Kendrick Lamar Killing Rappers on their Own Tracks: An Anthology

Sometime this year, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar is supposed to be releasing Good Kid in a Mad City, which is shaping up to be an absolutely transcendent hip-hop record (think: Madvillainy or MBDTF), the only concerning thing about this release is that there isn't a solid release date attached to it yet, and considering that legendary producer/perfectionist/procrastinator Dr. Dre is affiliated with the project, this could spell trouble. But I'm going to trust that K-Dot will keep his fans in mind and get the record out sometime in 2012. So in anticipation, here is a collection of Kendrick's most thoroughly scene-stealing performances. If High Fidelity was made in 2012, Rob might have said, "Some people never got over Vietnam or the night their band opened for Nirvana time Kendrick Lamar embarrassed them on their own song."


Game - The City
Kendrick's hook alone probably outshines Game on this song. Game's verses aren't terrible by any means (although he's probably a little delusional when he talks about being one of the top 5 rappers of all time) but for the last minute or so of the track, the beat fades out and Kendrick rattles off a spine-chilling set of bars.

Meek Mill - A1 Everything
The wonderful thing about this track and a lot of other songs Kendrick appears on, is that Kendrick is able to adapt to what his host is doing and just do it better. This song is just Meek Mill bragging pretty effectively about how awesome he is over a hyped-up beat. If Lamar came through with a verse about visions of Tupac and Ronald Regan-era politics, it would kill the vibe. So instead he busts through the door screaming gun-noises and snarling about million-dollar contracts.

Birdman & Mack Maine - B Boyz
Yeah. This isn't even fair. They even let Kendrick rap first. At least Game had enough sense to make people wait through his verses first.

Track-by-Track Review: Vodka & Ayahuasca

In the wake of Watch the Throne, it seems like everyone in hip-hop is trying to grab a friend and make a collaborative project, Drake and Rick Ross are planning their YOLO project, J Cole says he’s working on something with Kendrick Lamar, and T.I. and Young Jeezy have hinted at a joint record as well. Whether or not any of these projects will actually ever be recorded is up for debate, but in the meantime, Oh No and The Alchemist (who together go by the name “Gangrene”) have dropped what I hope is a contender for the best post-WTT collaboration thus far, “Vodka & Ayahuasca” (unless any of you were really feeling that Gucci Mane/V-Nasty tape).

1. Intro (The Mixings)

Produced by Oh No

After doing a bit of Wikipedia research, I found out that Ayahuasca is a South American hallucinogen that causes intense vomiting, so maybe that’s why this intro track includes a recording of someone puking. Why Gangrene decided to name their record after this concoction is beyond me, but they’re making it clear right out of the gate that this is going to be beyond-bizarre album. Also, vomit-noises are arguably the worst way you could start an album.

2. Gladiator Music

Featuring Kool G Rap; Produced by Oh No

This first track sounds like something that RZA would make on his weirdest day (in a good way). The beat heaves up and down behind a drugged-up horn sample that is a big departure from the bass and snare heavy sound that been dominating radio-rap for a few years now. The track features verses from both members of Gangrene and Kool G Rap, and all three fill their verses with Wu-Tang style absurd threats (“I’m Kool-Aid Man comin’ through your fuckin’ wall”). This track is grimy as hell and it’s great, they should have skipped the freaky intro and just started off the album like this.

3. Flame Throwers

Produced by Oh No

Oh No’s beat has my head nodding almost immediately and he and The Alchemist trade verses back and forth until a context-less vocal sample cuts in, reminding me once again of the Wu and the kung-fu film samples that they love so much. But this technique also reminds me of something that MF DOOM would do, another underground rap legend who has worked with Oh No’s brother Madlib.

Top 15 Songs of 2011

So I guess I'm a day or two late on this, but I have finally compiled a list of my favorite songs of 2011. Between Childish Gambino, Common, Drake, Watch the Throne, Blu, Big K.R.I.T. and more, this was an incredible year for hip-hop. Adele managed to pretty much single-handedly keep good radio pop music alive (I sincerely hope that dubstep and euro-pop will fall out of favor in 2012). Indie-Rock had a big year, with Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, and Mumford and Sons getting some real-world recognition. I think that I might have sold out this year because by my count, about half of this list was all over the radio, but I really don't care. Mainstream hip-hop radio was very listenable this year. It helps that I like Drake and Rick Ross who were both fairly omnipresent in 2011. So here it is, the track-list for the best 2011 mix CD that you could hope for:

15) I'm On One (Drake, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne)

This might be one of the most depressing smash hits in hip-hop history. I'm On One is a celebration of everything that makes these three millionaires forget about their problems ("Kiss you on ya neck and tell ya everything is great/Even though I out on bond I might be facin’ 8′s"). Kanye West might be the best at expressing the sense of alienation that comes with being rich and famous, but no one is more succinct about it than Lil Wayne: "I walk around the club, fuck everybody."

