Black Hippy crew - Kendrick, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
if iyup does not listen to this immediately i will kill him

Maybe not immediately but I did get a chance to hear it today. Cobbs, I do get a certain Flying Lotus vibe from much of the production (there's a liquidity to it, for lack of a better term), and the jazz element is super classy. It moves nicely between soul, jazz, and funk - I'm immediately reminded of Miles' On the Corner for several of these tracks.

I would point out Institutionalized, How Much a Dollar, and Blacker the Berry as highlights, but I think my favorite part is the poem/interview at the very end, especially where the pure spoken word bit is gradually surrounded with the jazz band. Really inventive shit there, and moving as well.

Maybe this is premature, but this album reminded me a hell of a lot of Black Messiah, both in subject matter and general vibe. There's a bit of a social evangelism going on in both that is firmly rooted in a sense of African-American consciousness and activism.
 
Maybe not immediately but I did get a chance to hear it today. Cobbs, I do get a certain Flying Lotus vibe from much of the production (there's a liquidity to it, for lack of a better term), and the jazz element is super classy. It moves nicely between soul, jazz, and funk - I'm immediately reminded of Miles' On the Corner for several of these tracks.

I would point out Institutionalized, How Much a Dollar, and Blacker the Berry as highlights, but I think my favorite part is the poem/interview at the very end, especially where the pure spoken word bit is gradually surrounded with the jazz band. Really inventive shit there, and moving as well.

Maybe this is premature, but this album reminded me a hell of a lot of Black Messiah, both in subject matter and general vibe. There's a bit of a social evangelism going on in both that is firmly rooted in a sense of African-American consciousness and activism.

Yeah I thought Mortal Man would wear thin on mebut the jazzy production that surrounds it really makes it special.

It definitely reminded me of Black Messiah. I thought You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) in particular could have slotted anywhere on Black Messiah.
 
I think it's an incredibly exciting time to be a fan of black music at the moment. Many artists all seem to be tuned into that sense of African-American consciousness, as you call it. All these black artists across hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz and everything in between are all aware of the vibe at the moment that was really kickstarted with the death of Mike Brown and the acquittal of Darren Wilson. There's a lot of anger, but I think there's also a lot of pride in being black. Artists are outwardly referencing their blackness in line with movements like #BlackLivesMatter. You had D'Angelo rush his album out with tracks like 1000 Deaths and The Charade, and then that amazing performance on SNL. You've got Killer Mike weeping before a RTJ show, talking about how scared he is for his children. You've got the ultra-blackness of Kanye's All Day, and the (literally) fire performance of that song at the BRIT awards. The Blacker the Berry. Prince at the Grammys.

I'm male, straight, white and middle-class, so I'm in a group of people that is the most privileged the world has ever known, so it's hard for me to empathise a lot of these situations. All I can do is sympathise, but having said that, I can really feel this movement, this increased sense of black consciousness, you can see it in the artists' eyes, hear it in their words, and it's incredibly exciting to watch happen. I think in 50 years time people will be writing about this period in black artistry and I feel so happy to be watching it unfold.
 
Yeah I'm losing interest in rock somewhat. At least, it's a relative minority of what I'm listening to lately with so much else going on. Other than Viet Cong, I'm mostly listening to rap, funk, jazz and folk.
 
I'm male, straight, white and middle-class, so I'm in a group of people that is the most privileged the world has ever known, so it's hard for me to empathise a lot of these situations. All I can do is sympathise

I think that's the right attitude. It's presumptuous to pretend we understand, but we can sympathize and admire the artistry. And there is a lot of impressive artistry coming out of that movement at the moment.
 
I wonder how she would react to The Blacker the Berry. Probably would consider it a low point in music history.
 
"I mean I get that you might be a little bit frustrated that some of your 'peeps' and 'homies' don't get treated very nicely by the police, but this song isn't going to help, is it? Why don't you try to build a bridge, buy the police some flowers, and sing about that instead? People don't want to hear angry songs."
 
This album already has all of the acclaim the word can offer:

Reviews for To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar - Metacritic

Now I want it to get some sales. With physical sales added in, I think it may do 400k first week, which is great, but something this great deserves better.

If Hood Politics isn't the next single, TDE fucked up. It has one of the few beats that would sound good on the radio and it's so fucking quotable:

I been A-1 since day one, you niggas boo boo
Your home boy, your block that you're from, boo boo
Lil hoes you went to school with, boo boo
Baby mama and your new bitch? BOO BOO.


They give us guns and drugs, call us thugs
Make it they promise to fuck with you
No condom they fuck with you
Obama say, "What it do?"


Critics want to mention that they miss when hip hop was rappin’
Motherfucker if you did, then Killer Mike'd be platinum


I want to bump this shit every day.
 
Haven't paid too much attention the lyrics yet. I'm waiting for a physical release to buy it. Looking like it will only be out on CD for a while, no mention whatsoever of vinyl which is really disappointing and seems very nearsighted, but who knows, maybe they've got something cool planned.

I'm playing it every day. I really love it, I think it's got good replay value and it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against good kid, m.A.A.d city over time. It's a little tough to compare the two at the moment because they're such different records sonically. A lot of people have said this seems like a successor to Section.80 but I don't really get that. I love Section.80 as well but that wasn't nearly as genre-bending as To Pimp a Butterfly.

