Legacy Track of the Week: Kendrick Lamar - FEEL.
“I feel like a chip on my shoulders,I feel like I'm losin my focus, I feel like I'm losin my patience, I feel like my thoughts in the basement, feel like, I feel like you're miseducated, feel like I don't wanna be bothered, I feel like you may be the problem, I feel like it ain't no tomorrow, fuck the world, the world is endin, I'm done pretendin, and fuck you if you get offended, I feel like friends been overrated, I feel like the family been fakin, I feel like the feelings are changin, feel like my daughter compromised and jaded, feel like you wanna scrutinize how I made it, feel like I ain't feelin you all, feel like removing myself, no feelings involved, I feel for you, I've been in the field for you, it's real for you, right? Shit, I feel like— ain't nobody prayin for me” <<< 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Produced by Sounwave this has to be the standout record on DAMN., Kendrick’s 3rd (or 4th) lp that has everybody debating or reevaluating their Top 5’s. No matter of where you ranked him before, this particular record is definitely one of the best in his catalogue, even if it uses a rhyme structure that’s been done before and is arguably generic - though it should be understood that Kendrick doesn’t fool around with it - yet instead he works that repetitive rhyme concept throughout the entire album and takes it to an entire different level… this is indeed the Kendrick that’s deserving of all the accolades and acclaim.
Logic ft Damian Lemar Hudson - Black SpiderMan
“Son, say: black is beautiful, be black and proud, fuck everybody hatin on me right now, I’m black and proud, I’m just as white as that Mona Lisa, I’m just as black as my cousin Keisha, I’m biracial so bye Felicia, praise Black Jesus now call the preacher, maybe Jesus was black, maybe Jesus had dreads, Spiderman should be black, I vote for Glover instead” Continuing his passion and plight of dismissing racial stereotypes track by track and album by album, Logic breaks down the walls further with this monumental record produced by the Los Angeles artist Damian Lemar Hudson, who’s also the featured vocalist and one of the main protagonists in the appropriately very cinematic music video, which through the right lenses is honestly nothing short of legendary. Logic is the Chance the Rapper who can fuck up your rewind button, and this particular record is reminiscent of his other classics from his last studio album The Incredible True Story, records like Stainless, City of Stars, & Never Been <<< a growing body of work that’s definitely deserving of more respect and applause.
Talib Kweli & Styles P - Brown Guys
“I am a brown guy, but don't call me *****, please, ***** please, you see that white boy, that's a ***** b, ***** ain't a color, it's a mindstate, you diggin me? Maybe not, I get it tho, but all them white boys blowin weed they some ****** too, the difference is they got white privileges, cops will kill me but I doubt that they kill em too, this ain't a stab or a jab, but I'm feeling kinda mad they ain't treated like a villain too, his weed is good as mine, his gun bigger than mine, and he motherfucking chilling too, now if my color make you hate me then I hope you go blind and can't see what your children do, and that sound kinda harsh, but you would feel like I feel if you had black children too” Talib Kweli & Styles P just released a seven track EP appropriately entitled The Seven, and all that should be known is that The Ghost absolutely bodies this...
Talib Kweli & Styles P ft Sheek Louch, Jadakiss & NIKO IS - Nine Point Five
“No more tears, right now no more years, and we could throw a million protests, no one cares, 'cause we just get all out of character and throw some chairs, eventually they burn us out and tell us ‘go somewhere’” Jada 🔥🔥🔥
Kendrick Lamar - ELEMENT.
“Most of y'all throw rocks and try to hide your hand, just say his name and I promise that you'll see Candyman, because it's all in your eyes, most of y'all tell lies, most of y'all don't fade, most of y'all been advised, last LP I tried to lift the black artists, but it's a difference between black artists and wack artists” Although it sounds hot… idk how fire that last part is… either way Kendrick definitely does flex on this throughout most of the record, complete with a Juvenile flow and a “If I gotta slap a pussy-ass *****, I'ma make it look sexy” hook that will definitely be enjoyed by many, as it all rides over an absolute masterpiece of production provided by TDE in-house producer Sounwave, Grammy nominated Ricci Riera, as well as the Beyonce, Kanye, Frank Ocean, Rick Rubin co-signed James Blake, who continues to deliver on an influential sound from London that will soon make him nothing less than a household name.
Kendrick ft Zacari - LOVE.
“Give me a run for my money, there is nobody, no one to outrun me, so give me a run for my money, sippin bubbly, feelin lovely, livin lovely, just love me, I wanna be with you, ayy, I wanna be with, I wanna be with you, ayy, I wanna be with, I wanna be with you” California native and TDE affiliate Zacari laced this record and gift wrapped it for Kendrick to make it a commercial hit, which by May/June I guarantee will be nothing less than a done deal. Kendrick doesn’t do much on this but he compliments the record perfectly, this is ultimately one of the stand out records on the project.
Kendrick Lamar - LUST.
“Hang with your homies, stunt on your baby mama, sip some lean, go get a pistol, shoot out the window, bet your favorite team, play you some Madden, go to the club or your mama house, whatever you doin, just make it count, (I need some water), wake up in the mornin, thinkin bout money, kick your feet up, hop in the shower, put on your makeup, lace your weave up” Kendrick really is Outkast 2017 personified, and this really would slide ride into ATLiens or Aquemini with no issues whatsoever. Kendrick floats on the instrumental provided by Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Toronto’s own eclectic Jazz trio known as BADBADNOTGOOD, making this a solid album cut that all Hip Hop heads will enjoy, mainly for the fact that in its glory it has no commercial appeal whatsoever.
Kendrick Lamar ft U2 - XXX
“Hail Mary, Jesus and Joseph, the great American flag, is wrapped and dragged with explosives, compulsive disorder, sons and daughters, barricaded blocks and borders, look what you taught us!” Produced by the all star lineup of Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Top Dawg, and Mike Will Made It, and boasting the star studded feature of Bono & Company, this one is simply another solid album cut nothing more nothing less. Although the U2 collaboration is a good look, ultimately they’re hardly recognizable and truthfully could have been substituted by a million other artists to fill the same role. Nonetheless this is still a good record all the same.
Kendrick Lamar - YAH.
“Interviews wanna know my thoughts and opinions, Fox News wanna use my name for percentage, my latest muse is my niece, she worth livins, see me on the TV and scream: ‘That's Uncle Kendrick!’, yeah, that's the business, somebody tell Geraldo this **** got some ambition” Produced by Sounwave, DJ Dahi, & TDE’s own CEO Top Dawg, this record is classic Kendrick with it’s crazy cool mellow vibe that’s additionally 🔥🔥🔥 for it’s Fox News jabs that are more than deserving, as we already know. Meanwhile Geraldo can’t take the heat and it’s hilarious. Elsewhere Kendrick has numerous biblical references throughout the record, that of course makes sense in however way you interpret it. Solid album cut overall.
Kendrick Lamar - FEAR.
“That homework better be finished, I beat yo ass, your teachers better not be bitchin bout you in class, that pizza better not be wasted, you eat it all, that TV better not be loud if you got it on” Produced by Alchemist this is another tough record off DAMN., and is likely to be one of the most hyped and talked about projects on the record as well. That’s mainly due to the repetitive rhyme structure that Kendrick has showcased many times before (even only a few tracks earlier with FEEL. and even later once more on GOD.), that along with it’s introspective storytelling will likely win fans over with relative ease. Clocking in at just under seven minutes the record also has an outro with more biblical references, and although I’ll probably never write a thinkpiece on it I still respect the artistry all the same.
Kendrick Lamar - DUCKWORTH.
“See, at this chicken spot, There was a light-skinned ***** that talked a lot, with a curly top and a gap in his teeth, he worked the window, his name was Ducky, he came from the streets, the Robert Taylor Homes, Southside Projects, Chiraq, the Terror Dome, drove to California with a woman on him and 500 dollars, they had a son, hoping that he'd see college” On the outro Kendrick recruits 9th Wonder for the production 👏👏👏 major respect given for that, and he details a true story from many years ago, where TDE CEO Top Dawg almost robbed and killed Kendrick’s own father when he was working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Compton. As the story goes Top Dawg (real name Anthony Tiffith) had plans to rob the KFC as he had 'back in 84', yet Kendrick’s father Ducky (real name Kenneth Duckworth) was wise enough to befriend the street hustlers and get on their good side, inevitably sparing himself from any harm intended his way. On this record however Kendrick reflects on those circumstances with great insight and perspective, culminating in his final thoughts as “pay attention, that one decision changed both of they lives, one curse at a time, reverse the manifest and good karma, and I'll tell you why - you take two strangers, and put 'em in random predicaments; give 'em a soul, so they can make their own choices and live with it, twenty years later, them same strangers you make 'em meet again, inside recording studios where they reapin their benefits, then you start remindin them about that chicken incident, whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence? because if Anthony killed Ducky, Top Dawg could be servin life, while I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight” 💀
Nas - Angel Dust
“Angels with dirty faces, angels with broken wings, the devil's dust, PCP invading bloodstreams, people lining up to get it, fantastic, knew how to flip it, illegal substance constructed and plus addictive, trusted and respected, almost got me arrested, all the time I invested in school is now of question” Nas is back with the theme music to Netflix’s breakout series The Get Down, a good look for the Queens MC in every way.
TLC ft Snoop Dogg - Way Back
“Like Prince and Marvin Gaye, like South side on Sunday, some things don't ever change, yeah, you and me, cause we go way back, James Brown and Michael J, like them high school parties, some things don't ever change, yeah, you and me, we go way back” T Boz & Chilli are back and their first single from their upcoming album definitely has radio potential… not a certified smash but a decent record for a timeless group that made a legendary impact (CrazySexyCool still gets burn to this day)
Tinie Tempah - Lightwork
“Uh, you see the hits? Lightwork, long setters, got bars, I'm a lifer, I just do it for the kids like Michelle Pfeiffer, I'm gettin paid, me and Mitch like Mekhi Pfeiffer” Youth is officially the 3rd album from the British MC most famous for the Tinashe assisted Text From Your Ex record that’s been burning the radio for months now, yet aside from the singles this uptempo house record produced by Shift K3Y is definitely one the standout tracks that are worth a listen.
Tinie Tempah ft David Stewart - Cameras
“Yeah, more photogenic than we'll ever be, sure I see your mama but that shit don't seem heredity, take you out for dinner, you say feelings is your recipe, you ain't even think what you gon' look like when you 70” Apparently on an international level Tinie Tempah has the most number one singles in the UK during the last decade… I need a late pass but records like this one are definitely 🔥🔥🔥
Tinie Tempah ft Tiggs Da Author - Rehab
“You had just turned 21, I was 19, naive, very young, gettin high, eatin Chinese, gettin drunk, you let me on but you never used to let me come but let me come” Another solid record off Youth, and along with Drake’s OVO affiliates it seems like the UK/London Hip Hop scene is definitely growing and improving…
Gucci Mane ft Drake & Lil Wayne - Both Remix
“I got so many felonies, I might can't never go to Canada, but Drake said he gon pull some strings, so let me check my calendar” Typical industry record produced by Southside (Bricksquad) and Metro Boomin and I’m cool with it… you can ride to this...
Rotimi ft 50 Cent & TI - Nobody
“How you got all these bodies, still ain't got nobody, how you got all these bodies, still ain't got nobody, you out here livin like a thottie, that's why you ain't got nobody” Rotimi is the stage name of Olurotimi Akinosho aka Dre on the Starz series Power, whereas he’s now trying to cross over into the music scene with helps from co-star 50 Cent, and overall this record is definitely a good start for him. However to be clear just like the show this is good for the night clubs and nothing more.
Talib Kweli & Styles P - In the Field
“Yeah there's black on black crime, but there's white on white crime, when you adjust for population all the numbers they align, so why we never hear white on white on the nightly news? Ain't no profiting over criminalizing white dudes, poverty breeds criminals but watch what you call me, because if I'm a criminal what about bankers on Wall Street?” Facts…