Jun 2, 2023 I've given this album a lot of chances, but it's the only Kendrick project I feel lacks anything particularly exceptional about it, feeling almost uninspired. Even on my least favourite records of his, there were always some aspects or entire tracks that I found were executed so well that they were undeniably compelling, and not only displayed that he had great musical taste; but also that he had the ability to piece those musical elements together to make something exceptional and new. So in this case, I don't know what it is. Musically I'm pretty confident in saying it's his worst, despite him keeping a lot of the same producers he's worked with in the past on this project. (Sounwave being a prime example). That's not to say it's terrible, but just really mediocre. Especially in contrast to the bar he's set in his previous projects. I also didn't mention lyricism because he's always been consistently great in that regard as far as his technical ability goes, with this album being no exception. I'd say my favourite tracks are United in Grief, Die Hard, N95, Crown and Mother I Sober.
Jun 2, 2023 Also while I do understand the point and track list placement of "We Cry Together" on the album. I can't help but feel like it's an Eminem-esque relationship troubles song which I cannot imagine ever returning to again. I know that's not a hot take, but whatever.
Jun 2, 2023 What makes you think that? Like what about it sets it above the rest of his discography to you? I'm just curious so I can get a better idea of what your perspective is.
Jun 2, 2023 I should mention I have a heavy personal bias towards this album. The idea of therapy, looking in the mirror, and trying to move past trauma and breaking the cycle of it was something I really needed to hear, especially from one of my favorite rappers ever. The album came at a perfect time. It unironically changed my outlook on life and I’ve been on a journey of healing myself since this album came out (still in the process but I’ve made a lot of progress, I was down bad.) I relate to a lot of what Kendrick talks about in this album, some of it I’ve never heard put into a song so brilliantly. Kendrick finally addressing his savior complex is also something I related to. Not only that, but it recontextualized his whole discography for me. The way he dismantled the high expectations everyone had of him was really impressive to me and something I’ve never seen addressed by a rapper. I like things that are meant to be divisive, and this album was clearly meant to be divisive. That’s not even talking about the sound of the album, which I also love. That drum pattern in the second half of United In Grief still gets me to this day. The beats on this album were a breath of fresh air to me. A lot of the beats and deliveries are unorthodox, but I really like that. I understand why other people wouldn’t though. I think this album has Kendrick’s best mix of bangers, bops, and introspection. I know that objectively speaking (well, as objective as music can get) this album obviously isn’t Kendrick’s best album. It’s his best album to me though. I like that he took a risk and went through with it confidently… not to mention I love how it all ended up sounding. I think the concept of this album is his most clever yet and something that not a lot of people could pull off as well. The way he interweaves all these different topics into each song in one album while having room for a bunch of different types of songs is impressive to me. I totally get why people don’t like this album though. I was even unsure about some stuff on first listen. If I didn’t relate I probably wouldn’t like it as much but I’d still like it, I just love the sounds of the songs, idk. Some of this s--- I just feel in my soul. It’s hard to explain sometimes
Jun 2, 2023 I don’t think it’s a dumb line, I just think it’s funny to imagine someone dancing to it in the mirror lol. Monotone Em should’ve been on the Rich Spirit remix
Jun 2, 2023 I get where you're coming from and I'm no stranger to therapy and self-reflection, I just couldn't connect to it in that way. Not sure why, maybe I need to listen to the lyrics a bit more with that context. Also I'm glad to hear you're on a path to bettering yourself. Coincidentally, the thing I dislike the most about the album concerns the high expectations from him that were set, mainly on TPAB. I had another post I was going to follow up with which went into that, but I got too tired and went to bed. I do have it saved, so I might share it later. A few other points: I completely agree about the drum pattern on United In Grief, it's great stuff. If you like the albums beats and production in general that's fine. But for me it didn't really come off as unorthodox in any particularly interesting way, but more just boring and perhaps... lazy? This album is undoubtedly strange, or in a more generous description, very different. So I find it hard to find the right words to articulate how I feel about it. The mixing and mastering is quite good. I can always appreciate when artists take risks over when they play it safe, that definitely is something to be admired regardless of how much you enjoy the music that results from that itself. (Such as when Eminem took a risk in releasing Relapse, only to then play it safe and follow it up with Recovery). Music is something that can definitely resonate with the soul, whatever that means to each person. So fair enough, I can resonate with that for sure.
Jun 2, 2023 Yeah Kendrick has never even gotten close to reaching the kind of lows Eminem has when it comes to dumb or cringe lines lmao
Jun 4, 2023 most boring album ever made. if i put this on while driving i would fall asleep at the wheel and die. it’s like one big long lecture
Jun 6, 2023 I've been listening to the album a lot lately. It seems to have grown on me after all. The problem was I couldn't get past Rich Spirit, Father Time and N95. They are so good and the gap between them and the rest of the tracks is vast. However, I started to really enjoy most of the songs. The album Has nothing on GKMC or To p---- a Butterfly but as a whole it is still much more enjoyable than d--- to me.