse (I think he used this sample years ago). Kendrick just rapping about his current state of life and reflecting on his days with TDE. I can’t believe he’s the reason that black hippy never dropped that album. The title track of the album I wished I would’ve loved more but I don’t like the production, sounds like some bullshit made on fruity loops. One positive was Kendrick taking a backseat and having a showcase of who Peysoh, Hitta J3, and YoungThreat are, They steal the show and save the track from being worse than what it is. The final song “Gloria” felt flat to me at the end. This could’ve been leftover from a recent SZA album, I think using the name of the woman as a metaphor for his craft was a nice touch but I just left feeling nothing when this ended. I thought the other was way better earlier in the record.
Overall my final thoughts are that there are a few flaws with Kendrick as a person and how the many victory laps should be ended by now and I don’t think they will ever at this point with Drake looking a damn dork and giant loser with these new lawsuits brewing but this Kendrick’s most fun and focused driven album he’s done ever. He’s such an evil and compelling hypocrite, it’s quite interesting. It could easily sneak this up there as a top-two record of his. It’s more fleshed-out “DAMN” with more hyped tracks and mixed with the pop-rap songs that he was trying to do on that album but wasn’t playing at 100 percent of his potential. I do wonder if this is a teaser to his next album, like I said this feels like a mixtape more than an album. I wonder if he made this cause he had so much momentum he was getting this year, he just had to put something out for the fans and the industry he hates. Maybe that album will come around the Super Bowl, the new video he dropped fans are wondering if there are hidden easter eggs for his album title, which I don’t think there are but “JESUS DOES SAVE GANGSTERS TOO”.
Is the victory lap over now? Who knows…
Favorite Tracks: tv off, luther, the heart pt.6, hey now, peekaboo, squabble up, man at the garden, dodger blue
Least Favorite Tracks: gnx
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