14) I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together (The Horrible Crowes)
The Horrible Crowes exist in music limbo. Their record "Elsie," is easily the most slept on album of the year. They're too conventional (read: timeless) for indie blogs to hype up, and they don't qualify as soft-rock, pop, hip-hop, metal, alt-rock, or any of the other genres that might earn you a spot on the radio. Thus, between indie-hype and mainstream success, lies modern music limbo. This track has some of the most beautiful words that Brian Fallon has ever written, and even th title is pure romance. "Did you say your lovers were liars?/All my lovers were lairs too/Did you say you were afraid of dying?/I ain't lived a single day without you."

13) Someone Like You (Adele)
I can't tell you how many times I sung along to this song in a car with someone. This is a song that could change your life, and everyone loves it. It's the most simultaneously personal and universal song of 2011.

12) Countdown (Beyoncé)
Great music is usually born out of negative emotions (look at #13 in this list). Heartbreak and longing are the two pillars of love-song composition. But Countdown goes all Samson on that establishment. This is an impeccably crafted pop song about a long-term relationship that is working out. It's not about the club, or a stripper, it's about a successful and dedicated marriage. It's about going out to dinner and trying to start a family. And it's the best pure pop song of the year.

11) Niggas in Paris (Jay-Z and Kanye West)
Jay and 'Ye are untouchable. They made a song called "Niggas in Paris," preformed it at a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, started playing it upwards of TEN TIMES, at their shows. People lost their minds to this song. Just watch them perform this live, Jay shouting "AGAIN!" to start up the song for a second time is possibly the coolest thing that has ever happened. It felt like half the country was yelling along to Kanye's first few lines: "MAAAAALL, BAAAAALL, STAAAAAALL, AAAAAAALL." Also, Kanye wore what was practically a dress on stage for a lot of the Watch the Throne tour. I don't think people understand the kind of clout you need in hip-hop to pull that off. And no one of any significance even said anything about that.

10) Take Care (Drake)
Speaking of breaking boundaries in hip-hop: "Pushing me away so I give her space/Dealing with a heart that I didn't break/I be there for you, I will care for you." Lines like that are ensuring that Drake gets his fair share of hate from rap's old-heads but he doesn't really seem to care. It's like Jay-Z said last year, "Would you rather be overpaid or underrated?" The answer is pretty obvious for Drake.

9) Otis (Jay-Z and Kanye West)
That wailing organ that starts the song is always just a little too quiet. Every time I turn up the volume and every time Jay-Z comes swaggering into existence, propped up by the immortal voice of Otis Redding, and I lose my mind. There has been a lot of talk about how much Jay-Z and Mr. West talk about their expensive cars, cloths, planes, and art collections on Watch the Throne, but that's not the biggest display of absolute financial dominance on the album. The samples are. How's an up-and-coming rapper supposed to afford that kind of sample clearance? "Rappers hustle every day for a beat from 'Ye/What I do? Turn around gave them beats to Jay."

8) Holocene (Bon Iver)
The longest song on Bon Iver's self-titled 2011 record, "Holocene" relies on a simple guitar line and lyrics that you feel more than you understand. I have tried to analyze the lyrics to this song and I have no desire to do so. It's almost a rule that a successful group's second album will talk about the downside of that success. Instead, Bon Iver just stopped telling stories altogether and created one of the most immersive records of the year.

7) Murder to Excellence (Jay-Z and Kanye West)
This is the thesis of hip-hop. "Otis" brought back classic sounds and "Niggas in Paris" was more crunk than anything that ever came out of the south, but "Murder to Excellence" explains hip-hop. The first half of the song is an absolutely soul-crushing story of murder and terror and violence. "Is it genocide?/Cause I can still hear his momma cry, know the family traumatized/Shots left holes in his face, bout piranha-size/The old pastor closed the cold casket/And said the church ain’t got enough room for all the tombs." On the second half that anger and sadness morphs into greatness. If you don't understand hip-hop, just let Jay and Kanye explain.


6) 6 Foot 7 Foot (Lil Wayne)
I'm not the world's biggest Lil Wayne fan. I may spend way too much time being a hip-hop apologist but I generally have no desire to defend Lil Wayne, I can't make it all the way through any of his mixtapes or records. But "6 Foot 7 Foot," is amazing. I didn't understand this song until I heard it in my car. Not because my Malibu has a good sound system or anything, but it did let me hear this song played as loudly as I wanted to hear it. And when I was stuck in traffic on my way to wait on tables this past summer, this song made me feel invincible.

Curren$y: Internet Age Hip-Hop

From 2008-2011, Curren$y has released 16 albums or mixtapes. This is an almost impossible number to understand. Bands like Guns and Roses delay the release of a single album for decades (Chinese Democracy) and Dr. Dre has been working on the third album of his career, Detox, for about ten years now. This is not to mention countless other guest verses and other songs he has released unconnected to full projects. Most musicians don't even come close to putting out this much material during the course of their entire career. Like A$AP Rocky, Curren$y has a found a way to have a very profitable and successful career as an internet rapper (and they also both have dollar signs unfortunately incorporated into their stage names).

In the 90's and the early 2000's, the way to make it in rap music was to get a deal with a big label and they would promote your album and you could see the money flow in, but the hard part of the equation was getting signed, not making a great album. After bouncing around from label to label while waiting for his album to be released, Curren$y tried a different route, he just struck out on his own, independent of a label. He released seven free albums in seven months, and grew an online following. I am usually critical of the internet and the disconnect that it can bring, basic values and integrity can be kept at bay by a cloud of anonymity, but Curren$y defied my negative preconceptions. By working incredibly hard ("There is not an adjective to describe how I work/Hard is not enough, brother I'm tougher"), and focusing on the quality craftsmanship instead of major label promotion campaigns, Curren$y has made a career for himself by bringing old-fashioned values into the 21st century.

I think this video makes me sad.

Before I begin this post, you should all watch this video.

Okay, now while the baby was cute I guess, and the video might have been somewhat entertaining and funny, overall, I could not help but feel sad after watching it. The video depicts a little kid (maybe a year old) playing with an iPad, she is not doing to much on it, but she is engaged and having fun moving things around on the screen. Then she is given a magazine by her parents. She tries to move around the pictures, and after her finger fails to make the screen move, she pokes her own leg to make sure her finger still "works." Like it said, it's pretty funny but it's also profoundly sad. In my Media Theory class, we've brought up the idea that younger generations require constant entertainment, this is obvious, if this girl can't find a magazine interesting, I doubt she will be able to stomach a book without pictures when she's older. I fear that we're getting to a point where our education needs sound effects for us to care about it.

Will Rappers be Rich Again?

A$AP Rocky, a young rapper from Harlem, New York just signed a record deal for over three million dollars, this is the biggest signing in hip-hop since 50 Cent, which is really significant as most major labels find themselves in unrelenting downward financial spirals. What's even more unique about this, is that A$AP Rocky came to popularity not through co-signs, but trough viral internet success. The only co-signs he's received are from colleagues like spaceghostpurp and Clams Casino, who are not even close to being household names. Drake rose rapidly to riches, but that was largely due to the support of Lil Wayne, a rapper who first broke into Hip-Hop when it was still a highly popular profession. The internet changed all of that, now everyone expects a constant outpouring of free material (interestingly enough, Lil Wayne was one of the first artists to oblige, releasing multiple albums full of songs every year in his creative heyday). A$AP scored his deal largely because of his youtube videos, and now in addition to his record deal, he is he on tour with Drake and fellow internet sensation Kendrick Lamar. Hip-Hop is appears, is beginning to discover how to make a fortune off of the internet. Something many corporations have been trying, and failing to do for years now.

I Don't Understand Lil B

There are very few things that I consider myself respectably well-versed in. Really it's probably about three things: Detroit Tigers baseball, sitcoms, and hip-hop. But as much as I love hip-hop there is something that I don't understand on any level, and that thing is the popularity of the rapper Lil B. His music is unfathomably weird, and not in some avant garde way, no I understand and at times really dig avant garde hip-hop (Shabazz Palaces, DOOM, J Dilla, etc.), but this is Dadist if anything, and I hate Dadism. He yells the word "SWAG" after almost every sentence, makes songs about  how he looks like Miley Cyrus, or Jesus, or how he's the "based god." And the internet loves him. But how does these relate to the study of Media Theory? Well Lil B is the perfect case study for the awful trend of internet "irony." This sense of meta humor, and pretending to enjoy things because they are so ridiculous has gone too far, and Lil B is proof of this. I don't know if people really like him, or they just thing that he's ridiculous so they listen to his music for a laugh. I honestly don't know, and I don't know if the people who "enjoy" his music either. This same trend has come to movies recently as well. Is the latest Jason Statham vehicle a parody of action movies, or is it really just that bad, and why do people not seem to care? At the start of every song or movie, people should be required by law to state if this work was intended to be a serious effort, I should never not know if something is parody or reality. And I blame this all on the cynicism of some corners of the internet.