Kung fu Kenny!
Fucking love this track. Fucking love that album as well. Seems way too slept on for how good it is.
From the artwork, I was expecting something more ferocious, so I was quite surprised by the largely laid back nature of the piece. But not in a negative way, since Iāve connected with this Kendrick record quicker than any previous. Score rate is high here with some absolute scorchers: DNA, YAH, HUMBLE, LUST & FEAR to name five. As always with KL, there are a few duffers - Iām looking at you LOYALTY (disgraceful misuse of Ri-Ri) and PRIDE - but overall this LP has touched down strong for me. Even U2 couldnāt ruin it.
Damn! Came here to post this. Although in honesty I would have left off the ā-rā and just gone with La-meh.
Given this 3 listens now and Iām straight-up disappointed.
That can never be unheard.
Have listened to this non-stop all weekend and in a few different contexts - itās absolutely brilliant.
Itās obviously shorter than GKMC and TPAB and might not have the musical scope of the latter, but thereās still a lot to unpack conceptually and within the lyrics. Some thoughts:
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DNA. might be the hardest track Iāve heard all year. Didnāt have Mike Will and Kendrick down as an obvious pairing, but wow- between this and HUMBLE. I couldnāt have been more wrong. That switch in the beat and Kendrickās flow after the second Fox News sample is .
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The second verse of FEEL. is vintage Kendrick. So many quotable lines and brilliant wordplay.
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I donāt actually mind LOYALTY., and Rihanna and Kendrick trading bars is pretty cool, though it doesnāt especially fit with the rest of the album - kind of like Poetic Justice in GKMC.
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Not sure I get the criticism for PRIDE. and LUST. The beat on PRIDE. is maybe the best on the album, really funky despite the simple chord progression. If you want to feel old, Steve Lacy from The Internet produced it - heās 18ā¦ LUST. is a bit of a slow burner but reminds me of Aquemini era Outkast.
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The Zacari hook on LOVE. is really catchy. Agree It sounds like it could be on a Drake album, but sing-rap is good to break things up sometimes and I really like Kendrickās voice.
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The last three tracks are so good. I think GOD. might be my current jam. Itās got the euphoric, gospel beat like a TLOP song, just sounds more authentic. FEAR. has the most to unpack lyrically but I love Kendrickās distinctive voice in each verse. Think itāll be the key conceptually to the album (he mentions almost every track title in the last verse).
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Love the 9th Wonder beat on DUCKWORTH. That Top Dawg / Kendrickās dad story at the end hit me pretty hard - serious goosebumps moment.
Probably tl;dr, but yeah - AOTY so far for me.
Yeah, fully love this now. Still not sold on some of the more sing-songy flows as I just donāt tend to be into them but theyāre still great versions of a thing that Iām generally not into.
Canāt get over how hard DNA and those bits in XXX go, itās fucking impossible to sit still and listen to them.
All I wanted to do over Easter was sit down and listen to this but never had the time. On my 3rd back to back playthrough now, it keeps getting better. Looking forward to the next 500 listens.
yeah this is great isnāt it. Doesnāt feel as big a statement as TPAB or even GKMC but as a showcase of his craft and a cementing of his spot at the top of the mountain atm itās pretty nigh-on perfect
Really like this. Pretty telling about the type of record heās dropped beforehand that this initially felt low stakes bearing in mind what heās tackling and how hard he goes on it. Another jazz epic would have probs brought on some fatigue, this feels fresh as fuck. Can do without lust at the moment but I figure this is gonna get a lot of spins. Also nice to hear him still trying out new styles.
Iāve said it before but hoooly shit what a pleasure it is to hear this guy rhyme. the variety and consistency heās shown is just amazing to me.
AOTY, 10/10
DNA is so good. Totally exhilarating on first listen and the impact hasnāt subsided. Rest is growing on me nicely too, but bloody hell that track
Such a tease
New album called KenFolk confirmed
so when is it coming out exactly?