Albums Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (Discussion Thread)

[dora_da_destroyer]

and his music is very superficial at that lol

I wouldn’t call his music superficial, but people OD in thinking every single line word he utters can have 2-3 meanings.

 

[A Pimp Named Slickback]

The fun part about Kendrick is that he's making this music pretty accessible on a base level. Someone might never even take the time to deep dive into the album and that won't take away enjoyment of the music. I applaud artists that can do that, cause some people get so genius level that it goes completely over your head AND is unenjoyable.

That's what alot of people feel like Lupe's music is. Same with rappers like Aesop Rock and the list goes on. That's why Kendrick bridging the gap between conscious and commercial is so essential. He makes music that can reach both audiences while at the same time, allow for people to be introduced to certain types of music they weren't open to before

The conscious crowd can listen to artists like Rihanna and end up wanting to hear more their music. The young crowd can hear Kid Capri for the first time and be intrigued enough to dig in the crates. So and and so forth with older listeners, listeners who like R&B, pop, etc

That's one of the reasons why he's such an important artist in hip hop. He's pushing the genre forward in more ways than one

 

[A Pimp Named Slickback]

I wouldn’t call his music superficial, but people OD in thinking every single line word he utters can have 2-3 meanings.

There's nuance to that sentiment as well. Not everyone who analyzes music overdoes it. It's not fair to bunch everyone who likes exploring and discussing album concepts into that one group

I catch myself sometimes because I make that same mistake of grouping every listener into one single group too. J Cole listeners used to irritate me for that same reason but I realized it's not all black and white. Not every Cole listener that appreciates his messages is fake deep with it and picks apart every word he says

 

[Izanami]

^^^ that type of shyt is what’s annoying about Kendrick fans/releases. People trying to ascribe deeper meaning to everything he does. Stfu and enjoy the music, stop trying to play k dot philosopher

People were writing theories and looking for clues 1 hour after the release. It was pathetic and annoying. I love Kendrick music and he’s one of my all time favorites but his fans try to do too much. Maybe there was a theme to the album especially with Kendrick releasing a reverse order version. But let’s enjoy the music first.

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

I wouldn’t call his music superficial, but people OD in thinking every single line word he utters can have 2-3 meanings.

It is superficial

 

[Piff Perkins]

There's a clear theme to the album, from the vices to the constant "reverse" stuff. It's a pretty loose concept album which is why I enjoy it. It's just him having fun within the concept, instead of having to come up with some reason to have a fun track (Backseat Freestyle for instance on GKMC).

Does Kendrick have some annoying fans? Sure. I remember when Humble came out and there was this segment of white nerds saying "ohhhh Kendrick is making fun of modern rap!" nikka...enjoy a banger and keep it moving.


Until Kendrick fukks up a concept, I got no issue with this overall. He nailed GKMC, TPAB (specifically the interludes and ending), and DAMN. Even Section 80 is a concept - it's a book. That worked too. Personally though I hope the next album isn't a concept, or if it is I hope it's a loose one like DAMN.

 

[A Pimp Named Slickback]

There's a clear theme to the album, from the vices to the constant "reverse" stuff. It's a pretty loose concept album which is why I enjoy it. It's just him having fun within the concept, instead of having to come up with some reason to have a fun track (Backseat Freestyle for instance on GKMC).

Does Kendrick have some annoying fans? Sure. I remember when Humble came out and there was this segment of white nerds saying "ohhhh Kendrick is making fun of modern rap!" nikka...enjoy a banger and keep it moving.


Until Kendrick fukks up a concept, I got no issue with this overall. He nailed GKMC, TPAB (specifically the interludes and ending), and DAMN. Even Section 80 is a concept - it's a book. That worked too. Personally though I hope the next album isn't a concept, or if it is I hope it's a loose one like DAMN.

Do you feel like discussing concepts is more of a good thing or a bad thing? It's good to talk with others while sharing ideas, connecting through shared experiences and gaining new perspectives

But on the flip side, alot of people don't like having in depth discussions about albums, some people overdo it with their analysis (remember the DAMN. NATION. second album theory ), and talking about it at length could create a barrier for people to enjoy the music and come up with their own opinions and conclusions

I'm not sure if there's an audience on here for in depth, open, levelheaded conversations about album themes and concepts. Part of me isn't really sure if there's a place for it in general and if that in itself is overdoing it

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Do you feel like discussing concepts is more of a good thing or a bad thing? It's good to talk with others while sharing ideas, connecting through shared experiences and gaining new perspectives

But on the flip side, alot of people don't like having in depth discussions about albums, some people overdo it with their analysis (remember the DAMN. NATION. second album theory ), and talking about it at length could create a barrier for people to enjoy the music and come up with their own opinions and conclusions

I'm not sure if there's an audience on here for in depth, open, levelheaded conversations about album themes and concepts. Part of me isn't really sure if there's a place for it in general and if that in itself is overdoing it

There’s a place for discussion. It’s better when it’s more organic, the issue with Kendrick is all these publications, blogs, YouTubers (mainly white faces) feel the need to jump out in front with their pretentious takes and opinions soon as the album drops and takes away from the organic experience, thoughts, interpretations of listeners/fans. I personally don’t even engage in Kendrick threads the first month of release as I feel people just jump too far off the deep end, so busy trying to dissect things that I don’t even think people talk about it as a music piece.

 

[Chip Skylark]

I wouldn’t call his music superficial, but people OD in thinking every single line word he utters can have 2-3 meanings.

I meant surface level. I remember when there were theories he killed someone and you had to play Damn backwards smh it was unbearable

all of it seemed super forced

 

[A Pimp Named Slickback]

There’s a place for discussion. It’s better when it’s more organic, the issue with Kendrick is all these publications, blogs, YouTubers (mainly white faces) feel the need to jump out in front with their pretentious takes and opinions soon as the album drops and takes away from the organic experience, thoughts, interpretations of listeners/fans. I personally don’t even engage in Kendrick threads the first month of release as I feel people just jump too far off the deep end, so busy trying to dissect things that I don’t even think people talk about it as a music piece.

I feel you and I agree 100%. That's why I choose very carefully what publications, podcasts, and youtube videos I listen to especially ones relates to Kendrick's music. There are many snobby pretentious listeners who rush to put out reviews and thinkpieces while not enjoying the music itself or discussing it as much as it should be

Kendrick's albums excite me because I'm a deep thinker as well as a music lover. DAMN is more loose and abstract in it's concept than S80, GKMC and TPAB and that's one of the things that made it so enjoyable for me to play it back over and over these past 4 years

The production, the storytelling, the wordplay and lyrics in general are some of the many things that make this album great. That's why I linked that Dissect Podcast because they discuss everything from the samples and the musical arrangements to the lyrics, vocal tones and flows he uses. All in a very thoughtful and non-pretentious way. It might be seen as nerd shyt but that's just me and I thought some of yall would be interested in hearing it

The youtube video was just those two guys talking about the themes of religion and human nature in the album and how it connects

After 4 years I finally came to my own conclusion of what the blind woman means for the album as a whole and was like

I gotta post this shyt on the Coli

 

[Lhark]

 

[BigMan]

you nikkas STILL hating on kendrick lmao

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

Gotta come up with something to compensate for Kendrick's lack of stand out songs and features.

 

[KingsOfKings]

5 year mark today

 

[DapMeUp!]

DAMN for real....where the hell this this album at?