Wesley's Theory is a brilliant, brilliant opener. I fucking love the Every ****** is a Star sample, and then the second that beat drops, along with all the horns and bass, it's just fucking magical. I do really need to get into Parliament-Funkadelic, I've enjoyed a lot of George Clinton's features over the years and their music is a massive influence on a lot of hip-hop I love, like this and Southernplayalistic, Aquemini, The Love Below. Kendrick right from the very start just sounds so alive, so hungry, so lively yet effortless. Love the little Dr Dre phone-in, "get it all you deserve it Kendrick". And to have an album with such a strong message start with a song about falling out of love with a girl but still wanting to fuck is just so great. Cheeky.

Though I like it all, at the moment I can only recall around half the album off the top of my head. For Free, Alright, For Sale?, Momma, Complexion, You Ain't Gotta Lie and Mortal Man don't come to mind without playing it, but I at least like them all, love a few of them, and they will end up sticking.

King Kunta is immediately top-five Kendrick in my view. It makes me walk taller. It's got a great beat but it's live band, which makes it even better. Kendrick's flow from the top is funky to match it, but both he and the beat (the keys that come in a little later) also give the song a bit of a darker edge which makes it, again, even better. Absolute monster of a tune. Institutionalised has grown on me a lot, I fucking love Bilal's line and it's really cool to hear Snoop rapping in a non-Snoop way. u might be my least favourite track once it gets to that vocal change, but it's still a good song. The "boom-boom" in Hood Politics annoys me a bit but it does have some great rapping otherwise and some awesome lines, that Killer Mike one in particular.

How Much a Dollar Cost is my equal favourite track alongside Wesley's Theory, King Kunta and The Blacker the Berry. The beat is just phenomenal (though that should come as no surprise from a Radiohead lover) and the rapping is subdued but still hits you hard. Good to hear James Fauntleroy again, he was part of what made Channel Orange so enjoyable.

I just had an insane listen to The Blacker the Berry on the way back from the shops. The beat is as good as some of the huge hardcore beats to come out of the last few years - Blood on the Leaves, several RTJ tunes - and every second of it is just pure and utter brilliance. The out-of-breath mumbling at the start, "da blacker da berry, da sweeter da juice" (which - and this is unfounded - has me wondering is a deliberate copy of stereotyped dumb black characters from old movies), Kendrick's absolute fire verses (not a word is wasted, and it's all so cool and interesting), Assassin's cameo fits perfectly as well, it's just an absolute masterwork.

I am planning on writing a blog post about how exciting it is to be a fan of black music at the moment.
 
A lot of people have said this seems like a successor to Section.80 but I don't really get that. I love Section.80 as well but that wasn't nearly as genre-bending as To Pimp a Butterfly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUsEbbVBuo

Mainly just this.

And I ask that you return to u and really hone in on the lyrics. I realize the vocal switch up is harsh, but the self-loathing in that song is founded on depression he suffered from (and apparently still does; i was an attempt to fight back at a defeatist mindset) as well as alcoholism and an overseas tour that prevented him from visiting a dying friend in the hospital, which apparently still sticks with him. It's so fucking sad.
 
Last edited:
I don't listen to much new hip hop, but I'm really liking this. King Kunta is fucking stellar.
 
This album already has all of the acclaim the word can offer:

Reviews for To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar - Metacritic

Now I want it to get some sales. With physical sales added in, I think it may do 400k first week, which is great, but something this great deserves better.

If Hood Politics isn't the next single, TDE fucked up. It has one of the few beats that would sound good on the radio and it's so fucking quotable:

I been A-1 since day one, you niggas boo boo
Your home boy, your block that you're from, boo boo
Lil hoes you went to school with, boo boo
Baby mama and your new bitch? BOO BOO.


They give us guns and drugs, call us thugs
Make it they promise to fuck with you
No condom they fuck with you
Obama say, "What it do?"


Critics want to mention that they miss when hip hop was rappin’
Motherfucker if you did, then Killer Mike'd be platinum


I want to bump this shit every day.
Hood Politics has become my favorite song on this. The last first is where it's at.

'Less you askin' me about power, yeah, I got a lot of it
I’m the only nigga next to Snoop that can push the button
Had the Coast on standby
“K. Dot, what up? I heard they opened up Pandora’s box”
I box ‘em all in, by a landslide
Nah homie we too sensitive, it spill out to the streets
I make the call and get the coast involved then history repeats
But I resolved inside that private hall while sitting down with Jay
He said "it's funny how one verse could fuck up the game"
 
I know everything
I know everything
I know myself
I know morality, spirituality, good and bad health
I know fatality might haunt you
I know everything
I know Compton
I know street shit, I know shit that's conscious
I know everything
I know lawyers, advertisement and sponsors
I know wisdom, I know bad religion, I know good karma
I know everything
I know history
I know the universe works mentally
I know the perks of bullshit isn't meant for me
I know everything
I know cars, clothes, hoes, and money
I know loyalty, I know respect, I know those that's ornery
I know everything
The highs, the lows, the groupies, the junkies
I know if I'm generous at heart, I don't need recognition
The way I'm rewarded, well, that's God's decision
I know you know that line's for Compton School District
Just give it to the kids, don’t gossip about how it was distributed
I know how people work
I know the price of life, I'm knowin' how much it’s worth
I know what I know and I know it well not to ever forget

Until I realized I didn’t know shit
The day I came home
 
Finally had a minute to read the lyrics to TPAB while listening to it. So good. So So So So good.

But this is still my favorite line:

"Because the spirits, we ain’t even really rappin’, we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us"

Especially in conjunction with the new found insights brought by Rap Genius to it's impact on the following poem and the lack of response from Pac :love:.


Also, I never caught the twist ending of Blacker the Berry before :reject:.
 
From Compton

5881215.t.jpg


to Congress

CEw5p3pUgAAmjNl.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom