Ayo whattup you now in the presence of the magnificent Phantom Raviolis aka the high n exalted Shampoo Bracelets the panty melter... otherwise known as the mighty Hands of Zeus in the flesh...but yall might also kno me as the glorious Cocaine Biceps aka Galaxy Knuckles aka Volcano Hands or the illustrious Big Ghost hisself. Thats right yall...the gods back wit more typhoons for yall huts. nikkas still sleepin. But Imma stay pumpin steroids into these paragraphs til the god returns to the essence nahmean. But my essence aint like yall muthafukkas. Yalls was formed from dust n was either pushed outta ya moms vagina or pulled out the womb on some hoe shyt nahmean. I wasnt born like no regular muthafukka b...I was emerged...on some really nikka shyt. The god was chiseled from the walls of the highest volcanoes on earth n emerged from the lavas of that shyt nahmean (pause). But that shyt is irrelevant. I BEEN told nikkas. But yo the topic of the sermon today is the state of hip hop namsayin. To a certain degree this shyt gon fall on deaf ears tho. I expect that b. I can respect that not all muthafukkas is gon be able to grasp this level of physical science. Yall aint got enough scholarships to fukk wit this level of intellect yo. Lotta yall muthafukkas is either too wet behind yall ears or jus too stupid to kno the difference between somebody who creatin timeless art n some dude who jus spittin a couple cool bars over a beat. Even worse...summa yall aint even kno what some cold bars really sound like. Yall on some bullshyt. Yall fukk wit that a la carte shyt. Yall fukkin wit nikkas who sprinkle little funny punchlines that dont mean nothin over some other nikkas beats all day. But we gon get to the heart of that shyt right now namsayin. Word is bond...
If you aint never heard of this dude right here either you been livin under a rock thats under a rock thats under a rock that happens to be buried under a box of Lil Kim mixtapes or you jus been avoidin the shyt outta the internet b. But for the three n a half muthafukkas readin this shyt who AINT heard...Kendrick Lamar is the future of hip hop yo. Its like once a decade maybe that a MC of this caliber gon come round n completely change the way nikkas rap....n at the same time they carry the torch for that supremacy on the mic. They deliver a game changer album too. Im not talmbout nikkas that was jus nice on the mic or had a cool style that ey'body was dikkridin for a couple months. I mean the dudes who was the pinnacle of they breed nahmean. Imma be straight up...one of my favorite rappers ever is probably Jay-Z. I think dude is nice as hell yo. He also the livin embodiment of what ALL nikkas in the rap game strivin to be somehow or some way...a popular rapper who gotta whole catalog of classic joints n is successful as fukk. But I dont think son fits this category like that. Jay always played the game. He compromises n shyt...he dont create timeless art for the sake of creatin timeless art...he puts the business first namsayin. He still the GOAT in a lotta ways but Im talmbout the few who came out the gate n aint compromise nothin n still maintained that same level of influence n had they successful careers regardless. Thats a special emcee right there...
In the 80s it was Rakim. Him n Eric B was in the studio recordin the My Melody n Eric B For President joints in Queensbridge wit Marley Marl n MC Shan right... n em nikkas was fallin outta they chairs laughin at how son was rhymin the whole time b. And this was MC SHAN yo.... But when the R came out that booth...history had been made. Them joints CHANGED the game forever b. The god MC was on some multisyllablistic shyt showin nikkas how to reeeeeallly rap n was droppin science for his peers at the same time. Son aint give a fukk bout the rules neither yo. nikkas thought son was some kinda alien b. This was in '86 when nikkas was still lyrically on some pretty simple shyt tho...n here this dude was carryin on phrases to the next line that continued to the next line n shyt...some outta this world shyt. nikkas aint never went back to that old shyt again b. In the 90s it was back to that same hood...when that nikka Nas came outta nowhere n raised the bar AGAIN. They started callin son the second coming of Rakim after like 3 appearances on wax n shyt. But Nas had even more success than Ra... n elevated what Ra had already did n added his own touches n whatever. shyt was more gritty n controversial than what Ra had been doin. Son was sayin summa the illest shyt imagineable yo. Again...nikkas thought son was some kinda alien b. Plus it aint a lotta dope emcees that came out SINCE '94 that wasnt influenced by Illmatic namsayin. That right there already solidified his position yo. Nasir dropped a couple duds n took a few Ls along the way but his legacy is always gon be intact than a muthafukka cuz of ONE album b.
