MUSIC | Kendrick Lamar's - untitled unmastered
Hey Creatives!
Happy Spring, I think?! Today I am talking about the most recent unprecedented eight track, 34-minute-long project titled 'untitled unmastered' by Kendrick Lamar. The title of the project is a clever approach to freedom and in correlation with religion, stereotypes and etc. One can go as far as calling it the complete inverse of TLOP; Kanye West's recent release, because it is a small and quiet statement from an artist with little to prove.
"I made To Pimp a Butterfly for you," raps Kendrick on the opening cut from untitled unmastered ( a collection from over 3 years). It's tempting to read a lot into these words; in fact, its tempting to delve deeply into everything about his latest release. Because when the promotionally frugal, it's an unexpected collection of demos, it gets the people going, per youzhe.
No other rapper has taken up so much time in the the past 12 months while releasing so little music or sharing as little about themselves as Kendrick. To Pimp a Butterfly - a Grammy winning ride of densely knotted rhymes, tangles ideas and deep sounds. Kendrick has positioned himself as a certain figure and the dialogues it encompasses with self and manifestations of God would be considered an easy and quick unpacking. Now, he's released a handful and a half of song sketches in a project that is neither album nor mixtape (or even EP or LP) and seems to have even less of a chance of radio play than TPAB did upon its arrival. But it feels like an extension of thats album's world - like an extended coda.
It's a classic Kendrick project; a reductive yet sprawling fever chill of observations on race and the music industry that mixes stereotype with history and wisdom. It's insightful and uncomfortable and maybe outright offensive. The modulations and manipulation that Kendrick does with his voice is very enchanting. From the hoarseness in his voice to rapid melodic tones to incoherent words. In "untitled 02" he sings-up in a gleeful manner similar to Lil' Wayne, but in the end he sounded like a jazz cat asking who was going to play the drums. In "untitled 05", Kendrick is joined by Jay Rock and Punch and Wise for what sounded like a long jazz grove session.
As much as I love Kanye and his work, "untitled unmastered" in comparison to The Life Of Pablo is a small and quiet statement from an artist with little to prove at this moment. Perhaps its purpose is to tempt deeper reading, the choice of no direct song titles, grand proclamations, promotions and etc - just leaving nothing but the music. Kendrick is what I would consider an extraordinary creatively fertile right now. To Pimp a Butterfly was densely packed with ideas to the point it felt as though it on the verge of brimming over.
I wouldn't say that ALL of untitled unmastered hits hard. For example in "untitled 03" there is a jumble of ethnic stereotypes with narratives of injustices, but they are not clear and concise enough. In "untitled 07", an 8-minute medley that has a strong start with Kendrick saying "Levitate, levitate, levitate", but seems to have three songs mashed into one, where the hook soulfully, yet playfully proclaims that "head is the answer, head is the future!" haha! Double entendre, maybe or nah? He conducts from the hook to how the back-up singers would come in and sing.
I wouldn't say that I have favorites in this project, I just enjoy the complexity, rawness, rarity of Kendrick and as an artist in whole. However, I do look forward to his new projects, whenever that may be.
Sit tight, drink some lemonade (inserts wink and smirk emoji's) and be on the lookout for more music reviews.
Stay Creative,
xo, Zaddy
Happy Spring, I think?! Today I am talking about the most recent unprecedented eight track, 34-minute-long project titled 'untitled unmastered' by Kendrick Lamar. The title of the project is a clever approach to freedom and in correlation with religion, stereotypes and etc. One can go as far as calling it the complete inverse of TLOP; Kanye West's recent release, because it is a small and quiet statement from an artist with little to prove.
"I made To Pimp a Butterfly for you," raps Kendrick on the opening cut from untitled unmastered ( a collection from over 3 years). It's tempting to read a lot into these words; in fact, its tempting to delve deeply into everything about his latest release. Because when the promotionally frugal, it's an unexpected collection of demos, it gets the people going, per youzhe.
No other rapper has taken up so much time in the the past 12 months while releasing so little music or sharing as little about themselves as Kendrick. To Pimp a Butterfly - a Grammy winning ride of densely knotted rhymes, tangles ideas and deep sounds. Kendrick has positioned himself as a certain figure and the dialogues it encompasses with self and manifestations of God would be considered an easy and quick unpacking. Now, he's released a handful and a half of song sketches in a project that is neither album nor mixtape (or even EP or LP) and seems to have even less of a chance of radio play than TPAB did upon its arrival. But it feels like an extension of thats album's world - like an extended coda.
It's a classic Kendrick project; a reductive yet sprawling fever chill of observations on race and the music industry that mixes stereotype with history and wisdom. It's insightful and uncomfortable and maybe outright offensive. The modulations and manipulation that Kendrick does with his voice is very enchanting. From the hoarseness in his voice to rapid melodic tones to incoherent words. In "untitled 02" he sings-up in a gleeful manner similar to Lil' Wayne, but in the end he sounded like a jazz cat asking who was going to play the drums. In "untitled 05", Kendrick is joined by Jay Rock and Punch and Wise for what sounded like a long jazz grove session.
As much as I love Kanye and his work, "untitled unmastered" in comparison to The Life Of Pablo is a small and quiet statement from an artist with little to prove at this moment. Perhaps its purpose is to tempt deeper reading, the choice of no direct song titles, grand proclamations, promotions and etc - just leaving nothing but the music. Kendrick is what I would consider an extraordinary creatively fertile right now. To Pimp a Butterfly was densely packed with ideas to the point it felt as though it on the verge of brimming over.
I wouldn't say that ALL of untitled unmastered hits hard. For example in "untitled 03" there is a jumble of ethnic stereotypes with narratives of injustices, but they are not clear and concise enough. In "untitled 07", an 8-minute medley that has a strong start with Kendrick saying "Levitate, levitate, levitate", but seems to have three songs mashed into one, where the hook soulfully, yet playfully proclaims that "head is the answer, head is the future!" haha! Double entendre, maybe or nah? He conducts from the hook to how the back-up singers would come in and sing.
I wouldn't say that I have favorites in this project, I just enjoy the complexity, rawness, rarity of Kendrick and as an artist in whole. However, I do look forward to his new projects, whenever that may be.
Sit tight, drink some lemonade (inserts wink and smirk emoji's) and be on the lookout for more music reviews.
Stay Creative,
xo, Zaddy
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