Now in the 00s...nikkas had declared Lupe Fiasco that dude who was gon carry on the tradition n elevate shyt to that next level n be that thinkin mans rapper while keepin the shyt thoro enough for the streets n carryin that weight of real nikkas on his back while runnin wit that torch. False alarm yo.
Then a few years later a little nikka from North Carolina started to make some noise. Son went by his government kinda like how Nas did on some humble shyt...yall kno him as J.Cole. nikkas had crowned him as the second coming of Nas hisself... I call him the poor man's Drake. Im sayin...false alarm again yo.
Ionno tho...maybe it jus skipped a decade. BUT eventually the time was finally at hand again namsayin. In 2010 a little dude from Compton who had been makin some noise in the underground as a serious problem dropped a little joint called Overly Dedicated...n that set off all that "second coming of..." talk again. Only thing was they wasnt really comparin him to nobody else. Son was actually unlike any other muthafukka alive. But son was ILL. Once again...nikkas thought son was some kinda alien. O.D. had set those wheels in motion for the homie Kendrick. nikkas went back n checked all his old shyt...they explored his catalogs n whatever. They peeped his youtube freestyles... Son had his sparks flyin. After he dropped Section 80 tho...his first little independent album...those sparks had become a inferno or some shyt. Ey'body knew Section 80 was dope n all but it was still a lotta doubters chillin wit they arms crossed like naw... But this shyt right here is sons chance to step up n really get that shyt poppin. He got the Interscope machine in his corner... so promotion aint gon be no problem. He got Dr Dre playin the back n lettin son take control of his own project...so it aint gon be some Frankenstein nikka created in the laboratory wit access to ALL the hottest producers in the game comin together on a joint soundin like a compilation of ey'body elses shyt (whattup Game). Question at hand tho is will son deliver? He gon bless us wit his Paid In Full....his Illmatic...his Doggystyle...his AmeriKKKas Most Wanted...his Ready to Die...his Cuban Linx....his College Dropout...orrrrrrrr is he gon give us a Sideline Story? This gon be Can-I-Bus 2012? In other words will this shyt change the game like his predecessors did or is it gon be the punchline to some jokes nikkas tell 10 years from now? Back round '05 when Kendrick's "mentor" Dre was bout to watch his fellow CPT citizen The Game drop his first album (The Documentary) he said he aint wanna leave the game until he put a truly great Compton artist on the map. Fast forward 7 years n he lookin like he close to achievin that goal finally. ALL that shyt Kendrick put out before this moment dont matter no more...all that shyt was jus son dippin his toes in the water namsayin....this is sons moment now. He gotta either sink or swim nahmean.
So here we got it. Now the thing bout this album is its a concept joint namsayin. Ok so summa yall is probably thinkin cool...like Jay's American Gangster joint right? Kinda...but naw. Like this shyt is a story n there aint a lotta distractions from that story b. Like there aint a joint wit Lil Wayne on here doin his Lil Wayne thing jus cuz he one of the hottest nikkas out right now. You look at the track list n you probably like why the fukk he aint got ScHoolboy Q n Ab-Soul on this shyt...but DRAKE on this muthafukka? We gon come back to that namsayin... But if you want a actual ACTUAL breakdown on this shyt as far as the story go THIS muthafukka already did all the work for you. So lets get into this shyt now..
1. Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter's Daughter - First words uttered on this whole album.."Lord God...I come to you a sinner. And I humbly repent for my sins". This aint gon be the only time God n Jesus gon come up on this album...we gon get into all that later too tho. The beat is some hypnotic shyt. Its the perfect type a joint for gettin on some storytellin shyt...n you dont need me to tell you that son be knowin how to get his storytellin on bruh. Kendrick the type who gon paint you all the details in the picture for some shyt that probably was only a one minute convo or some shyt that happened in a blink of the eye n shyt. shyt is also the introduction to the Sherane character. He meets her at the party n...long story short.. he in his moms van tryna get to her crib to go hit that when he seen two nikkas in hoodies approachin... then the shyt cuts off. But you can jus listen to this shyt without payin attention to the shyt he narratin too. It jus wont make as much sense.
2. bytch, Don't Kill My Vibe - This shyt is crazy laid back too. The hook on this shyt goes "I am a sinner...who's probably gonna sin again...Lord forgive me" so he still on that religified shyt. This is a break from the story tho. If the last joint was son reminiscin on some old shyt..then its kinda like he transported back to the future for this one namsayin. So here he is thinkin bout where he at in life now.
3. Backseat Freestyle - This shyt is connected to a skit where Kendrick's homies scoop him up n now he in the back of the car n they ridin round kickin they little freestyles n shyt....basically what it says in the song title. Now obviously this aint like no shyt he freestylin forreal off the top of his head n shyt but he also aint rhymin bout nothin specific. This kinda like some A Milli type shyt. I fukks wit it. Nothin bout God or Jesus on this one. Son back in character rhymin like he a teenager bout stupid shyt only little nikkas be sayin. Only thing I was thinkin is he coulda had ScHoolboy Q or Ab-Soul come bless this shyt too. At one point it even sound kinda like Kendrick doin a Q impersonation or some shyt anyways yo. This shyt bangs tho. I mean...it might sound kinda like some simple shyt but so was Sucker MCs son. Muthafukkin Hit-Boy went in on this shyt yo...plus the track be givin Kendrick a chance to flex on it.
4. The Art of Peer Pressure - This shyt got basically two parts. The first minute is jus son on some singin shyt wettin the paint on his brush before he paints that next story. The beat is like some fly grown man shyt. Almost toooooo grown man...like the shyt that Puffy might got playin in his crib in the Hamptons while he kickin it wit old ass white dudes sippin Ciroc outta some shyt wit umbrellas n mad fruit in it....like some sophisticated yet slightly played out soundin shyt. Dont get me wrong tho. I mean I fukks wit it...but it also sounds like some shyt Lupe would cop from a 14 yr old beat makin nikka from Chechnya n keep on his workout playlist along wit some rare Sade demos n Yo-Yo Ma's old old old shyt....like his first shyt that only Lupe kno bout n shyt. Then the beat transforms n we get to the actual ACTUAL song. The shyt gets kinda dark n he continues his story n whatever. I aint gon spoil the whole shyt for yall but basically the moral of the tale is that son really dont be gettin high or gettin in any altercations or doin no criminal shyt n robbin nikkas unless he wit his homies. Thats some real shyt right there.
5. Money Trees ft Jay Rock - I dont kno who DJ Dahi is but he muthafukkin fool for this beat son. Kendrick talmbout all the shyt that done happen so far on this shyt for his verse. Then the hook come in n its some fly shyt...even tho what he sayin gotta lotta substance to it. Like when you hear the track son seems like jus on some regular ol disrespectful shyt. Like he jus stuntin on you for no reason nahmean. Fact is son actually droppin jewelz on this shyt while he disrespectin whoever. Then Jay Rock pops up on this shyt... Or more like Jay Rock possessed by the ghost of a nikka that can really really rap pops up on this shyt. Its like son wasnt comfortable wit slidin down to the bottom of the Black Hippy totem pole ever since Soul done evolved into some deep thinkin ass muthafukka n Q became THAT dude.... Almost like he thinkin SO IMMA JUS BE THE TONY YAYO OF THIS CREW ALL A SUDDEN? NAWWWW... So he been workin on his flow a little. Rock wasnt ever no wack nikka tho...he jus wasnt on par wit the other nikkas in the crew. But he definitely sound like he caught wind of that little message n decided he was gon step his shyt up. Whatever works b.
I spat out my drink when I read that .
